Dame Joan Alston Sutherland (7 November 1926 – 10 October 2010) was an Australian soprano singer who helped revive the bel canto music style from the late 1950s to the 1980s.

Her voice had many strengths, including quick movements, precise pitch, sharp, short notes, fast, repeated notes, and powerful high notes. However, some critics said she had trouble pronouncing words clearly.

Sutherland was the first Australian to win a Grammy Award. She received the prize in 1962 for Best Classical Vocal Soloist, which was given for a performance from 1961.

She was called La Stupenda, which means "The Stupendous One" in Italian. She is considered one of the greatest sopranos ever.

Early and personal life

Joan Sutherland was born in Sydney, Australia, to Scottish parents. She attended St. Catherine's School in the suburb of Waverley, New South Wales. As a child, she listened to and copied her mother's singing exercises. Her mother, a mezzo-soprano, had taken voice lessons but never considered singing as a career. At age 18, Sutherland began seriously studying voice with John and Aida Dickens. She made her concert debut in Sydney as Dido in a production of Henry Purcell's Dido and Aeneas in 1947.

In 1949, Joan Sutherland won Australia's most important competition, the (Sydney) Sun Aria. She also came third after baritone Ronal Jackson in radio 3DB's £1,000 Mobil Quest. In 1950, she won the Mobil Quest.

In 1951, she made her stage debut in Eugene Goossens's Judith. She then moved to London to study at the Opera School of the Royal College of Music with Clive Carey. She was hired by the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, as a utility soprano. She made her debut there on October 28, 1952, as the First Lady in The Magic Flute. In November, she performed as Clotilde in Vincenzo Bellini's Norma, with Maria Callas as Norma.

Inspired by Kirsten Flagstad's early career, Sutherland trained to become a Wagnerian dramatic soprano. In December 1952, she sang her first leading role at the Royal Opera House as Amelia in Un ballo in maschera. Other roles she performed 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. She also created the role of Jenifer in Michael Tippett's The Midsummer Marriage on January 27, 1955.

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

Career

In 1957, she performed in Handel's Alcina with the Handel Opera Society and sang parts from Donizetti's Emilia di Liverpool on a radio broadcast. The next year, she sang the role of Donna Anna in Don Giovanni in Vancouver.

In 1959, Sutherland was invited to perform Lucia di Lammermoor at the Royal Opera House. The production was conducted by Tullio Serafin and directed by Franco Zeffirelli. The role of Edgardo was sung by her fellow Australian, Kenneth Neate, who replaced the original tenor at the last minute. In 1960, she recorded the album The Art of the Prima Donna, a two-record set that won the Grammy Award for Best Classical Performance – Vocal Soloist in 1962. The album was added to the National Film and Sound Archive's Sounds of Australia registry in 2011.

Sutherland performed Lucia to great praise in Paris in 1960 and later in 1961 at La Scala and the Metropolitan Opera. For her performance of Lucia di Lammermoor at the Met, people began lining up at 7:30 a.m. to see the show. Her singing of the Mad Scene earned a 12-minute ovation. In 1960, she also performed Alcina at La Fenice. Sutherland soon became known as "La Stupenda" in newspapers worldwide. Later that year, she performed Alcina at the Dallas Opera, where she made her U.S. debut.

Her Metropolitan Opera debut occurred on November 26, 1961, when she sang Lucia. After performing in 223 operas, her final appearance at the Met was a concert on March 12, 1989. Between 1978 and 1982, her relationship with the Met worsened when she had to decline the role of Constanze in Mozart's Die Entführung aus dem Serail more than a year before rehearsals began. The opera house refused to stage The Merry Widow for her, as she had requested. As a result, she did not perform at the Met during that time, even though a production of Rossini's Semiramide had been planned. She later returned to sing in other operas.

During the 1960s, Sutherland expanded her repertoire to include heroines from bel canto operas. These included 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 the role of Marie in Donizetti's La fille du régiment.

In 1965, Sutherland toured Australia with the Sutherland-Williamson Opera Company. With her was a young tenor named Luciano Pavarotti.

During the 1970s, Sutherland worked to improve her diction, which had often been criticized, and to make her performances more expressive. She added dramatic bel canto roles to her repertoire, such as Donizetti's Maria Stuarda and Lucrezia Borgia, as well as Massenet's Esclarmonde. With Pavarotti, she made a studio recording of Turandot in 1972, conducted by Zubin Mehta, though she never performed the role on stage.

Sutherland's early recordings show a clear voice and strong diction. However, by the early 1960s, her voice became less clear in the middle range, and she often faced criticism for unclear diction. Some people believe this was due to sinus surgery, but her major surgery was in 1959, shortly after her breakthrough performance of Lucia at Covent Garden. Her first commercial recording of Lucia’s first and final scenes shows her voice and diction were as clear as before the surgery. Her husband, Richard Bonynge, said in an interview that her "mushy diction" happened while she tried to achieve perfect legato. He explained that she had previously used a more Germanic, less smooth singing style.

