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Joan Sutherland

 
Britannica Concise Encyclopedia:

Dame Joan Alston Sutherland

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(born Nov. 7, 1926, Sydney, Austl. — died Oct. 11, 2010, Les Avants, Switz.) Australian soprano. After debuting in Sydney in 1947, she moved to London. Having sung minor roles at Covent Garden from 1952, she established her status as one of the leading coloraturas of the 20th century in a 1959 performance of Lucia di Lammermoor. She made her Metropolitan Opera debut in 1961, and she was a favourite there and worldwide in bel canto roles until her retirement in 1990.

For more information on Dame Joan Alston Sutherland, visit Britannica.com.

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Oxford Dictionary of Music:

Joan Sutherland

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Dame Sutherland

(b Sydney, NSW, 1926; d. 2010). Australian soprano. Début Sydney 1947 in concert perf. of Dido and Aeneas. Created title‐role in Goossens's Judith, NSW Cons., 1951. CG début 1952. Created Jenifer in The Midsummer Marriage, 1955. Glyndebourne début 1956 (in Liverpool), at Glyndebourne 1957. Sang New Prioress in f. Eng. p. of Les dialogues des Carmélites, 1958. Under guidance of Richard Bonynge, whom she married 1954, developed dramatic coloratura possibilities of bel canto roles. Had enormous success as Lucia di Lammermoor, CG 1959. Amer. début (Dallas) 1960; débuts La Scala and NY Met 1961. Revived many Donizetti and Bellini roles. Took own opera co. to Australia 1965 and 1974. Retired 1990. CBE 1961. DBE 1979. OM 1991.


Gale Encyclopedia of Biography:

Joan Sutherland

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Joan Sutherland (1926-2010) is widely considered one of the best opera singers of her time, a soprano who specialized in the bel canto repertoire. Known for her lovely voice, excellent range, and commandingstage presence, Sutherland was dubbed "LaStupenda" by Italian critics.

Sutherland was born on November 7, 1926, in Sydney, Australia, to William and Muriel (Alston) Sutherland. Her father, a Scottish immigrant and tailor, died of a heart attack on Sutherland's sixth birthday. Joan and her elder sister Barbara were raised by their mother, an amateur singer and music teacher, and members of her family.

Early Musical Education

While attending St. Catherine's Girls' School in Waverly, Sutherland received her first education in music, primarily piano, from her mother. Muriel Sutherland had been taught in the bel canto tradition which her daughter would later help revive interest in. However, her mother would not allow her to be trained vocally until after the age of 18. One of the most important lessons Sutherland's mother taught her was the importance of breathing correctly. Despite a promising future in music, after leaving school at 16, Sutherland took a secretarial course and worked as a secretary at Sydney University as she trained for her singing career.

In 1946 when Sutherland was 19 years old, she won a two-year scholarship for vocal training with John and Aida Dickens in Sydney in 1946. The couple helped Sutherland develop the upper range of her voice, which would prove important in her development as an opera singer. In 1947, Sutherland made her concert debut in Sydney as Dido in Dido and Aeneas. That same year, she met fellow music student Richard Bonynge, a pianist and her future husband, who would play a significant role in Sutherland's opera career.

Continued Education in London

Sutherland's future was determined by several important singing competition wins. In 1949, she won the Sun Aria competition and the 1950 Mobil Quest, among other singing competitions. Her successes allowed her to attend the Royal College of Music in London on scholarship in the early 1950s. With her mother, Sutherland moved to London and studied with Clive Carey at the prestigious institution. Sutherland also received some training at London's Opera School.

Sutherland made her debut with Royal Opera at Covent Garden in 1952, as the First Lady of The Magic Flute. She appeared as part of the company of the Royal Opera, which made its home at Covent Garden a number of years, essentially serving as its leading soprano. Among her early appearances were roles in Aida (1954) and Rigoletto. Sutherland first drew significant critical attention when she created the role of Jennifer in Michael Tippett's The Midsummer Marriage in 1955. Though Sutherland was not altogether pleased with her performance, by this time, her basic characteristics as a vocalist were there. Being a member of company allowed Sutherland to learn solid technique, which played into her vocal agility and purity.

Learned Bel Canto Repertoire

In 1954, Sutherland and Bonynge were married. He had come to London in 1950 to study. The couple had become reacquainted and married when Sutherland's mother made a trip back to Australia. The couple later had one son, Adam. Bonynge and Sutherland also formed a musical partnership. He helped her learn how to reach higher notes in her flexible range as a lyric-coloratura soprano. It was through Bonynge's influence and tutelage that Sutherland learned the bel canto repertoire.

At this time, the bel canto repertoire was relatively unfashionable. Bel canto (Italian for "beautiful singing") operas were primarily of the Italian romantic variety of the 18th and 19th centuries. Such operas featured roles that often used the kind of high range that Sutherland had successfully developed. Sutherland and Bonynge had been influenced by Maria Callas, who had first revived the bel canto repertoire. The couple attended many of her rehearsals and performances at Covent Garden, and Sutherland modeled her vocal stylings on Callas. Sutherland performed in such bel canto operas by Vincenzo Bellini, Geatano Donzietti, Gioacchino Rossi, and others. Sutherland appeared in a 1952 production of Bellini's Norma as Clothide with Callas as the Druid priestess

Sutherland had wanted to do more Wagner, as was regularly put on at Covent Garden, but Bonynge talked her out of it. He believed such heavy works did not suit her voice and vocal strengths. Though Sutherland did perform some Wagner and similar works, Sutherland later believed that she would not have had such a long career if she had focused on such operas. Because of her and her husband's enthusiastic embrace of works in the bel canto repertoire, the genre was revived. By the 1960s, Bonynge began conducting her productions and the pair eventually came as a package. This subjected the couple to criticism over the years.

Received International Acclaim

In 1959, Sutherland cemented her reputation as a superior coloratura soprano in her acclaimed turn as Lucia in Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor at Covent Garden. With her husband, Sutherland studied the source material for the opera, a novel by Sir Walter Scott. She grew to love this role, which she would play over 100 times, though her interpretation of Lucia would change as she matured.

The 1959 production was directed by Italian director Franco Zeffirelli who gave Sutherland some acting training. Sutherland herself was more concerned with her vocals and stage presence than acting. As she told Susan Heller Anderson of the New York Times, "If you want to see a wonderful actress, you go to see a straight play. … You can't be as emotionally involved when you sing as when you're acting. There are many singing actresses who do the sort of roles that don't demand the vocal techniques of bel canto."

Despite a brief setback when Sutherland had to have an operation on her sinuses, she made her first of many appearances in the United States, as Alcina in Alcina in Dallas, Texas, in 1960. Though her voice continued to evolve, her range and tone were especially noted. In 1961, Sutherland made her debut at New York City's Metropolitan Opera, again as Lucia in Lucia. That same year, Sutherland had a triumphant appearance at Milan's famous La Scala. It was here that she was given the honored nickname of "La Stupenda." This was arguably the best appearance on stage in her career.

From the early 1960s to the end of her career, Sutherland regularly appeared in the major opera houses in the United States and Europe, as well as other countries in the world. But she did not forget her roots in Australia. She brought her own opera company there between 1965 and 1974. Sutherland then regularly appeared with Sydney's Australian Opera because Bonynge served as music director there between the mid-1970s to the mid-1980s. Though the couple's legal residence was in Montreaux, Switzerland - where they lived since 1964 and could exist relatively anonymously - she still lived in Sydney for a number of months during the year. Sutherland often played roles that she had done well before in works like Lucia di Lammermoor, La Traviata, and The Tales of Hoffmann.

Sutherland continued to challenge herself as an artist, even late in her career. In the 1970s, she took on more dramatic soprano roles in operas like Maria Stuarda and Lucrezia Borgia by Donzietti and Leonora in Il trovatore. Though Sutherland's voice and its flexibility remained strong points throughout her stage life, critics had often criticized her poor diction, a common problem for coloratura sopranos. Sutherland addressed this issue with some success by the early 1980s. Even as Sutherland entered her sixties, she was able to take on new roles because of her dedication and skill, even though learning new roles was hard for her because of a relatively poor memory. As her range changed with age, however, she did had to have some parts rewritten in a lower key.

