THE ORIGINAL
BS: No. I just think you have to
believe passionately in what you're ask-
ing money for. Your own enthusiasm
has to be contagious. If you believe in
what you're asking for, I think it does
sort of spread. I think a great many
people today realize that it's a difficult,
pressured world and that we all need a
little beauty in our lives. Also, we have
to think about the legacy we leave our
children. I think the arts are an inte-
gral part of our lives.
JN: Can you think of one outstand-
ing incident as you raised money
from an individual or a corporation?
BS: I can't mention the individual's
name, but I asked him for $1 million.
He said, "I'll give you $1 million if I
don't have to come to the opera; I'll
only give you $900,000 if you make
me come." I said, "I'll take the
$900,000 because I want you to
come; you'll get to like it and then I
can come back for more money
I got the $900,000, and a few
months after that, he invited my hus-
band and me down to an island in
the Caribbean, where he had a home.
It vas Christmas time, and at the
Christmas lunch, everybody else had
a wonderful, beautifully wrapped gift,
but in front of my plate, which was
on the man's right, was nothing. I
said to him, "My goodness, you really
are chintzy You spend $900,000, and
you think you don't have to give me a
Christmas present." And he said,
`Tick up the damn plate." So I
picked up the plate, and underneath
it was a check for $100,000. That
was one of my favorite moments.
JN: Now that you're an opera fund-
raiser and no longer an opera
singer, do you come to perfor-
mances with a different perspective?
BS: No. I'm a great spectator and a
very sympathetic listener. I know what
it's like to have to go through a whole
night of singing, acting and perform-
ing. While fund-raising is an integral
part of the job, I do a lot more. If the
job consisted only of fund raising, I
wouldn't stay there five minutes. At
this point in my life, I give counsel. If
people are willing to take it, fine. If
not, it's their loss. I try to direct peo-
ple in certain directions I feel very
strongly about. I consider myself to
have much more influence than sim-
ply somebody who's raising money
JN: What have been some turning
points in your life?
BS: iMy marriage, my children. I'm
married 43 years. I met my husband,
[Peter Greenough], on a tour with the
New York City Opera. He owned the
newspaper the Cleveland Plain Dealer,
founded by his grandfather. I went
out to sing in Cleveland, and he was
president of the press club and gave a
cocktail party for the opera company.
He was the handsomest man I ever
saw, so I decided I better snap him
up. He never stood a chance.
He sold the newspaper in the '60s
and worked for the Boston Globe and
the Boston Herald as financial editor
and financial writer. Then he retired
and became a professional fisherman.
He went all around the world fishing.
mother was an enormous influence
on my daughter, and I think she con-
siders herself a Jewish woman.
It's a lot of give and take in a
mixed marriage and a lot of getting
used to on the part of my husband's
family and on the part of my family.
My family was a lot less tolerant of
the marriage. For the first two years,
my mother's family had almost noth-
ing to do with us, but that was mend-
ed. My mother was the oldest of five
sisters, and one day she just got irri-
tated and laid the law down. They all
came around, and it worked out fine.
JN: Do you have any advice for
getting young people interested
in classical music?
BS: My mother played opera
morning, noon and night at
home, so [for me] it was exposure.
I think that there are all kinds of
books that [parents can use to]
introduce children to it. The first
opera children see should be very
accessible and very melodic. Talk
to them before they go.
You wouldn't take a child to a
football game without [discussing]
the names and numbers of the
players and what the point of the
game is. I think you have to do
the same thing with any kind of
art. If you take them to a museum
and just parade them around until
they drop, I don't think they're
going to develop a very healthy
affection for visual art.
If we could just get art taught
in the public schools and just let
[children] know that they have to
Beverly Sills: "I think manypeople today realize
pass art courses the way they have
that it a difficult, pressured world and that we
to pass geography and history, it
all need a little beauty in our lives. Also, we have
would become an integral part of
to think about the legacy we leave our children."
their lives and not for special
occasions. My advice to parents is
to start at the public school level.
I think my daughter is my finest
We're paying taxes, and we have the
accomplishment. She turned 40 last
right to dictate what our children
week, and that's a milestone.
should be taught.
JN: What about your other children?
BS: I have three stepdaughters. My
Beverly Sills addresses the
husband's first wife is dead. When I
opening meeting of the Greater
married my husband, they were 9, 6
Detroit Chapter of Hadassah at
and 3. I have raised them for 43
11 a.m. Tuesday, Sept. 14, at
years. My son is the youngest of the
Temple Israel. Lunch is at 12:45
whole tribe. He's 38, has multiple
p.m., and boutiques are open 10
handicaps and lives at a school in
a.m.-3:30 p.m. Lunch is sold
New Jersey in a farm-like atmosphere.
out. Tickets are still available to
attend the boutiques and hear
JN: Has Judaism been important in
Beverly Sills. $25 members; $36
your life?
non-members (includes one-
BS: That's a tough topic for me
year reduced fee membership).
because we have a mixed marriage.
(248) 683-5030.
We both decided to maintain our
own individuality. Certainly, my
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