During the 1980s, Sutherland added Anna Bolena, Amalia in I masnadieri, and Adriana Lecouvreur to her repertoire. She also performed Esclarmonde at the Royal Opera House in November and December 1983. Her final full-length dramatic performance was as Marguerite de Valois (Les Huguenots) at the Sydney Opera House in 1990, when she was 63 years old. She sang "Home Sweet Home" as her encore. Her last public performance was a gala of Die Fledermaus on New Year's Eve, 1990, at Covent Garden, where she was joined by her colleagues Luciano Pavarotti and mezzo-soprano Marilyn Horne. In an interview with The Guardian in 2002, Sutherland said her greatest achievement was performing the title role in Esclarmonde. She considered those performances and recordings her best work.

Retirement years

After retiring, Sutherland made not many public appearances, choosing instead to live a peaceful life at her home in Les Avants, Switzerland. One exception was her speech in 1994 at a lunch organized by a group called Australians for Constitutional Monarchy. During this event, Sutherland said, "It also upsets me that it is such a difficult task to get an Australian passport now—you have to go to be interviewed by a Chinese or an Indian. I'm not particularly racist, but I find it ridiculous." Her comments caused controversy.

On July 3, 2008, she fell and broke both legs while gardening at her home in Switzerland.

Film and television

In 1972, Sutherland appeared in Who's Afraid of Opera, a TV show with six episodes for children. In the series, she performed songs from six different operas for a puppet audience.

In 1995, Sutherland played the main character, Mother Rudd, in the comedy film Dad and Dave: On Our Selection. She acted alongside Leo McKern and Geoffrey Rush in the movie.

Publications

In 1997, she wrote an autobiography titled A Prima Donna's Progress. Some people praised the book, while others had different opinions about its writing quality. Library Journal noted that the book includes a full list of all her performances, along with details about the other actors in each show.

An official biography of her, Joan Sutherland: The Authorised Biography, was published in February 1994. It was written by Norma Major, who was married to John Major, the prime minister at that time.

In 2002, she attended a dinner in London to receive the Royal Philharmonic Society’s gold medal. During an interview with The Guardian, she expressed concern about the lack of skill in young opera singers and the few good teachers available. By this time, she no longer taught classes. When Italian journalists asked her in May 2007 why she stopped, she said, “Because I’m 80 years old and I really don’t want to have anything to do with opera anymore, although I do sit on the juries of singing competitions.”

After retiring, she was most closely linked to the Cardiff Singer of the World competition. She began working with the event in 1993, serving on the jury for five years in a row. In 2003, she became its patron.

Death

On October 11, 2010, Sutherland's family said she died at her home in Les Avants, Switzerland, the day before from heart and lung failure. She said she did not want to live anymore when she could no longer do things. She was happy to pass away and died peacefully. After a fall in 2008, she recovered but later had more serious health problems. Her family said she lived a long life and brought joy to many people. She wanted a small, private funeral. Her funeral was on October 14, and Opera Australia planned a tribute. Lyndon Terracini, the artistic director, said she had an amazing voice that was hard to find again. Sutherland is survived by her husband, son, daughter-in-law, and two grandchildren.

Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard said Sutherland was one of the greatest opera singers of the 20th century. She showed important Australian values and was described as friendly and humble despite her fame. She offered her sympathy to Sutherland's husband, Richard, son, Adam, and their family. She said many Australians would think about Sutherland's life and work.

Memorial service

A State Memorial Service on November 9, 2010, organized by Opera Australia, took place at the Sydney Opera House. People who spoke at the event included Julia Gillard, the Prime Minister of Australia; Professor Marie Bashir, the Governor of New South Wales; Moffatt Oxenbould, the former artistic director of Opera Australia; and Adam Bonynge, the son of Sutherland. The service was shown live on ABC1 television and ABC Classic FM radio and shared online worldwide by ABC News 24. Additional memorials occurred at Westminster Abbey on February 15, 2011, and in New York City on May 24, 2011. The New York event was hosted by Marilyn Horne and included a performance by Richard Bonynge. People who attended included Sherrill Milnes, Norman Ayrton, Regina Resnik, and Spiro Malas.

Voice

Joan Sutherland's voice was described as "fresh," "silvery," and "bell-like" before 1963. Later, critics said it became "golden" and "warm." Music critic John Yohalem compared her voice to "molten honey caressing the line." In his book Voices, Singers and Critics, John Steane wrote that Sutherland's voice was near the middle of a range from bright to dark, which may explain why many people liked her singing. John Yohalem also said her lower voice sounded like a cello and had a rich, golden tone. Her voice remained full and rounded even in her highest notes, which were bright but sometimes slightly sharp.