Retired from Opera Stage

By the late 1980s, Sutherland had decided that she would retire in the early 1990s. On October 2, 1990, she made her last appearance in an opera, singing Margaret de Valois in a Sydney production of Les Huguenots. Her last song was an operatic version of "Home Sweet Home." Over the course of her career, she had sung in 48 operas and had recorded 60 albums.

After retirement, Sutherland has remained active in a number of arenas both related and not related to opera. She is involved in the opera world by acting as a judge in major singing competitions like the Queen Elisabeth in Brussels, Belgium. She also taught, often with her husband, some master classes, though she did not like the limited possibilities of the format.

Made Screen and Literary Debuts

Though Sutherland's acting was often a weak point for many critics, she tried her hand at film acting in a 1994 release. It was not the first time that she was offered a role in a movie. When Sutherland was in Italy in 1959, Federico Fellini wanted to cast her in his film La Dolce Vita, without even knowing who she was. She was advised against it by Zeffirelli and Anita Ekberg took on the role. Sutherland later regretted her decision. After a year of convincing by Anthony Buckley, Sutherland agreed to play the unglamorous role of Mother Rudd in On our Selection, a film based on an Australian play based on sketches by Steele Rudd. Sutherland was still eager to learn during the production and improve herself as an actress, though she did not prepare for the role.

Three years later, Sutherland published her autobiography, The Autobiography of Joan Sutherland: A Prima Donna's Progress. Sutherland wrote the book herself instead of working with ghost writer, beginning soon after her retirement. Though critics chided her for not revealing more of herself and found the book hard to read because it was bogged down in details, Sutherland hoped to show aspiring opera singers how to train properly and what it takes to have a long career. As she told Chris Pasles of the Los Angeles Times of her own experiences in opera, "I've had a wonderful career. It outran everything I expected… ."

Books

Arnold, John, and Deidre Morris, editors, Monash Biographical Dictionary of 20th Century Australia, Reed Reference Publishing, 1994.

Atkinson, Ann, The Dictionary of Famous Australians, Allen & Unwin, 1992.

Greenfield, Edward, Joan Sutherland, Drake Publishers, Inc., 1973.

Guinn, John and Les Stone, editors, The St. James Opera Encyclopedia, Visible Ink, 1997.

Kuhn, Laura, Baker's Dictionary of Opera, Schirmer Books, 2000.

Kuhn, Laura, compiler, Baker's Student Encyclopedia of Music, Vol. 3, Schirmer Books, 1999.

Periodicals

The Advertiser, November 1, 1997.

Associated Press, March 8, 1998.

The Australian, October 25, 1997.

Daily Telegraph, January 16, 1996; October 9, 1997.

Los Angeles Times, February 11, 1989; June 19, 1990.

New York Times, October 31, 1982; November 10, 1996; January 22, 1998.

Opera News, September 1994; June 1995; October 1995; February 28, 1998; March 28, 1998; November 1998.

Time, January 14, 1991.

Toronto Star, October 3, 1990.

Columbia Encyclopedia:

Dame Joan Sutherland

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Sutherland, Dame Joan, 1926-2010, Australian coloratura soprano and one of the most famous singers of the 20th cent. Sutherland studied in her hometown of Sydney, where she made her concert debut (1947) in Purcell's Dido and Aeneas and her operatic debut (1951) in Eugene Goossen's Judith. She moved to London in 1951 and studied at the Royal College of Music. Sutherland was acclaimed for her astounding range, from low G to above high C; for her warm and vibrant voice, intense yet lyrical; and for her superb, seemingly effortless technique. Beginning in 1952 she was a leading singer at London's Royal Opera House Covent Garden. She debuted at both La Scala, Milan and the Metropolitan Opera in 1961. Sutherland was considered unsurpassed among her contemporaries in the bel canto repertory. She was particularly celebrated for her singing of the title role in Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor. She frequently performed with her husband, Richard Bonynge, conducting. She was created a Dame of the British Empire in 1978, and she retired in 1990.

Bibliography

See her autobiography (1997) and J. Sutherland and R. Bonynge, The Joan Sutherland Album (1986); biographies by R. R. Braddon (1962), E. Greenfield (1973), B. Adams (1980), and N. Major (1987, repr. 1994); Q. Eaton, Sutherland and Bonynge: An Intimate Biography (1987); M. Oxenbould, Joan Sutherland: A Tribute (1989).

Quotes By:

Joan Sutherland

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Quotes:

"If I weren't reasonably placid, I don't think I could cope with this sort of life. To be a diva, you've got to be absolutely like a horse."

Gale Musician Profiles:

Joan Sutherland

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Opera singer

At her Italian debut in 1960, the audience dubbed her "La Stupenda," and throughout her 40-year career, few who heard Australian-born coloratura soprano Joan Sutherland sing would disagree with that assessment. With her husband, pianist/conductor Richard Bonynge, Sutherland expanded the common operatic repertoire, adding works that had not been heard for decades. She lent her artistry to some of the finest performances of opera in this century, and music critics agree that her gifts to the world of music are undeniable.

As a young child, Sutherland loved nothing better than to sit under the piano as her mother, a highly accomplished singer, practiced her craft. She also received more formal training from her mother, who very early instilled a proper understanding of the importance of breath support and vocal exercises. After graduating from high school, Sutherland went to work as a secretary by day and studied music by night.

When she was 18, Sutherland won a competition for a two-year scholarship to study voice with a locally renowned singer named John Dickens. In 1946, after her first two years with her new voice teacher, she made her public debut in German composer Johann Sebastian Bach’s Christmas Oratorio at the Sydney Town Hall. Dickens extended her scholarship, and she began to think that her dream of singing at Covent Garden, the world-famous opera house in London, might be possible after all.

Sutherland soon joined the Affiliated Music Clubs of New South Wales, where she met a young pianist named Richard Bonynge. The pair began performing locally together, and she regularly entered—and won—many vocal competitions in her native country. Sutherland came in first in the "Mobile Quest" competition sponsored by Vacuum Oil, an Australian company, in 1950. In addition to the prize money, she received a year-long singing contract for performances all over the country. With her prize money and saved earnings, she left for England the following year.

Sang at Covent Garden
During her first year in England, Sutherland studied at the opera school of London’s Royal College of Music. She met up with Bonynge again, who was also studying there. They began working together, and Bonynge proved to be an invaluable vocal coach. By 1952, she realized her dream and started singing at Covent Garden. For the first few years, she sang relatively small parts, taking virtually anything offered her; then, gradually, she began singing larger, more important

roles. Meanwhile, she kept working with Bonynge, whom she married in 1954, and continued to expand her vocal range.

Sutherland’s mother, a mezzosoprano, had worked with Joan to develop her middle register. Dickens thought she might be a dramatic soprano, with a voice for the large, heavy roles of late nineteenth-century music. But Bonynge, an expert on the delicate "bel canto" repertoire of the early nineteenth century, realized that Sutherland’s voice was lighter and more flexible than anyone had thought.

As her vocal coach, he encouraged her to sing in her highest register, and with his help, she became a coloratura soprano, a rarity at the time. After she received rave reviews for her first coloratura role in the Handel Opera Society’s 1957 production of Alcina, Covent Garden’s directors agreed to revive the gem of the bel canto repertoire, Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor, just for her.

During the first half of the twentieth century, the bel canto repertoire—eighteenth- and nineteenth-century Italian operas of Rossini, Bellini, and Donizetti, which stressed vocal precision and agility—received little performance; they were simply out of fashion. World-famous coloratura Maria Callas began reviving these works in the 1950s. Although they were still not the most popular operas, when Sutherland was ready to sing bel canto, the audience was ready to listen. As Norma Major wrote in her biography Joan Sutherland, the singer "opened up the whole field of bel canto, demonstrating a style of singing thought to have vanished beyond recall."

Sutherland’s Covent Garden premiere as Lucia in 1959 was a smashing success. The following year she carried this success to international operatic circles, debuting in various roles in Italy, France, and the United States. Having achieved worldwide fame by 1960, the following year she was given the opportunity to sing with two of the most important opera companies in the world: La Scala in Milan and the Metropolitan Opera in New York. For the next three decades, Sutherland traveled all over the world, performing in the best and most famous opera houses as one of the most renowned and sought-after sopranos.

