Beverly Sills
Opera Star

Beverly "Bubbles" Sills is a former opera star who had a singing and acting career that began during the years of World War II and lasted until her retirement in 1980. She wrote a book about her experiences, "Bubbles: An Encore." The book is out of print, but copies can be found in various used book outlets.

Beverly Sills was born Belle Silverman on May 25, 1929 to two Russian Jewish immigrants, Shirley and Morris Silverman. She was the youngest of three children growing up in Brooklyn, NY in what was then a working class neighborhood. Her mother loved singing and encouraged her daughter's desire for an opera career from an early age. In her book, Sills says, "The dream ... of my eventually becoming an opera star was mine, not my mother's.  But it was she who made me believe that the impossible dream was possible." In addition to providing moral support, her mother also sewed many of her early costumes and was her personal hairdresser.

Sills was fortunate to meet many famous people during her career. Her voice teacher was Estelle Liebling, a former opera singer. She worked with famous name singers such as Gypsy Rose Lee and Rosa Ponselle.

During the 1950's Sills also sang on Opera Nights at the Concord Resort in the Catskills of New York, which was at the time a popular resort for Jewish people eager to get away from the summer heat of New York City. In her book she comments, "The huge rooms were packed with appreciative Jews, the food was fantastic, and I got to sing a lot of my high notes--not a bad way to spend an
evening."

Family Life
In 1955, Sills made her professional debut with the New York City Opera. While on tour, the company stopped in Cleveland, OH, and she met her future husband, Peter Greenough, at a party given by the Opera Company to entertain members of the press. Greenough was associate editor of the Cleveland Plains Dealer, a local newspaper. They married in 1956, and in 1959, her first child,
Meredith "Muffy" Greenough was born.

Two years later, after bearing a son, the family learned that Meredith was deaf, and soon after, they learned that the son, Peter Jr. "Bucky" was mentally retarded. As a result, Sills took a two-year leave of absence from her career to focus on raising her children. Later, Sills would also become very active with the March of Dimes, which raises funds to research causes and prevention of birth
defects. As chair of the March of Dimes' Mothers' March on Birth Defects, Sills helped to raise over $70 million in ten years.

Meredith said that life with an opera star mother was very fascinating. "I travelled a lot with my mother--all around the world," she said. "All through Europe, and Israel, Mexico and 3 weeks in China as guests of the Government and then into Hong Kong and almost every state in the U.S. It was very glamourous, always 1st class and private planes and homes with 70 people working on the premises and limos, and of course lots of opera houses and lots of great restaurants and shopping." One of Beverly Sills' fans named a beautiful pink iris "Beverly Sills" in her honor. Meredith commented, "It's received more awards than any other iris in the world."

Jewish Upbringing
Sills grew up in an old-fashioned family. Her father's word was the law. Sundays, the family went to grandma's house. Sills said, "Grandma with 16 children--you can imagine how many cousins there were. She cooked for us all, she and one elderly lady who helped her--a fellow Romanian. Oh, the joy of coming into that house. I can still smell the smells in that house."

Because Sills' married a Christian, the home she made for her family was a mixed one. Meredith explained, "My maternal grandparents came from Russia and Rumania and my mother is first generation American. My father's ancestors came over on the Mayflower and he is a descendant from John Alden on both his maternal and paternal side. So we were told to say if asked in what faith were we raised to say ‘in good faith.' I went to the Boston School for the Deaf run by the Catholic Sisters of St. Joseph so all bases were covered."

Meredith participated in Jewish events with her mother's family. "My mother's older brother, a doctor, did Passover every year," she said. "I loved it. All my cousins have been Bar Mitzvahed and I was always fascinated by the ceremonies. My participation in the [Deaf] Community and all charities I support have no particular affiliation with any religion."

Beverly Sills still makes her home in New York City.

 

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