In 1971, the magazine Time wrote an article comparing Sutherland and Beverly Sills.

John Yohalem described Sutherland's voice as generally belonging to a type of singer called a dramatic coloratura soprano. However, he noted that categorizing her voice was difficult because its size and sound made it hard to define. He explained that while she sang some roles typical for coloratura sopranos, her voice was very different in other ways.

In a 1961 article in The New York Times Magazine, Sutherland said she originally had a large, wild voice that was not heavy enough for Wagner's music. She realized this only after hearing Wagner performed properly.

Opera Britannia praised Sutherland's voice as having "heroic dimensions" when singing bel canto music. They said few sopranos had such power and tone as Sutherland, including famous singers like Callas and Tetrazzini. The contrast between her voice and other sopranos was described as "stupendous," with others producing small, soft sounds compared to Sutherland's strong, endless tones. In 1972, critic Winthrop Sargeant wrote in The New Yorker that her voice was as large as that of a top Wagnerian soprano. French soprano Natalie Dessay said Sutherland had a very large voice, could suddenly become light and agile for quick coloratura passages, and had high notes typical of a coloratura soprano, but with great power.

Sutherland's vocal range extended from a low G note (G3) to a high F note (F6) or high F-sharp note (F♯6). However, she never performed the highest F-sharp note in public.

Honours

During her career and afterward, Sutherland received many honors and awards. In 1961, she was awarded the title of Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE). That same year, she was named Australian of the Year. Sutherland is a Distinguished Member of the Sigma Alpha Iota International Music Fraternity.

In the 1975 Queen's Birthday Honours, she became one of the first people to be named a Companion of the Order of Australia (AC), as the order had been established only in February 1975. In the 1979 New Year Honours, she was promoted within the Order of the British Empire from Commander to Dame Commander (DBE).

On 29 November 1991, the Queen awarded Sutherland the Order of Merit (OM).

Awards

In 1992, Sutherland helped start and supported the Tait Memorial Trust in London. This charity was created by Isla Baring OAM, the daughter of Sir Frank Tait, who was associated with J. C. Williamson. The trust helps young Australian performing artists in the UK. Sir Frank Tait was an Australian manager who organized and led the Sutherland-Williamson tour of Australia in 1965.

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

In 1991, John Paul College, a private school in Queensland, Australia, named its new building the Dame Joan Sutherland Music Centre. Sutherland attended the opening of this facility and returned in 1996.

In 2001, she received the Lifetime Contribution Award from Echo Klassik. In January 2004, she was honored with the Australia Post Australian Legends Award, which recognizes Australians who have made significant contributions to the nation's identity and culture. Two stamps featuring Joan Sutherland were released on Australia Day 2004 to celebrate this award. In 2004, she also received a Kennedy Center Honor for her career achievements.

On May 22, 2007, the year marking the 100th anniversary of the birth of soprano Lina Pagliughi, Sutherland was awarded La Siòla d'Oro at the Teatro Comunale di Bologna.

In 2012, Sutherland was inducted into the first Hall of Fame of the magazine Gramophone.

In 2024, she was recognized in the Australian Women in Music Awards and added to the AWMA Honour Roll. Her granddaughter accepted the award on her behalf.

Recordings

Joan Sutherland made many recordings of recitals and lieder, often with Richard Bonynge. Many of these recordings were originally released on double-LPs. Some of these recordings are still available in CD format.

In 2011, Decca released these recitals in a 23-CD set titled Complete Decca Studio Recitals (Decca 4783243). The set includes:

• Operatic Arias (1959)
• The Art of the Prima Donna (1960) 2CD
• Command Performance (1962) 2CD
• The Age of Bel Canto (with Marilyn Horne and Richard Conrad, 1963) 2CD
• Joy to the World (Christmas Album, 1965)
• The Noël Coward Album (1966)
• Love Live Forever (1966) 2CD
• Romantic French Arias (1969) 2CD
• Songs My Mother Taught Me (1972)
• Operatic Duets (with Luciano Pavarotti, 1976)
• Serate Musicali (1978) 2CD
• Sutherland sings Wagner (1978)
• Sutherland sings Mozart (1979)
• Bel Canto Arias (1985)
• Talking Pictures (1986)
• Romantic Trios, Songs for soprano, horn and piano (1987)
• Rarities and first recordings (1958/59 to 1967/68)

Opera recordings (non-exhaustive):

• 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. Recorded 1966, 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 414 461-2 DH2 (two CDs).
• I puritani — Joan Sutherland (Elvira), Giacomo Aragall (Gennaro), Marilyn Horne (Orsini), Ingvar Wixell (Alfonso), London Opera Chorus, National Philharmonic Orchestra, Richard Bonynge.
• 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),