The Secret of Her Success
Sutherland’s success was the product of hard work and common sense. She attributes her longevity as a singer to a sound technique resulting from a long and disciplined training. Always conscious of her health, she kept "social excesses at bay," wrote Major in Joan Sutherland. Sutherland carefully paced herself, accepted only those roles that were suited to her, conserved her voice before each performance, and tried not to exhaust herself with too many performances too close together.

Throughout her career, Sutherland was sometimes faulted by music critics for unconvincing acting and poor enunciation. Few, however, would deny her overall contributions to the world of music. As Rupert Christiansen wrote in Opera, "Sutherland’s combination of precision in scales, runs and trills with control over dynamics and tone is, on the recorded evidence, unsurpassed." Her professionalism and hard work are legendary and have provided many budding singers with a realistic role model. As a singer, she was able to make more concrete contributions to the ephemeral world of music performance than many contemporary composers. She has enriched the lives of millions of music lovers and has left a large legacy of recordings for future generations.

Retired in 1990
In 1983 Sutherland told Christiansen, "I think I’ll be stopping soon. I’m getting a bit doddery. I can still get those top E-flats, but they give me a terrible headache. The traveling exhausts me. I want to spend more time at home gardening." Seven years after making that statement, Sutherland finally did retire. Her last role was in the 1990 production of Giacomo Meyerbeer’s Les Huguenots in Sydney.

Elizabeth Silsbury described Sutherland’s final curtain call in Opera: "The last act over … the curtain fell and formal bows were taken by [the six principal singers]. Then the full stage was shown, the whole company, minus one.… Then the curtain [fell] again and the whole house went dark and silent. Slowly the velvets parted, very slowly the lights came up, and there was the Great Dame, alone, center stage.… The house went berserk and exploded to attention, shouting wildly, pelting the Diva with daffodils and streamers until she was ankle deep in them. The whole company of the Australian Opera—artists, mechs and techs, wigs and wardrobes, management and make-up—joined her while we yelled and wept and beat our hands together."

In her introduction to Major’s biography, Sutherland wrote: "I was the fortunate choice for this wonderful life—I have loved it and it has brought me rich rewards in every sense.… I am quite incredulous and profoundly grateful that I was able to accomplish such an amount of work."

Selected discography

On Decca, except where noted
Donizetti: Lucia di Lammermoor, 1962.
Wagner: Siegfried, 1962.
Bizet: Carmen, 1963.
Joan Sutherland and Luciano Pavarotti, 1975.
Verdi: La Traviata, 1983.
Verdi: Requiem, 1984.
Verdi: Rigoletto, 1985.
The Art of the Prima Donna, 1985.
Joan Sutherland: Bel Canto Arias, 1986.
Handel: Athalia, L’Oiseau-Lyre, 1986.
Sutherland, Home, and Pavarotti: Live from Lincoln Center, 1987.
Mozart: Don Giovanni, EMI, 1987.
Rossini: Semiramide, Nuova Era, 1989.
Donizetti: Lucrezia Borgia, 1989.
Joan Sutherland’s Greatest Hits, 1989.
Joan Sutherland: Command Performance, 1991.
Joan Sutherland: Grandi Voce, 1993.
Also appeared in video productions of Meyerbeer’s Les Huguenots, Home Vision, 1990, and Strauss’s Die Fledermaus, Virgin Classics Video, 1992.

Sources
Books
Eaton, Quaintance, Sutherland and Bonynge: An Intimate Biography, Dodd, Mead and Co., 1987.
International Dictionary of Opera, St. James Press, 1993.
Major, Norma, Joan Sutherland, Queen Anne Press, 1987.
The New Grove Dictionary of Opera, Volume 4, edited by Stanley Sadie, Macmillan, 1992.
Sutherland, Joan, The Joan Sutherland Album, Thames and Hudson, 1986.

Periodicals
Billboard, September 6, 1986; May 20, 1989.
Gramophone, December 1991.
New Yorker, December 15, 1986.
Opera, November 1990; February 1991.
Opera News, December 6, 1986; March 2, 1991; January 22, 1994.
Ovation, September 1984, p. 10.
AMG AllMusic Guide: Pop Artists:

Joan Sutherland

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Biography

An Australian coloratura soprano. ~ All Music Guide, Rovi
Wikipedia on Answers.com:

Joan Sutherland

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Joan Sutherland in 1975

Dame Joan Alston Sutherland, OM, AC, DBE (7 November 1926 – 10 October 2010)[1] was an Australian dramatic coloratura soprano noted for her contribution to the renaissance of the bel canto repertoire from the late 1950s through to the 1980s.

One of the most remarkable female opera singers of the 20th century, she was dubbed La Stupenda by a La Fenice audience in 1960 after a performance of the title role in Handel's Alcina. She possessed a voice of beauty and power, combining extraordinary agility, accurate intonation, "supremely" pinpoint staccatos,[2] a splendid trill and a tremendous upper register, although music critics often complained about the imprecision of her diction.[3] Her friend Luciano Pavarotti once called Sutherland the "Voice of the Century"; Montserrat Caballé described the Australian's voice as being like "heaven".

Contents

Early life and career

Joan Sutherland was born to Scottish parents in Sydney, and attended St Catherine's School in the suburb of Waverley. As a child, she listened to and imitated her mother's singing exercises. Her mother, a mezzo-soprano, had taken voice lessons but never considered making a career as a professional singer. Sutherland was 18 years old when she began seriously studying voice with John and Aida Dickens. She made her concert debut in Sydney, as Dido in Purcell's Dido and Aeneas, in 1947. In 1951, she made her stage debut in Eugene Goossens's Judith. In 1951, after winning Australia's most important competition, the Sun Aria, now known as the Sydney Eisteddfod McDonald's Operatic Aria in 1949.[4] She then went to London to further her studies at the Opera School of the Royal College of Music with Clive Carey. She was engaged by the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, as a utility soprano, and made her debut there on 28 October 1952, as the First Lady in The Magic Flute, followed in November by a few performances as Clotilde in Vincenzo Bellini's Norma, with Maria Callas as Norma.

Being an admirer of Kirsten Flagstad in her early career, she trained to be a Wagnerian dramatic soprano. In December 1952, she sang her first leading role at the Royal Opera House, Amelia in Un ballo in maschera. Other roles included Agathe in Der Freischütz, the Countess in The Marriage of Figaro, Desdemona in Otello, Gilda in Rigoletto, Eva in Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, and Pamina in The Magic Flute. In 1953, she sang the role of Lady Rich in Benjamin Britten's Gloriana a few months after its world premiere, and created the role of Jennifer in Michael Tippett's The Midsummer Marriage, on 27 January 1955.

Sutherland married Australian conductor and pianist Richard Bonynge on 16 October 1954. Their son, Adam, was born in 1956. Bonynge gradually convinced her that Wagner might not be her Fach, and that since she could produce high notes and coloratura with great ease, she should perhaps explore the bel canto repertoire. She eventually settled in this Fach, spending most of her career singing dramatic coloratura soprano.

In 1957, she appeared in Handel's Alcina with the Handel Opera Society, and in Donizetti's Emilia di Liverpool, in which performances her bel canto potential was clearly demonstrated, vindicating her husband's judgement. The following year she sang Donna Anna in Don Giovanni in Vancouver.

In 1958, at the Royal Opera House, after singing, "Let the Bright Seraphim", from Handel's oratorio, Samson, she received a ten minute-long standing ovation.[citation needed]

La Stupenda

In 1959, Sutherland was invited to sing Lucia di Lammermoor at the Royal Opera House in a production conducted by Tullio Serafin and staged by Franco Zeffirelli. The role of Edgardo was sung by her fellow Australian Kenneth Neate, who had replaced the scheduled tenor at short notice.[5] It was a breakthrough for Sutherland's career, and, upon the completion of the famous Mad Scene, she had become a star. In 1960, she recorded the album The Art of the Prima Donna, which remains today one of the most recommended opera albums ever recorded: the double LP set won the Grammy Award for Best Classical Performance – Vocal Soloist in 1962. The album, a collection consisting mainly of coloratura arias, displays her seemingly effortless coloratura ability, high notes and opulent tones, as well as her exemplary trill. The album was added to the National Film and Sound Archive's Sounds of Australia registry in 2011.[citation needed]

By the beginning of the 1960s, Sutherland had already established a reputation as a diva with a voice out of the ordinary. She sang Lucia to great acclaim in Paris in 1960 and, in 1961, at La Scala and the Metropolitan Opera. In 1960, she sang a superb Alcina at La Fenice, Venice, where she was nicknamed La Stupenda ("The Stunning One"). Sutherland would soon be praised as La Stupenda in newspapers around the world. Later that year (1960), Sutherland sang Alcina at the Dallas Opera, with which she made her US debut.

