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Dame Joan Sutherland OM AC DBE
7 November, 1926 - 10 October, 2010
La Stupenda - the greatest bel canto soprano of the modern age has died peacefully at her home in Switzerland. She was 83.
Joan Sutherland made her operatic debut in 1951 at the N.S.W. Conservatorium of Music in Eugene Goosens’ opera Judith. In 1959 she became an overnight sensation singing the title role of Lucia di Lammermoor at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Alcina in Venice followed - where she was dubbed La Stupenda - then came her debut at La Scala Milan and The Met in New York singing Lucia, the role that had launched one of the greatest operatic careers in all history. With a career spanning four decades, consisting of hundreds of opera and concert performances, dozens of recordings and countless honours and awards, the great Australian soprano retired from the operatic stage singing the role of Margherite de Valois in Meyerbeer’s Les Huguenots at the Sydney Opera House in 1990.
Perhaps the last great Prima Donna, from a “Golden Age”, Joan Sutherland is regarded as one of the greatest and most remarkable bel canto singers of all time and will always be acknowledged for her considerable contribution in the renaissance of the bel canto and French repertoire during the 20th century. She possessed a voice of great beauty, power and awe-inspiring technique. She combined extraordinary coloratura agility with impeccable intonation and an exceptional upper register. The distinctive richness of her velvet-like sound, coupled with her unparalleled vocal virtuosity and supreme artistry make her untouchable by any other singer of her generation or since that time. A conscientious hard worker and caring colleague, she was a dignified, heroic and elegant performer yet had the ability for classic comic timing, thanks to her own, down-to-earth sense of humour. Dame Joan is survived by her husband, the conductor Richard Bonynge, her son Adam, his wife Helen and their two grandchildren, Natasha and Vanya. (C) The Joan Sutherland Society of Sydney.
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