Joan Sutherland

Dame Joan Sutherland

Joan Sutherland in 1975
Born Joan Alston Sutherland
7 November 1926
Sydney, Australia
Died 10 October 2010 (aged 83)
Les Avants, Vaud, Switzerland
Years active 1947–1990
Spouse(s) Richard Bonynge (1954–2010, her death)

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". Sutherland was the first Australian to win a Grammy Award, for Best Classical Performance - Vocal Soloist (with or without orchestra) in 1962.

Early life and career

Joan Sutherland was born to Scottish parents in Sydney, and attended St Catherine's School in the suburb of Waverley, New South Wales. 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 sang selections from Donizetti's Emilia di Liverpool in a radio broadcast, 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.

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.

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.

Joan Sutherland (1962)

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(ROH production 1980, production by John Copley, scenery by John Pascoe, costumes by Michael Stennet), 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 1970s 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. As her vocal security to some extent lessened, paradoxically her dramatic grasp of the theatrical moment heightened. During the 1980s, she added Anna Bolena Toronto, Chicago Detroit, San Francisco – production directed by Lotfi Mansouri, scenery – John Pascoe, costumes – Michael Stennet) (ROH production 1988, directed & designed by John Pascoe was her final Royal Opera House production), 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.[11] 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,[12] 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.[13][14]

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.[15]

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,[16] 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.[17]

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.[12] 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."[18] 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.[19]

On 3 July 2008, she fell and broke both of her legs while gardening at her home in Switzerland.[20] 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."[21][22][23] Though she recovered from her fall in 2008, it led to more serious health problems.[24] 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.[21] Her funeral was held on 14 October and Opera Australia planned a tribute to her.[24] 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."[24] Sutherland is survived by her husband, son, daughter-in-law and two grandchildren.[25][26]

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."[27]

Memorial service

A State Memorial Service on 9 November 2010, arranged by Opera Australia, was held at the Sydney Opera House.[28] 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,[29] 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 Resnik, and Spiro Malas.

Voice

Vocal timbre

Described as "fresh," "silvery" and "bell-like" until 1963,[30] Joan Sutherland's voice, later became "golden" and "warm",[2] music critic John Yohalem writes it was like "molten honey caressing the line."[30] 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."[30] Her voice was full and rounded even in her highest notes,[31] which was brilliant, but sometimes "slightly acid."[32]

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.[33]

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. Régine 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.[30]

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 realise this until she heard "Wagner sung as it should be."[34]

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.[35] 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."[36]

Sutherland's vocal range extended from G below the staff (G3)[34] to high F (F6), or high F-sharp (F♯6), although she never sang this last note in a public performance.[2][37]

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).[38] That year she was named the Australian of the Year.[39]

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).[40] She was elevated within the Order of the British Empire from Commander to Dame Commander (DBE) in the New Year's Honours of 1979.[41]

On 29 November 1991, the Queen bestowed on Dame Joan the Order of Merit (OM).[42] 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.

In 1992 Sutherland was a founding patron and active supporter of the Tait Memorial Trust in London. A charity established by Isla Baring OAM, the daughter of Sir Frank Tait of J. C. Williamson's to support young Australian performing artists in the UK.[43] Sir Frank Tait was the Australian impresario who created and managed the Sutherland-Williamson tour of Australia in 1965.[44]

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.[45]

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.

On 22 May 2007, the year of the centenary of the birth of soprano Lina Pagliughi, she received the award La Siòla d'Oro at the Teatro Comunale di Bologna.[46]

In 2012, Sutherland was voted into the first Hall of Fame of the magazine Gramophone.[47]

Roles

Sutherland performed live the following complete roles.[48]

