Beverly Sills, the Brooklyn-born soprano who died July 2 of lung cancer, was
regarded highly as a leading voice in the revival of bel canto opera, especially the works of Rossini and Donizetti, and later as one of this country’s leading arts administrators and advocates for the performing arts.One of the few singers of her generation to build a career almost entirely in the United States – notably at the New York City Opera – Sills began in 1979 to shift to administration, serving as general director of the City Opera, then chairwoman of Lincoln Center, and finally in recent years as chairwoman of the Metropolitan Opera. She also became of the most vocal and persuasive arts advocates in the country.
Sills' obituary, by Anthony Tomassini, in The New York Times:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/03/arts/music/03sills.html?hp=&pagewanted=all