Her Metropolitan Opera debut took place on 26 November 1961, when she sang Lucia. After a total of 223 performances in a number of different operas,[6] her last appearance there was a concert on 12 March 1989.[7] During the 1978–82 period her relationship with the Met severely deteriorated when Sutherland had to decline the role of Constanze in Mozart's Die Entführung aus dem Serail, more than a year before the rehearsals were scheduled to start. The opera house management then declined to stage the operetta The Merry Widow especially for her, as requested; subsequently, she did not perform at the Met during that time at all, even though a production of Rossini's Semiramide had also been planned, but later she returned there to sing in other operas.[8]

During the 1960s, Sutherland had added the greatest heroines of bel canto ("beautiful singing") to her repertoire: Violetta in Verdi's La traviata, Amina in Bellini's La sonnambula and Elvira in Bellini's I puritani in 1960; the title role in Bellini's Beatrice di Tenda in 1961; Marguerite de Valois in Meyerbeer's Les Huguenots and the title role in Rossini's Semiramide in 1962; Norma in Bellini's Norma and Cleopatra in Handel's Giulio Cesare in 1963. In 1966 she added Marie in Donizetti's La fille du régiment, which became one of her most popular roles, because of her perfect coloratura and lively, funny interpretation.

In 1965, Sutherland toured Australia with the Sutherland-Williamson Opera Company. Accompanying her was a young tenor named Luciano Pavarotti, and the tour proved to be a major milestone in Pavarotti's career. Every performance featuring Sutherland sold out.

During the 1970s, Sutherland strove to improve her diction, which had often been criticised, and increase the expressiveness of her interpretations. She continued to add dramatic bel canto roles to her repertoire, such as Donizetti's Maria Stuarda and Lucrezia Borgia, as well as Massenet's extremely difficult Esclarmonde, a role that few sopranos attempt. With Pavarotti she made a very successful studio-recording of Turandot in 1972 under the baton of Zubin Mehta, though she never performed the role on stage.

Sutherland's early recordings show her to be possessed of a crystal-clear voice and excellent diction. However, by the early 1960s her voice lost some of this clarity in the middle register, and she often came under fire for having unclear diction. Some have attributed this to sinus surgery; however, her major sinus surgery was done in 1959, immediately after her breakthrough Lucia at Covent Garden.[9] In fact, her first commercial recording of the first and final scene of Lucia reveals her voice and diction to be just as clear as prior to the sinus procedure. Her husband Richard Bonynge stated in an interview that her "mushy diction" occurred while striving to achieve perfect legato. According to him, it is because she earlier had a very Germanic "un-legato" way of singing.[10] She clearly took the criticism to heart, as, within a few years, her diction improved markedly and she continued to amaze and thrill audiences throughout the world.

In the late 1970s, Sutherland's voice started to decline and her vibrato loosened to an intrusive extent. However, thanks to her vocal agility and solid technique, she continued singing the most difficult roles amazingly well. During the 1980s, she added Anna Bolena, Amalia in I masnadieri and Adriana Lecouvreur to her repertoire, and repeated Esclarmonde at the Royal Opera House performances in November and December 1983. Her last full-length dramatic performance was as Marguerite de Valois (Les Huguenots) at the Sydney Opera House in 1990, at the age of 63, where she sang Home Sweet Home for her encore. Her last public appearance, however, took place in a gala performance of Die Fledermaus on New Year's Eve, 1990, at Covent Garden, where she was accompanied by her colleagues Luciano Pavarotti and the mezzo-soprano Marilyn Horne.

According to her own words, given in an interview with The Guardian newspaper in 2002,[11] her biggest achievement was to sing the title role in Esclarmonde. She considered those performances and recordings her best.

Retirement years

Joan Sutherland in 1990

After retirement, Sutherland made relatively few public appearances, preferring a quiet life at her home in Les Avants, Switzerland. One exception was her 1994 address at a lunch organised by Australians for Constitutional Monarchy. In that address, she complained about having to be interviewed by a clerk of Chinese or Indian background when applying to renew her Australian passport. Her comments caused controversy among some sections of the community at the time.[12][13]

Sutherland had a leading role as Mother Rudd in the 1995 comedy film Dad and Dave: On Our Selection opposite Leo McKern and Geoffrey Rush.[14]

In 1997 she published an autobiography, The Autobiography of Joan Sutherland: A Prima Donna's Progress. It received generally scathing reviews for its literary merits,[15] but it does contain a complete list of all her performances, with full cast lists.

Her official biography, Joan Sutherland: The Authorised Biography, published in February 1994, was written by Norma Major, wife of the then prime minister John Major.[16]

In 2002 she appeared at a dinner in London to accept the Royal Philharmonic Society's gold medal. She gave an interview to The Guardian in which she lamented the lack of technique in young opera singers and the dearth of good teachers.[11] By this time she was no longer giving master classes herself; when asked by Italian journalists in May 2007 why this was, she replied: "Because I'm 80 years old and I really don't want to have anything to do with opera any more, although I do sit on the juries of singing competitions."[17] The Cardiff Singer of the World competition was the one that Sutherland was most closely associated with after her retirement. She began her regular involvement with the event in 1993, serving on the jury five consecutive times and later, in 2003, becoming its patron.[18]

On 3 July 2008, she fell and broke both of her legs while gardening at her home in Switzerland.[19] She completely recovered and attended a 2009 luncheon hosted by Queen Elizabeth at Buckingham Palace in honour of members of the Order of Merit.

Death

On 11 October 2010, Sutherland's family announced that she had died at her home at Les Avants in Switzerland the previous day of cardiopulmonary failure – "the heart just gave out...When it came to the point that she physically couldn't do anything, she didn't want to live any more. She wanted to go, she was happy to go, and in the end she died very, very peacefully."[20][21][22] Though she recovered from her fall in 2008, it led to more serious health problems.[23] A statement from her family said "She's had a long life and gave a lot of pleasure to a lot of people." Sutherland had requested a small, private funeral service.[20] Her funeral was held on 14 October and Opera Australia planned a tribute to her.[23] Artistic director of Opera Australia, Lyndon Terracini, said "We won't see her like again. She had a phenomenal range, size and quality of voice. We simply don't hear that any more."[23] Sutherland is survived by her husband, son, daughter-in-law and two grandchildren.[24][25]

Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard said, "She was of course one of the great opera voices of the 20th century," adding that Dame Joan showed a lot of "quintessential Australian values. She was described as down to earth despite her status as a diva. On behalf of all Australians I would like to extend my condolences to her husband Richard and son Adam and their extended family at this difficult time. I know many Australians will be reflecting on her life's work today."[26]

Memorial service

A State Memorial Service on 9 November 2010, arranged by Opera Australia, was held at the Sydney Opera House.[27] Speakers at the service were Julia Gillard, Prime Minister of Australia; Professor Marie Bashir, the Governor of New South Wales; Moffatt Oxenbould, the former Artistic Director of Opera Australia; and Sutherland's son, Adam Bonynge. The service was broadcast live by both ABC1 television and ABC Classic FM (radio) and streamed globally by ABC News 24. Further memorial services were held in Westminster Abbey on 15 February 2011,[28] and in New York City on 24 May 2011, which was hosted by Marilyn Horne with an appearance by Richard Bonynge. In attendance were Sherrill Milnes, Norman Ayrton, Regina Resnick, and Spiro Malas.

