Friday is the 61st birthday of soprano and opera manager Beverly Sills.

Sills (born Belle "Bubbles" Silverman), was born May 26, 1929, in Brooklyn, N.Y. She began as a child radio actor in 1933 and first sang "Caro nome" from Verdi's Rigoletto at the age of 7. She began professional voice study with Estelle Liebling, a teacher Sills continued with for 34 years. Sills began to tour with an operetta company in 1945, performing the standards of Gilbert and Sullivan.

Her operatic debut came in 1947, performing the role of Frasquita for the Philadelphia Opera's production of Carmen. Small roles in Der Rosenkavelier and La Traviata followed in Paris. Her big break came in 1952, when then-artistic director Rosa Ponselle coached the young Sills for the title role in Massenet's Manon, which became one of the pillars of her repertoire. In 1955, she joined the New York City Opera Theater and quickly rose in the ranks. Sills triumphed in the 1966 performance of Cleopatra in Handel's Julius Caesar, which launched her into the European opera capitols. She debuted at the Metropolitan Opera in 1975, as Pamyre in The Siege of Corinth.

Sills did not possess the vocal characteristics for the great heroines of Puccini and Verdi but succeeded in invigorating the great bel canto roles. This is especially true of the Donizetti roles Mary Stuart, Anne Boleyn and Elizabeth in Roberto Devereaux. Sills stated in her 1987 autobiography that she considers her role of Queen Elizabeth in Roberto Devereaux "the crowning artistic achievement" of her career. In addition, she has performed the title role of Manon in nearly every major opera house in the world.

She has received numerous awards, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1980 and the Kennedy Center Honor in 1985. In addition to her epic singing career, she served from 1979–89 as the director of the New York City Opera and is currently Chairman of the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts.