08.01.07 -- Aria

Beverly Sills by Al Hirschfeld

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Wednesday, August 1, 2007

Puzzle by David J. Kahn, edited by Will Shortz

Today’s New York Times crossword puzzle is a wonderful homage, an ARIA (40D “Sempre libera” e.g.) to LYRIC (29D (With 39-Across, 21-/28-Across, for one) SOPRANO (39A See 29-Down) BEVERLY (21A With 28-Across, a late, great entertainer) SILLS (28A See 21-Across).

Included are four roles Beverly Sills performed -- CLEOPATRA (17A 1966 Lincoln Center role for 21-/28-Across); VIOLETTA (11D “La Traviata” role for 21-/28-Across); LUCIA (48A 1970 Covent Garden title role for 21-/28-Across); and ROSALINDE (62A 1955 “Die Fledermaus” debut role for 21-/28-Across); along with BUBBLES (58A Childhood nickname of 21-/28-Across) and COSTUMES (38D Stage wear for 21-/28-Across); and, of course, ARIA.

David J. Kahn has constructed a crossword puzzle that is a beautiful tribute to the memory of a great performer.

Bravo!

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For more on today's crossword read:

Linda G at Madness...Crossword and Otherwise

Rex Parker Does the NYT Crossword Puzzle

Beverly Sills Iris

The New York Times Crossword Puzzle solution above is by the author of this blog and does not guarantee accuracy. If you find errors or omissions, you are more than welcome to make note of same in the Comments section of this post -- any corrections found necessary will be executed promptly upon verification.

Puzzle available on the internet at

THE NEW YORK TIMES -- Crossword Puzzles and Games

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