Voice

Vocal timbre

Described as "fresh," "silvery" and "bell-like" until 1963,[29] Joan Sutherland's voice, later became "golden" and "warm",[2] music critic John Yohalem writes it was like "molten honey caressing the line."[29] In his book "Voices, Singers and Critics", John Steane writes that "if the tonal spectrum ranges from bright to dark, "Sutherland's place would be near the centre, which is no doubt another reason for her wide appeal."[2] According to John Yohalem, "Her lower register was a cello register, Stradivarius-hued."[29] Her voice was full and rounded even in her highest notes,[30] which was brilliant, but sometimes "slightly acid."[31]

In 1971, Time writes an article comparing Sutherland and Beverly Sills,

"Originally bright and youthful-sounding, her voice darkened as she transformed herself into a coloratura. There is a suggestion of Callas' famous middle register in Sutherland's vocal center—a tone that sounds as if the singer were singing into the neck of a resonant bottle. Today the Sutherland voice towers like a natural wonder, unique as Niagara or Mount Everest. Sills' voice is made of more ordinary stuff; what she shares with Callas is an abandon in hurling herself into fiery emotional music and a willingness to sacrifice vocal beauty for dramatic effect. Sutherland deals in vocal velvet, Sills in emotional dynamite. Sutherland's voice is much larger, but its plush monochrome robs it of carrying power in dramatic moments. Sills' multicolored voice, though smaller, projects better and has a cutting edge that can slice through the largest orchestra and chorus. Sometimes, indeed, it verges on shrillness. [...] In slow, legato music, Sills has a superior sense of rhythm and clean attack to keep things moving; Sutherland's more flaccid beat and her style of gliding from note to note often turn song into somnolence. Sills' diction in English, French and Italian is superb; Sutherland's vocal placement produces mushy diction in any language, but makes possible an even more seamless beauty of tone than is available to Sills."[32]

Describing Sutherland's voice, John Yohalem writes:

On my personal color scale, which runs from a voluptuous red (Tebaldi) or blood-orange (Leontyne Price) or purple (Caballé) or red-purple (Troyanos) to white-hot (Rysanek) or runny yellow-green (Sills), Sutherland is among the “blue” sopranos – which has nothing to do with “blues” in the pop sense of the term. (Ella Fitzgerald had a blue voice, but Billie Holiday had a blues voice, which is very different.) Diana Damrau is blue. Mirella Freni is blue-ish. Karita Mattila is ice blue. Regine Crespin was deep blue shading to violet. Sutherland was true blue (like the Garter ribbon). There is a coolness here that can take on the passion in the music but does not inject passion where the music lacks it, could possibly use it.[29]

Vocal category, size and range

Although she is generally described as a dramatic coloratura soprano, "categorizing Sutherland's voice has always been extremely difficult, both the size and the sound present definitional problems [...] Aside from singing some roles popular amongst coloratura sopranos, Sutherland’s voice could not be more different."[2]

In a 1961 profile in The New York Times Magazine, Sutherland said she initially had "a big rather wild voice" that was not heavy enough for Wagner, although she did not realize this until she heard "Wagner sung as it should be."[33]

Regarding the size of Sutherland's voice, Opera Britannia praise "a voice of truly heroic dimensions singing bel canto. It is doubtful if any soprano in this repertoire has fielded quite so much power and tone as Dame Joan, and this includes Callas and Tetrazzini. The contrast with other sopranos who sing the same roles is appropriately enough stupendous, with rival prima donnas producing small pin points of sound as compared to Sutherland's seemingly endless cascades of full tone."[2] In 1972, music critic Winthrop Sargeant describes her voice "as large as that of a top-ranking Wagnerian soprano" in the The New Yorker.[34] French soprano Natalie Dessay states, "She had a huge, huge voice and she was able to lighten suddenly and to take this quick coloratura and she had also the top high notes like a coloratura soprano but with a big, huge voice, which is very rare."[35]

Sutherland's vocal range extended from G below the staff (G3)[33] to high F (F6), or high F-sharp (F♯6), although she never sang this last note in a public performance.[2][36]

Honours and awards

During her career and after, Sutherland received many honours and awards. In 1961, she was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE).[37] That year she was named the Australian of the Year.[38]

In the Queen's Birthday Honours of 9 June 1975, she was in the first group of people to be named Companions of the Order of Australia (AC) (the order had been created only in February 1975).[39] She was elevated within the Order of the British Empire from Commander to Dame Commander (DBE) in the New Year's Honours of 1979.[40]

On 29 November 1991, the Queen bestowed on Dame Joan the Order of Merit (OM).[41] In January 2004 she received the Australia Post Australian Legends Award which honours Australians who have contributed to the Australian identity and culture. Two stamps featuring Joan Sutherland were issued on Australia Day 2004 to mark the award. Later in 2004, she received a Kennedy Center Honor for her outstanding achievement throughout her career.

Sutherland House and the Dame Joan Sutherland Centre, both at St Catherine's School, Waverley, and the Joan Sutherland Performing Arts Centre (JSPAC), Penrith, are all named in her honour.[42]

John Paul College, a leading private school in Queensland, Australia, dedicated its newly established facility the Dame Joan Sutherland Music Centre in 1991. Sutherland visited the centre for its opening and again in 1996.

Roles

Sutherland performed live the following complete roles.[43]