First performanceComposerWorkRoleHouseConductorDirectorRemarks
1947-06-0020 June 1947HandelAcis and GalateaGalateaEastwood Masonic Hall, SydneyConcert performance
1947-08-0030 August 1947PurcellDido and AeneasDidoLyceum Club, SydneyConcert performance
1950-07-1515 July 1950HandelSamsonDalila and Israelite womanSydney Town HallConcert performance; Sutherland made her professional role debut as the Israelite woman on 14 October 1958
1951-07-099 July 1951GoossensJudithJudithSydney Conservatorium of MusicGoossensSutherland's first complete staged opera
1952-07-1616 July 1952PuccinitabarroIl tabarroGiorgettaParry Theatre, RCMRichard AustinPeter Rice/Pauline Elliot
1952-10-2828 October 1952MozartMagic FluteThe Magic FluteFirst ladyROH, Covent GardenPritchardMesselSutherland's professional debut
1952-11-033 November 1952VerdiAidaHigh PriestessROH, Covent GardenBarbirolliCruddas
1952-11-088 November 1952BelliniNormaClotildeROH, Covent GardenGuiBarlow
1952-12-2929 December 1952VerdiballoUn ballo in mascheraAmeliaROH, Covent GardenPritchardBarlow/StoneSutherland's first leading role
1953-02-2424 February 1953MozartMarriageThe Marriage of FigaroCountess AlmavivaROH tour, EdinburghJ GibsonGerard
1953-05-1313 May 1953StraussElektraOverseerROH, Covent GardenKleiberLambert
1953-08-1111 August 1953BrittenGlorianaLady RichROH tour, Bulawayo
1953-10-1919 October 1953WagnerWalkureDie WalküreHelmwigeROH, Covent GardenStiedryPemberton
1953-11-022 November 1953BizetCarmenFrasquitaROH, Covent GardenPritchardWakhévitch
1954-02-044 February 1954VerdiAidaAidaROH, Covent GardenE YoungCruddas
1954-03-2323 March 1954WeberFreischutzDer FreischützAgatheROH, Covent GardenDownesFurse
1954-04-3030 April 1954Piccinnibuona figliuolaLa buona figliuolaLucindaMackerrasBBC radio broadcast
1954-05-2727 May 1954WagnerRingDer Ring des NibelungenWoglinde and WoodbirdROH, Covent GardenStiedryHurrySutherland also sang the role of Helmwige, which she had sung previously; the other dates of the cycle were 2, 8, and 17 June
1954-11-1717 November 1954OffenbachcontesLes contes d'HoffmannAntoniaROH, Covent GardenDownesWakhévitch
1955-01-2727 January 1955TippettMidsummerThe Midsummer MarriageJeniferROH, Covent GardenPritchardHepworthWorld premiere; Sutherland created the role
1955-02-2828 February 1955OffenbachcontesLes contes d'HoffmannGiuliettaROH tour, GlasgowDownesWakhévitch
1955-06-1919 June 1955OffenbachcontesLes contes d'HoffmannOlympiaROH, Covent GardenDownesWakhévitch
1955-09-3030 September 1955WeberEuryantheEuryantheStiedryBBC radio broadcast
1955-10-3030 October 1955BizetCarmenMicaelaROH, Covent GardenDownesWakhévitch
1956-03-1111 March 1956MozartclemenzaLa clemenza di TitoVitelliaPritchardBBC radio broadcast
1956-11-1010 November 1956MozartMagicThe Magic FlutePaminaROH, Covent GardenJ GibsonMessel
1957-01-2828 January 1957WagnerMeistersingerDie Meistersinger von NürnbergEvaROH, Covent GardenKubelíkWakhévitch
1957-03-1919 March 1957HandelAlcinaAlcinaSt Pancras Town HallFarncombe
1957-06-088 June 1957VerdiRigolettoGildaROH, Covent GardenDownesGellner
1957-07-055 July 1957MozartSchauspieldirektorDer SchauspieldirektorHertzMme HertzGlyndebourne Festival OperaBalkwillRice
