Beverly; An Autobiography

Toronto: Bantam Books, 1987. First Printing [Stated]. Hardcover. Very good/Good. xii, 356 pages. Illustrations. Index. Some wear and tears to DJ edges. Presentation copy signed and inscribed by the author on the fep. Inscription reads To Frederica and Arthur Love, Beverly Sills. Beverly Sills (May 25, 1929 - July 2, 2007) was an American operatic soprano whose peak career was between the 1950s and 1970s. Although she sang a repertoire from Handel and Mozart to Puccini, Massenet and Verdi, she was especially renowned for her performances in coloratura soprano roles in live opera and recordings. Sills was largely associated with the operas of Donizetti, of which she performed and recorded many roles. Her signature roles include the title role in Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor, the title role in Massenet's Manon, Marie in Donizetti's La fille du régiment, the three heroines in Offenbach's Les contes d'Hoffmann, Rosina in Rossini's The Barber of Seville, Violetta in Verdi's La Traviata, and most notably Elisabetta in Donizetti's Roberto Devereux. After retiring from singing in 1980, she became the general manager of the New York City Opera. In 1994, she became the Chairman of Lincoln Center and then, in 2002, of the Metropolitan Opera, stepping down in 2005. Sills lent her celebrity to further her charity work for the prevention and treatment of birth defects. Lawrence Linderman is a writer who has written extensively for Playboy and Penthouse magazines. He also helped Beverly Sills pen her autobiography. His article "Undercover Angel" in the July, 1981 issue of Playboy was the basis for Larry Ferguson's screenplay for the movie Beyond the Law. This is a revealing, in-depth memoir of Beverly Sills as an international operatic superstar, director of the New York City Opera, mother and wife. In this candid autobiography, Sills finally unleashes the full power of her torrential personality and provides the key to her phenomenal success. Derived from a Kirkus review: Honesty, hilarity and chutzpah served up in heaping Jewish-mother portions by diva/director Sills in this, her second foray into autobiography. While her 1979 Bubbles was as lightweight as its title, this time around Sills has more serious matters in mind. The result is a fine, frequently moving, sometimes acerbic depiction of the private and professional life of an American "original." Part of the fascination with Sills' story of her rise to superstardom owes to the fact that recognition of her extraordinary talent was relatively late arriving. Years spent appearing on Major Bowes' "Capitol Family" radio show, then careening about the country on various "bus and truck tours," a year's stint in a New York "after-hours club," and appearances in slightly shop-worn Shubert operettas finally culminated in a dazzling success in Handel's Julius Caesar at the New York City Opera in 1966. Sills was 37 and an "overnight sensation." In telling her story, Sills refuses to be hemmed in by false modesty; if she thinks she was the world's best in a given role, she says so. There is refreshingly little maguillage in Beverly's self portrait. Sills' descriptions of the problems she and her husband faced in raising their two children--one deaf, the other mentally retarded-- while frequently reported, cannot fail to move readers with their courage and common-sensical love. If false modesty is missing in Sills' character, so is self-pity. Her recounting of her experiences when undergoing treatment for and recovering from ovarian cancer should prove an inspiration to women confronting similar problems. If there is one small quibble, it is that many readers may find the detailing of the difficulties Sills faced during her first years as general director of the moribund New York City Opera overly financial. This is "sure to impress the hell out of everybody"