First performance Composer Work Role House Conductor Director Remarks
Jun 1947 Handel Acis and Galatea Galatea Eastwood Masonic Hall, Sydney Concert performance
Aug 1947 Purcell Dido and Aeneas Dido Lyceum Club, Sydney Concert performance
15 Jul 1950 Handel Samson Dalila and Israelite woman Sydney Town Hall Concert performance; Sutherland made her professional role debut as the Israelite woman on 14 October 1958
9 Jul 1951 Goossens Judith Judith Sydney Conservatorium of Music Goossens Sutherland's first complete staged opera
16 Jul 1952 Puccini Il tabarro Giorgetta Parry Theatre, RCM Richard Austin Peter Rice/Pauline Elliot
28 Oct 1952 Mozart The Magic Flute First lady ROH, Covent Garden Pritchard Messel Sutherland's professional debut
3 Nov 1952 Verdi Aida High Priestess ROH, Covent Garden Barbirolli Cruddas
8 Nov 1952 Bellini Norma Clotilde ROH, Covent Garden Gui Barlow
29 Dec 1952 Verdi Un ballo in maschera Amelia ROH, Covent Garden Pritchard Barlow/Stone Sutherland's first leading role
24 Feb 1953 Mozart The Marriage of Figaro Countess Almaviva ROH tour, Edinburgh J Gibson Gerard
13 May 1953 Strauss Elektra Overseer ROH, Covent Garden Kleiber Lambert
11 Aug 1953 Britten Gloriana Lady Rich ROH tour, Bulawayo
19 Oct 1953 Wagner Die Walküre Helmwige ROH, Covent Garden Stiedry Pemberton
2 Nov 1953 Bizet Carmen Frasquita ROH, Covent Garden Pritchard Wakhévitch
4 Feb 1954 Verdi Aida Aida ROH, Covent Garden E Young Cruddas
23 Mar 1954 Weber Der Freischütz Agathe ROH, Covent Garden Downes Furse
30 Apr 1954 Piccinni La buona figliuola Lucinda Mackerras BBC radio broadcast
27 May 1954 Wagner Der Ring des Nibelungen Woglinde and Woodbird ROH, Covent Garden Stiedry Hurry Sutherland also sang the role of Helmwige, which she had sung previously; the other dates of the cycle were 2, 8, and 17 June
17 Nov 1954 Offenbach Les contes d'Hoffmann Antonia ROH, Covent Garden Downes Wakhévitch
27 Jan 1955 Tippett The Midsummer Marriage Jenifer ROH, Covent Garden Pritchard Hepworth World premiere; Sutherland created the role
28 Feb 1955 Offenbach Les contes d'Hoffmann Giulietta ROH tour, Glasgow Downes Wakhévitch
19 Jun 1955 Offenbach Les contes d'Hoffmann Olympia ROH, Covent Garden Downes Wakhévitch
30 Sep 1955 Weber Euryanthe Euryanthe Stiedry BBC radio broadcast
30 Oct 1955 Bizet Carmen Micaela ROH, Covent Garden Downes Wakhévitch
11 Mar 1956 Mozart La clemenza di Tito Vitellia Pritchard BBC radio broadcast
10 Nov 1956 Mozart The Magic Flute Pamina ROH, Covent Garden J Gibson Messel
28 Jan 1957 Wagner Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg Eva ROH, Covent Garden Kubelík Wakhévitch
19 Mar 1957 Handel Alcina Alcina St Pancras Town Hall Farncombe Concert performance; Sutherland first performed this role on stage on 19 February 1960
8 Jun 1957 Verdi Rigoletto Gilda ROH, Covent Garden Downes Gellner
5 Jul 1957 Mozart Der Schauspieldirektor Mme Hertz Glyndebourne Festival Opera Balkwill Rice
16 Aug 1957 Scarlatti Mitridate Eupatore Laodice Appia BBC radio broadcast
8 Sep 1957 Donizetti Emilia di Liverpool Emilia Pritchard BBC radio broadcast
21 Dec 1957 Verdi Otello Desdemona ROH, Covent Garden Downes Wakhévitch
16 Jan 1958 Poulenc Dialogues of the Carmelites Mme Lidoine ROH, Covent Garden Kubelík Wakhévitch
24 May 1958 Haydn Applausus Musicus Temperantia Newstone BBC radio broadcast
26 Jul 1958 Mozart Don Giovanni Donna Anna Vancouver Opera Goldschmidt Maximowna
17 Feb 1959 Donizetti Lucia di Lammermoor Lucia ROH, Covent Garden Serafin Zeffirelli This performance marked the beginning of Sutherland's international career
24 Jun 1959 Handel Rodelinda Rodelinda Sadler's Wells Theatre Farncombe Pidcock
8 Jan 1960 Verdi La traviata Violetta Valéry ROH, Covent Garden Santi Fedorovitch
24 May 1960 Bellini I puritani Elvira Glyndebourne Festival Opera Gui Heeley
19 Oct 1960 Bellini La sonnambula Amina ROH, Covent Garden Serafin Sanjust
21 Feb 1961 Bellini Beatrice di Tenda Beatrice New York Town Hall Rescigno Concert performance; Sutherland first performed this role on stage on 10 May 1961
4 Jan 1962 Mozart The Magic Flute The Queen of the Night ROH, Covent Garden Klemperer Eisler
28 May 1962 Meyerbeer Les Huguenots Maguerite de Valois La Scala Gavazzeni Nicola Benois
17 Dec 1962 Rossini Semiramide Semiramide La Scala Santini
20 Jun 1963 Handel Giulio Cesare Cleopatra Sadler's Wells Theatre Farncombe Warre
17 Oct 1963 Bellini Norma Norma Vancouver Opera Bonynge McLance/Mess
9 Mar 1965 Gounod Faust Marguerite Connecticut Opera Bonynge Rome/Brooks van Horne
2 Jun 1966 Donizetti La fille du régiment Marie ROH, Covent Garden Bonynge Anni/Escoffier
10 Apr 1967 Delibes Lakmé Lakmé Seattle Opera Bonynge
21 May 1967 Haydn L'anima del filosofo Euridice Theater an der Wien Bonynge Ludwig
12 Nov 1971 Donizetti Maria Stuarda Maria Stuarda San Francisco Opera Bonynge Pizzi
26 Oct 1972 Donizetti Lucrezia Borgia Lucrezia Vancouver Opera Bonynge Varona
23 Oct 1974 Massenet Esclarmonde Esclarmonde San Francisco Opera Bonynge Montressor
12 Sep 1975 Verdi Il trovatore Leonora San Francisco Opera Bonynge Hager/Skalicki
22 Apr 1976 Lehár The Merry Widow Hanna Glavari Vancouver Opera Bonynge Varona
16 Jul 1977 Puccini Suor Angelica Suor Angelica Sydney Opera House Bonynge Digby
23 Sep 1977 Massenet Le roi de Lahore Sita Vancouver Opera Bonynge Mariani
4 Jul 1979 Mozart Idomeneo Electra Sydney Opera House Bonynge Truscott
2 Jul 1980 Verdi I masnadieri Amalia Sydney Opera House Bonynge Lees/Stennett
22 May 1983 Cilea Adriana Lecouvreur Adriana San Diego Opera Bonynge O'Hearn/Mess
22 Jun 1984 Donizetti Anna Bolena Anna Bolena Canadian Opera Company, Toronto Bonynge Pascoe/Stennett
4 Oct 1985 Thomas Hamlet Ophélie Canadian Opera Company, Toronto Bonynge Shalicki/Digby/Stennett

Recordings

Recordings include:

