Evelyn Lear

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This Feb. 1978 black-and-white handout photo provided by the Kennedy Center shows, from left, Evelyn Lear as Irina Arkadina, Patricia Wells as Masha, and Evelyn Petros as Nina in Pastieriís The Seagull. American soprano Evelyn Lear, who became an opera star in Europe while singing some of the most difficult contemporary operas before returning to the United States, has died. She was 86. (AP Photo/Kennedy Center)