This May-blooming, frilly iris has been named Beverly Sills (1929-2007) who was a much-acclaimed American operatic soprano. The online biography describes her voice as: rich, supple, silvery, effortless, precise, a little high, robust, enveloping.
She was born in Brooklyn of Jewish parents who had come to the United States from Odessa, Ukraine. So at the end of May, her iris blooming and Mary's Month drawing to a close, it might be nice to hear her singing Schubert's Ave Maria. Unlike other opera stars, Ms Sills recorded no album of sacred songs, but I have a feeling she really enjoyed singing the hymn as she repeats it three times.
While considering the iris, we can listen once, and then if we so desire, eyes closed, a second or even third time. We know of course that the Ave Maria is the Hail Mary in Latin, though for some unknown reason sung here in another language I can't make out.