Vincenzo Bellini
  • Beatrice di Tenda—Joan Sutherland (Beatrice), Luciano Pavarotti (Orombello), Cornelius Opthof (Filippo), Josephine Veasey (Agnese), Joseph Ward (Anichino/Rizzardo), Ambrosian Opera Chorus, London Symphony Orchestra, Richard Bonynge—Decca
  • I puritani—Joan Sutherland (Elvira), Pierre Duval (Arturo), Renato Capecchi (Riccardo), Ezio Flagello (Giorgio), Giovanni Fioiani (Gualtiero), Margreta Elkins (Enrichetta), Piero de Palma (Bruno), Coro e Orchestra del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, Richard Bonynge (conductor) –recorded 1963– Decca 448 969-2 / Decca 467 789-2 (part of a 10-CD set) / London POCL 3965-7
  • I puritani—Joan Sutherland (Elvira), Luciano Pavarotti (Arturo), Piero Cappuccilli (Riccardo), Nicolai Ghiaurov (Giorgio), Giancarlo Luccardi (Gualtiero), Anita Caminada (Enrichetta), Renato Cazzaniga (Bruno), Chorus of the Royal Opera, Covent Garden, London Symphony Orchestra—Richard Bonynge, Recorded 1973, Decca
  • La sonnambula—Joan Sutherland (Amina), Nicola Monti (Elvino), Fernando Corena (Rodolfo), Sylvia Stahlman (Lisa), Margreta Elkins (Teresa), Angelo Mercuriali (Notary), Giovanni Fioiani (Alessio), Coro e Orchestra del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, Richard Bonynge recorded 1962—Decca 00289 448 9662 6 / 000320702 / 455 823-2—Track listing
  • La sonnambula—Joan Sutherland (Amina), Luciano Pavarotti (Elvino), Nicolai Ghiaurov (Rodolfo), Isobel Buchanan (Lisa), Della Jones (Teresa), Piero De Palma (Notaro), John Tomlinson (Alessio), National Philharmonic Orchestra, London Opera Chorus, Richard Bonynge, recorded 1980—Decca 2LH417-424
  • Norma—Joan Sutherland (Norma), Marilyn Horne (Adalgisa), John Alexander (Pollione), Richard Cross (Oroveso), Yvonne Minton (Clotilde), Joseph Ward (Flavio), London Symphony Orchestra and Chorus, Richard Bonynge, Recorded 1964—Decca
  • Norma—Joan Sutherland (Norma), Margreta Elkins (Adalgisa), Ronald Stevens (Pollione), Clifford Grant (Oroveso), Etela Piha (Clotilde), Trevor Brown (Flavio), Opera Australia Chorus, Elizabethan Sydney Orchestra, Richard Bonynge, recorded 1978—DVD Arthaus Musik 100 180
  • Norma—Joan Sutherland (Norma), Montserrat Caballé (Adalgisa), Luciano Pavarotti (Pollione), Samuel Ramey (Oroveso), Diana Montague (Clotilde), Kim Begley (Flavio), Chorus and Orchestra of the Welsh National Opera, Richard Bonynge, Recorded 1984—Decca
Georges Bizet
  • Carmen—Regina Resnik (Carmen), Mario Del Monaco (Don Jose), Joan Sutherland (Micaëla), Tom Krause (Escamillo), Georgette Spanellys (Frasquita), Yvonne Minton (Mercedes), Robert Geay (Zuniga), Jean Prudent (Le Dancaire), Alfred Hallet (Le Remendado), Claude Cales (Morales)
Giovanni Battista Bononcini
Léo Delibes
Gaetano Donizetti
  • Emilia di Liverpool (excerpts) / Lucia di Lammermoor (excerpts)—Joan Sutherland (Lucia), Margreta Elkins (Alisa), Joao Gibin (Edgardo), Tullio Serafin (conductor). Recorded 26 February 1959—Myto Records MCD 91545 (Probably these are excerpts from the same performance as the Melodram recording.)
  • Lucia di Lammermoor—Joan Sutherland (Lucia), Renato Cioni (Edgardo), Robert Merrill (Enrico), Cesare Siepi (Raimondo), Chorus & Orchestra of the Accademia di Santa Cecilia, John Pritchard (conductor), Decca, 1961.
  • Lucia di Lammermoor—Joan Sutherland (Lucia), Luciano Pavarotti (Edgardo), Sherrill Milnes(Enrico), Nicolai Ghiaurov (Raimondo), Chorus & Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Richard Bonynge, Decca, 1971.
  • Lucia di Lammermoor—Joan Sutherland (Lucia), João Gibin (Edgardo), John Shaw (Enrico), Joseph Rouleau (Raimondo), Kenneth MacDonald (Arturo), Margreta Elkins (Alisa), Robert Bowman (Normanno), Chorus & Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Tullio Serafin, recorded 1959—Golden Melodram GM 50024 or Giuseppe di Stefano GDS 21017 or Bella Voce BLV 107 218 (highlights). 2006 release: Royal Opera House Heritage Series ROHS 002.
  • Lucia di Lammermoor—Joan Sutherland (Lucia), André Turp (Edgardo), John Shaw (Enrico), Joseph Rouleau (Raimondo), Kenneth MacDonald (Arturo), Margreta Elkins (Alisa), Edgar Evans (Normanno), Chorus & Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, John Pritchard, recorded 1961—Celestial Audio CA 345
  • Lucia di Lammermoor—Joan Sutherland (Lucia), Richard Tucker (Edgardo), Frank Guarrera (Enrico), Nicola Moscona (Raimondo), Robert Nagy (Normanno), Thelma Votipka (Alisa), Charles Anthony (Arturo), Metropolitan Opera House, Conductor: Silvio Varviso. Recorded 9 December 1961 for radio broadcasting.
  • La fille du régiment—Joan Sutherland (Marie), Luciano Pavarotti (Tonio), Monica Sinclair (La Marquise de Berkenfield), Jules Bruyère (Hortensius), Spiro Malas (Sulpice), Eric Garrett (Le Caporal), Edith Coates (La Duchesse de Crakentorp), Orchestra & Chorus of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Richard Bonynge. Recorded: Kingsway Hall, London, 17–28 July 1967. Original LP release: SET 372-3 (two LPs), CD release: 414 520-2 DH2 (two CDs).
  • L'elisir d'amore—Joan Sutherland (Adina), Luciano Pavarotti (Nemorino), Dominic Cossa (Belcore), Spiro Malas (Dulcamara), Maria Casula (Giannetta), Ambrosian Opera Chorus, English Chamber Orchestra, Richard Bonynge. Recorded: Kingsway Hall, London, 12–23 January and 1–10 July 1970. Original LP release: SET 503-5 (three LPs), CD release: 414 461-2 DH2 (two CDs), CD re-release: 475 7514 DOR2 (two CDs).
  • Lucrezia Borgia—Joan Sutherland (Lucrezia Borgia), Ronald Stevens (Gennaro), Margreta Elkins (Maffio Orsini), Richard Allman (Don Alfonso), Robin Donald (Jacopo Liveretto), Lyndon Terracini (Don Apostolo Gazella), Gregory Yurisich (Ascanio Petrucci), Lamberto Furlan (Oloferno Vitellozzo), Pieter Van der Stolk (Gubetta), Graeme Ewer (Rustighello), John Germain (Astolfo), Neville Grave (Un servo), Eddie Wilden (Un coppiere), Jennifer Bermingham (Principessa Negroni), Australian Opera Chorus, Sydney Elizabethan Orchestra, Richard Bonynge, recorded 1977. VHS Video Cassette—Castle Video CV2845 (PAL); Polygram-Vidéo 070 031-3 (SECAM) Polygram 079 261-3 (PAL)
  • Lucrezia Borgia—Joan Sutherland (Lucrezia), Giacomo Aragall (Gennaro), Marilyn Horne (Orsini), Ingvar Wixell (Alfonso), London Opera Chorus, National Philarmonic Orchestra, Richard Bonynge (conductor), Decca, 1977.
  • Maria Stuarda—Joan Sutherland (Maria), Huguette Tourangeau (Elisabeta), Luciano Pavarotti (Leicester), Roger Soyer (Talbot), Margreta Elkins (Anna), James Morris (Cecil), Coro del Teatro Comunale di Bologna, Orchestra del Teatro Comunale di Bologna, Richard Bonynge, recorded 1975—Decca 00289 425 4102 / Lyrica LRC 1040/1041—Track listing and excerpts
Charles Gounod
George Frideric Handel
  • Alcina—Joan Sutherland (Alcina), Margreta Elkins (Ruggiero), Lauris Elms (Bradamante), Richard Greager (Oronte), Narelle Davidson (Morgana), Ann-Maree McDonald (Oberto), John Wegner (Melisso), Chorus and Orchestra of Australian Opera, Richard Bonynge, recorded 1983. Celestial Audio CA 112
  • Alcina coupled with Giulio Cesare in Egitto (highlights)—Margreta Elkins (Giulio Cesare), Joan Sutherland (Cleopatra), Marilyn Horne (Cornelia), Monica Sinclair (Tolomeo), Richard Conrad (Sesto), New Symphonic Orchestra of London, Richard Bonynge—Decca 00289 433 7232 / 467063-2 / 467 067-2—Track listing and excerpts
  • Athalia—Joan Sutherland, Emma Kirkby, Aled Jones, James Bowman, Anthony Rolfe Johnson, David Thomas, The Academy of Ancient Music, Christopher Hogwood (Conductor)
  • Messiah—Joan Sutherland, Grace Bumbry, London Symphony Orchestra, Sir Adrian Boult (Conductor)—Decca 433 003-2
  • Rodelinda—Alfred Hallett (Grimoaldo), Raimund Herincx (Garibaldo), Joan Sutherland (Rodelinda), Dame Janet Baker (Eduige), Margreta Elkins (Bertarido), Patricia Kern (Unolfo), Chandos Singers, Philomusica Antiqua Orchestra, Charles Farncombe. An English language version, recorded live on June 24, 1959—Opera D'oro OPD 1189 (two CDs) or Memories HR 4577–4578 or Living Stage LS 403 35147 (highlights).
  • Rodelinda—Joan Sutherland (Rodelinda), Huguette Tourangeau (Bertarido), Eric Tappy (Grimoaldo), Margreta Elkins (Eduige), Cora Canne-Meijer (Unolfo), Pieter Van Den Berg (Garibaldo), Netherlands Chamber Orchestra, Richard Bonynge. Recorded 30 June 1973—Bella Voce BLV 10 7206.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Giacomo Meyerbeer
Jacques Offenbach
  • Les contes d'Hoffmann—Joan Sutherland, Plácido Domingo, Gabriel Bacquier,, L'Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Orchestre du Radio de la Suisse Romande, Pro Arte de Lausanne, Andre Charlet, Richard Bonynge, studio recording made at Victoria Hall, Geneva, first published in 1976.
Giacomo Puccini
Gioachino Rossini
  • Semiramide—Joan Sutherland (Semiramide), John Serge (Idreno), Joseph Rouleau (Assur), Spiro Malas (Oroe), Patricia Clark (Azema), Leslie Fyson (Mitrane), Michael Langdon (Spectre of Nino), Marilyn Horne (Arsace), London Symphony Orchestra, Richard Bonynge. Decca 425 481-2, recorded in 1966.
Ambroise Thomas
  • Hamlet—Joan Sutherland, Gösta Winbergh, James Morris, Sheril Milnes, Orchestra and Chorus of the Welsh National Opera. Decca, 433 857-2.
Giuseppe Verdi
  • Ernani—Luciano Pavarotti (Ernani), Joan Sutherland (Elvira), Leo Nucci (Carlo), Paata Burchuladze (Silva), Linda McLeod (Giovanna), Richard Morton (Riccardo), Alastair Miles (Jago), Orchestra and Chorus of Welsh National Opera, Richard Bonynge. Recorded: Walthamstow Assembly Hall, 10–21 May 1987. Original CD release: 421 412-2 DHO2 (two CDs), CD re-release: 475 7008 DM2 (two CDs)
  • I masnadieri—Joan Sutherland, Samuel Ramey, Franco Bonisolli, Matteo Manuguerra, Simone Alaimo, Orchestra and Chorus of the Welsh Nation, Richard Bonynge. CD re-release in 1993: 433 854–2 (two CD, DDD).
  • Requiem—Joan Sutherland, Marilyn Horne, Luciano Pavarotti, Martti Talvela, Vienna State Opera Chorus and Vienna Philharmonic (Sir Georg Solti). Decca 411 944-2
  • Rigoletto—Cornell MacNeil, Joan Sutherland, Renato Cioni, Cesare Siepi, Chorus & Orchestra of the Accademia di Santa Cecilia, Nino Sanzogno, Decca, 1961.
  • Rigoletto—Sherrill Milnes, Joan Sutherland, Luciano Pavarotti, Martti Talvela, Ambrosian Opera Chorus, London Symphony Orchestra, Richard Bonynge, Decca, 1971.
  • La traviata—Joan Sutherland, Carlo Bergonzi, Robert Merrill, Chorus & Orchestra of Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, John Pritchard, Decca, 1962
  • La traviata—Joan Sutherland, Luciano Pavarotti, Matteo Manuguerra, National Philharmonic Orchestra, Richard Bonynge. London 430 491-2 recorded in 1979.
  • Il trovatore—Luciano Pavarotti (Manrico), Ingvar Wixell (Il Conte di Luna), Nicolai Ghiaurov (Ferrando), Joan Sutherland (Leonora), Marilyn Horne (Azucena), Graham Clark (Ruiz), Norma Burrowes (Ines), Peter Knapp (Un vecchio zingaro), Wynford Evans (Un messo), London Opera Chorus, National Philharmonic Orchestra, Richard Bonynge. Recorded: Kingsway Hall, London, 8, 10, 11, 13–18, 20 September 1976; 26 March 1977. Original LP release: D82D 3 (three LPs), CD release: 417 137-2 DH2* (two CDs), CD re-release: 460 735-2 DF2 (two CDs). (Ballet music not included in CD release).
Richard Wagner
  • Siegfried—Joan Sutherland as the Woodbird, Vienna Philharmonic (Sir Georg Solti) 1962 recording, London 414 110-2

