Joan Sutherland's performance at Covent Garden in the title role of Lucia Di Lammermoor in 1959 established her as one of the leading coloratura sopranos of her day, earning her the name of La Stupenda in answer to Maria Callas' La Divina.
Sutherland was born in Sydney, Australia, in 1926. Her mother was a pupil of the great Salvatore Marchesi, who taught Melba, and there was music on both sides of her family. Having studied in Australia, Sutherland travelled to London with her mother to study at the opera school at The Royal College of Music, and subsequently joined the Covent Garden company.
Success in London led to performances in Italy, France. Austria and the U.S., where she first appeared at the Metropolitan Opera, New York in 1961.
In 1965 and 1967 she returned to Australia with her own company, where she sang all four soprano roles in Hoffmann at the new Sydney Opera House. Most of her mature performances were conducted by her husband, Richard Bonynge.
Since retiring from public performance in 1993, she has continued to give masterclasses, notably at the Britten-Pears School at Aldeburgh in England.
The quality of her voice has been described as utterly and completely pure, free from any kind of wobble or intrusive vibrato. Her mad scene in Lucia was characterised by complete dramatic involvement, so that the vocal performance, which was a triumph, was never presented as separate from the drama.
She has said herself that it is important for young singers to watch performance, whether it be theatre, dance or other singers at work, so that they can learn to recognise the essence of drama and to reproduce it themselves.
