Joan Sutherland

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Joan Sutherland, 1990

Dame Joan Alston Sutherland DBE , AC , OM (born November 7, 1926 in Sydney , New South Wales , † October 10, 2010 in Montreux - Les Avants , Switzerland ) was an Australian opera singer ( soprano ).

Life

Joan Sutherland, 1962
Joan Sutherland, 1975

Sutherland was born in Sydney in 1926 as the daughter of Scottish immigrants. Her first singing teacher was her mother, a mezzo-soprano. At the age of 19 she began her studies at the Conservatory in Sydney with John and Aida Dickens. She made her concert debut in Sydney in 1947 as Dido in Purcell's Dido and Aeneas .

In 1951 she went to London to continue her education at the Royal College of Music with Clive Carey. A year later she made her debut as 1st Lady in Mozart's Magic Flute at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden , where her talent as a coloratura soprano was discovered. There she sang in 1952 the high priestess in Giuseppe Verdi's Aida and the small role of Clotilde in Bellini's Norma alongside the celebrated Maria Callas in the title role. In the same year she sang her first leading role there: Amelia in Un ballo in maschera by Giuseppe Verdi . Until her triumphant success as Lucia di Lammermoor in 1959, she remained a member of the ensemble at the Royal Opera House.

In the following years she sang at the major opera houses: 1959 at the Vienna State Opera , 1960 at La Scala in Milan , 1961 at the New York Metropolitan Opera , where she sang the title role in Gaetano Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor under the baton of Silvio Varviso , who is also making his debut . She was nicknamed La Stupenda (The Wonderful) by her fans . After a few years absence from the Metropolitan Opera, she celebrated a highly acclaimed comeback there in 1982 in her star role of Lucia di Lammermoor .

Joan Sutherland was appointed Commander of the British Empire in 1961 , then Dame Commander in 1978 and personally awarded the Order of Merit by Queen Elizabeth II in 1991 .

She left the Royal Opera House in London in 1990 in Die Fledermaus at the side of Luciano Pavarotti and Marilyn Horne .

Since 1954 she was married to the Australian conductor Richard Bonynge , under whose musical direction she performed frequently and with whom she recorded many bel canto operas. With him they had their son Adam. Joan Sutherland had a connection between vocal security and sound instinct and is considered one of the most important singers of the 20th century. In 1988 she was among the first artists to be inducted into the newly formed ARIA Hall of Fame . In her honor, the hall of the Sydney Opera House used for opera performances was named "Joan Sutherland Theater" in 2012.

literature

Web links

Commons : Joan Sutherland  - Collection of Images, Videos and Audio Files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Celebrated opera singer Joan Sutherland dies at 83 , The Washington Post, October 11, 2010.
  2. ^ Joan Sutherland dies at 83 Los Angeles Times, October 12, 2010
  3. ^ ARIA Hall of Fame. Australian Recording Industry Association , accessed August 6, 2017 .
personal data
SURNAME Sutherland, Joan
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Sutherland, Joan Alston (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Australian opera singer (soprano)
DATE OF BIRTH November 7, 1926
PLACE OF BIRTH Sydney , New South Wales
DATE OF DEATH October 10, 2010
Place of death Montreux-Les-Avants , Switzerland