References

  1. ^ Australian Soprano Dame Joan Sutherland dies
  2. ^ a b c d e f "Icons of Opera – Dame Joan Sutherland", Opera Britannia (6 July 2009). Retrieved 27 September 2010.
  3. ^ Major, Norma (1992). "Sutherland, Dame Joan". In Sadie, Stanley. The New Grove Dictionary of Opera 4: 612. London: Macmillan. 
  4. ^ "Young soprano triumphs", The West Australian (4 October 1949)
  5. ^ Martin Cooke: Vale Ken Neate
  6. ^ Performers' Report, MetOpera database
  7. ^ Sutherland – Bonynge Concert
  8. ^ Music View: Mystery of Casting at the Met by Donal Henahan, NYT, February 16, 1986
  9. ^ Joan Sutherland, Russell Braddon, Collins, 1962
  10. ^ Joan Sutherland talks about high notes—part 2 on YouTube
  11. ^ a b Martin Kettle, "I didn't want to be a diva", The Guardian, May 8, 2002.
  12. ^ "Dame Joan Sutherland". Sunday Profile (Australian Broadcasting Corporation). 27 March 2005. http://www.abc.net.au/sundayprofile/stories/s1331197.htm. Retrieved 21 December 2007. 
  13. ^ Hide, Carolyn (1996). "Background Paper 9 1995–96: The Recent Republic Debate—A Chronology". Background Papers published 1995–96. Australian Parliamentary Library. http://www.aph.gov.au/library/pubs/bp/1995-96/96bp09.htm. Retrieved 21 December 2007. "7 October 1994 Dame Joan Sutherland addressed a lunch organised by Australians for Constitutional Monarchy and said: I was brought up having a British passport and it upsets me that I don't have a British passport now ...; When I go to the post office to be interviewed by a Chinese or an Indian – I'm not particularly racist – but I find it ludicrous, when I've had a passport for 40 years." 
  14. ^ Dad and Dave: On Our Selection at the Internet Movie Database
  15. ^ "One Long Flat Note", Anthony Clarke, The Sydney Morning Herald, Spectrum, 20 December 1997, p. 10
  16. ^ "John Major", profile at the British Prime Minister's Office
  17. ^ Alberto Mattioli, 'Big Luciano, un video per la Stupenda Joan', La Stampa, 23 May 2007.
  18. ^ BBC Cardiff Singer of the World 2005.
  19. ^ "Opera legend Joan Sutherland, 81, recovering after breaking both her legs in a fall at home" Daily Mail (7 July 2008)
  20. ^ a b "Opera star Dame Joan Sutherland dies aged 83". BBC News Online. 11 October 2010. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-11517053. Retrieved 11 October 2010. 
  21. ^ "Family: Soprano Joan Sutherland has died, age 83". Associated Press. 11 October 2010. http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hhaIYU1yAHN1iliIB6iJkfGDVWGwD9IPIFA03?docId=D9IPIFA03. Retrieved 11 October 2010. 
  22. ^ "My last days with opera's grandest dame Joan Sutherland". The Australian. 1 February 2011. http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/arts/my-last-days-with-operas-grandest-dame-joan-sutherland/story-e6frg8n6-1225997678028. Retrieved 14 February 2011. 
  23. ^ a b c Westwood, Matthew (12 October 2010). "Voice of the century, Dame Joan Sutherland, dies aged 83". Herald Sun (The Herald and Weekly Times). http://www.heraldsun.com.au/entertainment/voice-of-the-century-dame-joan-sutherland-dies-aged-83/story-e6frf96f-1225937433450. Retrieved 11 October 2010. 
  24. ^ Collett-White, Mike (11 October 2010). "Opera great Joan Sutherland dies aged 83". Reuters. http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE69A2ZS20101011?pageNumber=2. Retrieved 11 October 2010. 
  25. ^ Barry, Colleen; Jahn, George (11 October 2010). "Joan Sutherland, 'voice of the century,' dies". Associated Press. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20101011/ap_en_mu/eu_switzerland_obit_sutherland. Retrieved 12 October 2010. 
  26. ^ "Joan Sutherland dies at 83,'http://www.australiantimes.co.uk/news/PM-Gillard-pays-tribute-to-Dame-Joan-Sutherland". http://www.australiantimes.co.uk/news/Dame-Joan-Sutherland-dies-at-83. Retrieved 12 October 2010. 
  27. ^ Joyce Morgan, 'A Fitting Finale for La Stupenda' http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/opera/a-fitting-finale-for-la-stupenda-20101109-17m2d.html
  28. ^ "A Service of Thanksgiving for the late Dame Joan Sutherland" at Westminster Abbey
  29. ^ a b c d "Joan Sutherland: My Starter Diva", Opera Britannia (24 October 2010)
  30. ^ http://www.classiquenews.com/ecouter/lire_article.aspx?article=478&identifiant=N2S56TZLZ3600HWN00W1Z19PU
  31. ^ http://next.liberation.fr/culture/01012295905-joan-sutherland-une-diva-s-en-va
  32. ^ "Music: Sutherland: A Separate Greatness". Time. 22 November 1971. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,905556,00.html. 
  33. ^ a b Tommasini, Anthony. "Joan Sutherland, Flawless Soprano, Is Dead at 83". The New York Times. 11 October 2010. Retrieved 19 February 2011.
  34. ^ Boehm, Mike (12 October 2010). "Joan Sutherland dies at 83; ranked among the most powerful divas of the 20th century". Los Angeles Times. http://articles.latimes.com/2010/oct/12/local/la-me-joan-sutherland-20101012. 
  35. ^ Natalie Dessay talks about Joan Sutherland and Maria Callas on YouTube. Retrieved 25 April 2011.
  36. ^ Joan Sutherland talks about high notes on YouTube. Retrieved 19 February 2011.
  37. ^ It's an Honour: CBE
  38. ^ Lewis, Wendy (2010). Australians of the Year. Pier 9 Press. ISBN 9781741968095. 
  39. ^ It's an Honour: AC
  40. ^ It's an Honour: DBE
  41. ^ It's an Honour: OM
  42. ^ "The Passing of Opera Legend Dame Joan Sutherland", The Joan Sutherland Performing Arts Centre (12 October 2010)
  43. ^ This list is taken from the complete list of Sutherland's performances up to and including 18 December 1986 on pp. 204–241 of Norma Major's book Joan Sutherland, published 1987

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