Legendary opera diva to visit IU

Beverly Sills, the noted operatic soprano who has graced the stage in more than 70 roles and was recently made chairwoman of the Metropolitan Opera, will visit IU Friday. She does so on behalf of the IU Foundation and will participate in ceremonies related to the third annual Herman B. Wells Visionaries Awards.\nSills is scheduled to speak at 3:30 p.m. Friday at the IU School of Music's Auer Hall, capable of seating 352 people. The overflow can watch Sills via a remote feeding in Sweeney Hall. Both Auer and Sweeney halls are located in the Simon Music Center at Third and Jordan, near the Musical Arts Center.\nIn the evening, Sills will speak again at a private dinner where the awards will be presented. The Visionaries Awards make note of those who have shown vision, entrepreneurial spirit and a record of outstanding achievement. Sarah Beggs, the IU Foundation coordinator of special projects, says this spirit embodies someone "who dreams to do something a little better than it was done before." Past speakers include former Amer-ican Red Cross President and current North Carolina senatorial hopeful Elizabeth Dole. Secretary of State Colin Powell has also spoken.\nSills will arrive in Bloomington early Friday morning and leave the same evening traveling by a jet donated by an unnamed benefactor. Beggs said the Foundation paid Sills an undisclosed speaker's fee to attend. Beggs said, "She has agreed to come because of the reputation of Dr. Wells and the School of Music."\nWhen asked why the Foundation recruited Sills for the Wells' Visionaries Award event, Beggs said, "She is far greater than the music she performs. She is an activist for humanitarian causes … She loves music and people, and so did Dr. Wells."\nBeggs continued, "It seemed a natural fit to bring someone whose world could connect so well with our School of Music."\nChancellor Sharon Brehm said she was delighted to hear Sills was speaking.\n"She is one of the best opera singers of all time," Brehm said. "Anybody who knows anything about opera will not disagree with that."\nBrehm said she will be attending the awards dinner.\nGwyn Richards, Dean of the IU School of Music, says of the visit, "It's ironic Sills will be in Bloomington on the same day we open Handel's Julius Caesar, an opera important to her career. With that work she made lasting impression on the cultural life of this country."\nSills was born Belle Miriam Silverman in Brooklyn, N.Y. Sills is a performer some would call dazzling and is known the world over. The opera star has performed at such venues as The Met, the New York City Opera -- a place she was General Director from 1980-1990 -- La Scala and with many of the major opera companies that dot the globe. \nSills can back her talent up with a diverse grouping of awards including a Grammy, the European Edison Award and two Emmy's. She was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the New York City Handel Medallion, Kennedy Center Honors, and honorary academic degrees from 14 institutions of higher learning. Earlier this October, Sills was selected with a handful of other artists to receive the 2002 New York Heroes Award, the highest honor bestowed by the New York Chapter of the Recording Academy. \nSills is a leading spokeswoman for the arts in the United States. She serves on the President's Task Force on the Arts, and puts in an appearance at every White House function connected with the arts. She is also a panelist of the National Endowment for the Arts.\nIn a statement released by IU last week, Sills said, "Art is the signature of civilization"