Born in Sydney, Australia, in 1926, soprano Joan Sutherland is generally considered to be the greatest female opera singer of the second half of the 20th century. She is credited with nearly single-handedly reviving the public’s interest in the bel canto works of Donizetti and Bellini, although she appeared in operas by other composers as well throughout her long career. She made her professional debut in 1947, singing the female title role in a concert version of Henry Purcell’s Dido & Aeneas. Her first-place finish in Australia’s top vocal competition helped finance further studies, and Sutherland relocated to London and the opera school at the Royal College of Music in 1951. She debuted on the stage of the Royal Opera (Covent Garden) a year later, singing a few minor roles. One such production included appearing alongside Maria Callas, who sang the title role in Bellini’s Norma. This was a part Sutherland herself would perform hundreds of times later in her career.
Sutherland’s marriage in 1954 to opera conductor Richard Bonynge is credited with changing her emphasis from the Wagnerian-type roles she had originally preferred, to a lighter repertoire that would take advantage of the high notes she appeared to sing with ease. Her breakthrough role was as the title character in Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor, a 1959 Royal Opera production that solidified her position as La Stupenda, a woman with a voice unlike any other in the world of opera. Lucia became her signature role—she made her Metropolitan Opera debut in a 1961 production of that work—although she also appeared as the lead soprano in many other bel canto gems throughout her career. These operas include La sonnambula and I Puritani by Bellini (in addition to the aforementioned Norma), Maria Stuarda, Anna Bolena and Lucrezia Borgia by Donizetti, and La traviata by Verdi.
Sutherland was celebrated for her amazing vocal agility and purity of tone, both in live performances as well on the many recordings she made of complete operas and selections of individual arias. Although her diction was not considered to be her strong point—many critics insist her laxity at pronouncing words detracted from her overall approach—she rarely disappointed her audiences with anything but a pitch-perfect performance. Sutherland made her final appearance on the operatic stage in 1990 (at age 63), singing the role of Marguerite de Valois in Meyerbeer’s grand opera Les Huguenots. This Sydney Opera House production was thankfully captured for posterity on DVD.
Sutherland sings an aria from “I Puritani” by Vincenzo Bellini:
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