1957-08-1616 August 1957ScarlattiMitridate EupatoreLaodiceAppiaBBC radio broadcast
1957-09-088 September 1957DonizettiEmilia di LiverpoolEmiliaPritchardBBC radio broadcast
1957-12-2121 December 1957VerdiOtelloDesdemonaROH, Covent GardenDownesWakhévitch
1958-01-1616 January 1958PoulencDialogues of the CarmelitesLidoineMme LidoineROH, Covent GardenKubelíkWakhévitch
1958-05-2424 May 1958HaydnApplausus MusicusTemperantiaNewstoneBBC radio broadcast
1958-07-2626 July 1958MozartDon GiovanniDonna AnnaVancouver OperaGoldschmidtMaximowna
1959-02-1717 February 1959DonizettiLucia di LammermoorLuciaROH, Covent GardenSerafinZeffirelliThis performance marked the beginning of Sutherland's international career
1959-06-2424 June 1959HandelRodelindaRodelindaSadler's Wells TheatreFarncombePidcock
1960-01-088 January 1960VerditraviataLa traviataVioletta ValéryROH, Covent GardenSantiFedorovitch
1960-05-2424 May 1960BellinipuritaniI puritaniElviraGlyndebourne Festival OperaGuiHeeley
1960-10-1919 October 1960BellinisonnambulaLa sonnambulaAminaROH, Covent GardenSerafinSanjust
1961-02-2121 February 1961BelliniBeatrice di TendaBeatriceNew York Town HallRescignoConcert performance; Sutherland first performed this role on stage on 10 May 1961
1962-01-044 January 1962MozartMagicThe Magic FluteThe Queen of the NightROH, Covent GardenKlempererEisler
1962-05-2828 May 1962MeyerbeerHuguenotsLes HuguenotsMaguerite de ValoisLa ScalaGavazzeniNicola Benois
1962-12-1717 December 1962RossiniSemiramideSemiramideLa ScalaSantini
1963-06-2020 June 1963HandelGiulio CesareCleopatraSadler's Wells TheatreFarncombeWarre
1963-10-1717 October 1963BelliniNormaNormaVancouver OperaBonyngeMcLance/Mess
1965-03-099 March 1965GounodFaustMargueriteConnecticut OperaBonyngeRome/Brooks van Horne
1966-06-022 June 1966DonizettifilleLa fille du régimentMarieROH, Covent GardenBonyngeAnni/Escoffier
1967-04-1010 April 1967DelibesLakméLakméSeattle OperaBonynge
1967-05-2121 May 1967HaydnL'anima del filosofoEuridiceTheater an der WienBonyngeLudwig
1971-11-1212 November 1971DonizettiMaria StuardaMaria StuardaSan Francisco OperaBonyngePizzi
1972-10-2626 October 1972DonizettiLucrezia BorgiaLucreziaVancouver OperaBonyngeVarona
1974-10-2323 October 1974MassenetEsclarmondeEsclarmondeSan Francisco OperaBonyngeMontressor
1975-09-1212 September 1975VerditrovatoreIl trovatoreLeonoraSan Francisco OperaBonyngeHager/Skalicki
1976-04-2222 April 1976LehárMerryThe Merry WidowHanna GlavariVancouver OperaBonyngeVarona
1977-06-1616 July 1977PucciniSuor AngelicaSuor AngelicaSydney Opera HouseBonyngeDigby
1977-09-2323 September 1977MassenetroiLe roi de LahoreSitaVancouver OperaBonyngeMariani
1979-07-044 July 1979MozartIdomeneoElectraSydney Opera HouseBonyngeTruscott
1980-07-022 July 1980VerdimasnadieriI masnadieriAmaliaSydney Opera HouseBonyngeLees/Stennett
1983-05-2222 May 1983CileaAdriana LecouvreurAdrianaSan Diego OperaBonyngeO'Hearn/Mess
1984-06-2222 June 1984DonizettiAnna BolenaAnna BolenaCanadian Opera Company, TorontoBonyngePascoe/Stennett
1985-10-044 October 1985ThomasHamletOphélieCanadian Opera Company, TorontoBonyngeShalicki/Digby/Stennett

