Joan Sutherland possessed a voice combining agility, accurate intonation, pinpoint staccatos, a trill and a strong upper register, although music critics complained about her poor diction.
32 Facts About Joan Sutherland
2.
Joan Sutherland was known as 'La Stupenda' and is widely regarded as one of the greatest sopranos of all time.
3.
Joan Sutherland was born in Sydney, Australia, to Scottish parents and attended St Catherine's School in the suburb of Waverley, New South Wales.
4.
Joan Sutherland was 18 years old when she began seriously studying voice with John and Aida Dickens.
5.
Joan Sutherland made her concert debut in Sydney, as Dido in a production of Henry Purcell's Dido and Aeneas, in 1947.
6.
Joan Sutherland then went to London to further her studies at the Opera School of the Royal College of Music with Clive Carey.
7.
Joan Sutherland 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 opera Norma, with Maria Callas as Norma.
8.
Joan Sutherland married Australian conductor and pianist Richard Bonynge on 16 October 1954.
9.
Joan Sutherland eventually settled in this Fach, spending most of her career singing dramatic coloratura soprano.
10.
In 1959, Joan 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.
11.
Joan Sutherland sang Lucia to great acclaim in Paris in 1960 and, in 1961, at La Scala and the Metropolitan Opera.
12.
Joan Sutherland's singing of the Mad Scene drew a 12-minute ovation.
13.
Later that year, Joan Sutherland sang Alcina at the Dallas Opera, with which she made her US debut.
14.
In 1965, Joan Sutherland toured Australia with the Joan Sutherland-Williamson Opera Company.
15.
Joan Sutherland continued to add dramatic bel canto roles to her repertoire, such as Donizetti's Maria Stuarda and Lucrezia Borgia, as well as Massenet's Esclarmonde.
16.
Joan 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.
17.
Opera superstar Dame Joan Sutherland gives an exhaustive account of her performing and recording career over four decades.
18.
Joan Sutherland gave an interview to The Guardian in which she lamented the lack of technique in young opera singers and the dearth of good teachers.
19.
Joan Sutherland began her regular involvement with the event in 1993, serving on the jury five consecutive times and later, in 2003, becoming its patron.
20.
Joan Sutherland wanted to go, she was happy to go, and in the end she died very, very peacefully.
21.
Joan Sutherland had a phenomenal range, size and quality of voice.
22.
Joan Sutherland was described as down to earth despite her status as a diva.
23.
Joan Sutherland's voice is much larger, but its plush monochrome robs it of carrying power in dramatic moments.
24.
Joan Sutherland was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the 1961 Birthday Honours.
25.
Joan Sutherland is a Distinguished Member of the Sigma Alpha Iota International Music Fraternity.
26.
Joan Sutherland was elevated within the Order of the British Empire from Commander to Dame Commander in the 1979 New Year Honours.
27.
In 1992 Joan Sutherland was a founding patron and active supporter of the Tait Memorial Trust in London.
28.
Joan Sutherland visited the centre for its opening and again in 1996.
29.
Joan Sutherland received the Lifetime Contribution Award in 2001 Echo Klassik.
30.
Two stamps featuring Joan Sutherland were issued on Australia Day 2004 to mark the award.
31.
In 2012, Joan Sutherland was voted into the first Hall of Fame of the magazine Gramophone.
32.
Joan Sutherland made various recital and lieder recordings, usually with Richard Bonynge, many of them originally double-LPs.