Recordings

Recitals

Sutherland made various recital and lieder recordings, usually with Richard Bonynge, many of them originally double-LPs. Some are still available in CD-format.

In 2011 Decca re-released these recitals in a 23-CD set (Complete Decca Studio Recitals, Decca 4783243) comprising:

Opera recordings (non-exhaustive)

Vincenzo Bellini

Georges Bizet

Giovanni Bononcini

Léo Delibes

Gaetano Donizetti

Charles Gounod

George Frideric Handel

Jules Massenet

Giacomo Meyerbeer

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Jacques Offenbach

Giacomo Puccini

Gioachino Rossini

Ambroise Thomas

Giuseppe Verdi

Richard Wagner

References

  1. ↑ Australian Soprano Dame Joan Sutherland dies
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 "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. London: Macmillan. p. 612.
  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, 16 February 1986
  9. ↑ Joan Sutherland, Russell Braddon, Collins, 1962
  10. ↑ Joan Sutherland talks about high notes—part 2 on YouTube
  11. ↑ "Australia." The 1991 World Book Year Book. Chicago:World Book, Inc., 1991. ISBN 0-7166-0491-4.
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 Martin Kettle, "I didn't want to be a diva", The Guardian, 8 May 2002.
  13. ↑ "Dame Joan Sutherland". Sunday Profile (Australian Broadcasting Corporation). 27 March 2005. Retrieved 21 December 2007.
  14. ↑ Hide, Carolyn (1996). "Background Paper 9 1995–96: The Recent Republic Debate—A Chronology". Background Papers published 1995–96. Australian Parliamentary Library. Archived from the original on 1 Feb 2012. 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.
  15. ↑ Dad and Dave: On Our Selection at the Internet Movie Database
  16. ↑ "One Long Flat Note", Anthony Clarke, The Sydney Morning Herald, Spectrum, 20 December 1997, p. 10
  17. ↑ "John Major", profile at the British Prime Minister's Office
  18. ↑ Alberto Mattioli, 'Big Luciano, un video per la Stupenda Joan', La Stampa, 23 May 2007.
  19. ↑ BBC Cardiff Singer of the World 2005 at the Wayback Machine (archived February 16, 2006).
  20. ↑ "Opera legend Joan Sutherland, 81, recovering after breaking both her legs in a fall at home" Daily Mail (7 July 2008)
  21. ↑ 21.0 21.1 "Opera star Dame Joan Sutherland dies aged 83". BBC News Online. 11 October 2010. Retrieved 11 October 2010.
  22. ↑ "Family: Soprano Joan Sutherland has died, age 83". Associated Press. 11 October 2010. Retrieved 11 October 2010.
  23. ↑ "My last days with opera's grandest dame Joan Sutherland". The Australian. 1 February 2011. Retrieved 14 February 2011.
  24. ↑ 24.0 24.1 24.2 Westwood, Matthew (12 October 2010). "Voice of the century, Dame Joan Sutherland, dies aged 83". Herald Sun (The Herald and Weekly Times). Retrieved 11 October 2010.
  25. ↑ Collett-White, Mike (11 October 2010). "Opera great Joan Sutherland dies aged 83". Reuters. Retrieved 11 October 2010.
  26. ↑ Barry, Colleen; Jahn, George (11 October 2010). "Joan Sutherland, 'voice of the century,' dies". Associated Press. Retrieved 12 October 2010.
  27. ↑ "Joan Sutherland dies at 83,'http://www.australiantimes.co.uk/news/PM-Gillard-pays-tribute-to-Dame-Joan-Sutherland". Retrieved 12 October 2010.
  28. ↑ Joyce Morgan, 'A Fitting Finale for La Stupenda' http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/opera/a-fitting-finale-for-la-stupenda-20101109-17m2d.html
  29. ↑ "A Service of Thanksgiving for the late Dame Joan Sutherland" at Westminster Abbey
  30. ↑ 30.0 30.1 30.2 30.3 "Joan Sutherland: My Starter Diva", Opera Britannia (24 October 2010)
  31. ↑ [27 September 2006] – Dame Joan Sutherland, soprano Portrait (1926–2010)
  32. ↑ Joan Sutherland, une diva s’en va | Next
  33. ↑ "Music: Sutherland: A Separate Greatness". Time. 22 November 1971.
  34. ↑ 34.0 34.1 Tommasini, Anthony. "Joan Sutherland, Flawless Soprano, Is Dead at 83". The New York Times. 11 October 2010. Retrieved 19 February 2011. (subscription required)
  35. ↑ Boehm, Mike (12 October 2010). "Joan Sutherland dies at 83; ranked among the most powerful divas of the 20th century". Los Angeles Times.
  36. ↑ Natalie Dessay talks about Joan Sutherland and Maria Callas on YouTube. Retrieved 25 April 2011.
  37. ↑ Joan Sutherland talks about high notes on YouTube. Retrieved 19 February 2011.
  38. ↑ It's an Honour: CBE
  39. ↑ Lewis, Wendy (2010). Australians of the Year. Pier 9 Press. ISBN 978-1-74196-809-5.
  40. ↑ It's an Honour: AC
  41. ↑ It's an Honour: DBE
  42. ↑ It's an Honour: OM
  43. ↑ Tait History
  44. ↑ "Sir Frank Tait 1883–1965", Live Performance Australia – Hall of Fame
  45. ↑ "The Passing of Opera Legend Dame Joan Sutherland", The Joan Sutherland Performing Arts Centre (12 October 2010)
  46. ↑ "Jessica Pratt vince la XV edizione del premio Pagliughi" by Federica Bianchi, Commune di Cesena, 2 May 2013
  47. ↑ "Dame Joan Sutherland (soprano)". Gramophone. Retrieved 11 April 2012.
  48. ↑ 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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