Featured In
ALBUMHandel: Alcina, HWV 34 by Dame Joan SutherlandDame Joan Sutherland, Fritz Wunderlich & Ferdinand Leitner
Albums by Dame Joan Sutherland
ALBUMHandel: Alcina, HWV 34 by Dame Joan SutherlandDame Joan Sutherland, Fritz Wunderlich & Ferdinand Leitner
ALBUMDonizetti, Verdi, Handel & Bellini: Opera WorksDame Joan Sutherland
ALBUMGraun: Montezuma – Excerpts (Opera Gala – Volume 6)Lauris Elms, Dame Joan Sutherland & Richard Bonynge
ALBUMHandel: Giulio Cesare – Excerpts (Opera Gala – Volume 7)Dame Joan Sutherland & Richard Bonynge
ALBUMLehar: The Merry Widow – Excerpts (Opera Gala – Volume 9)Dame Joan Sutherland & Richard Bonynge
ALBUMBellini: I puritani (Selections)Dame Joan Sutherland, Alfredo Kraus, Dorothy Cole, Raymond Wolansky, Nicola Ghiuselev, San Francisco Opera Orchestra & Richard Bonynge
ALBUMVerdi: La Traviata - HighlightsDame Joan Sutherland, Orchestra del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, John Pritchard, Carlo Bergonzi, Robert Merrill & Coro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino
ALBUMBellini: I Puritani (Glyndebourne)Dame Joan Sutherland, Nicola Filacuridi, John Kentish, Giuseppe Modesti, Vittorio Gui, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra & The Glyndebourne Chorus
ALBUMWolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Der Schauspieldirektor "The Impresario" (1957)Dame Joan Sutherland, Alexander Young, Peter Lagger, Gwyn Griffith, Naida Labay, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra & Bryan Balkwill
ALBUMHandel: Alcina, HWV 34London Symphony Orchestra, Richard Bonynge, Dame Joan Sutherland, Teresa Berganza & Monica Sinclair
Dame Joan Sutherland's Popular Music Videos
Si Fino All'Ore Estreme (Live On The Ed Sullivan Show, March 8, 1970)
Dame Joan Sutherland & Marilyn Horne
Salut a la France (Live On The Ed Sullivan Show, December 8, 1968)
Dame Joan Sutherland
Son Vergin Vezzosa (Live On The Ed Sullivan Show, August 18, 1963)
Dame Joan Sutherland
Regnava Nel Silenzio (Live On The Ed Sullivan Show, December 3, 1961)
Dame Joan Sutherland
Ardon gli incensi (Live On The Ed Sullivan Show, October 18, 1964)
Dame Joan Sutherland
Artist Playlists
Dame Joan Sutherland Essentials
The towering soprano's legacy looms large.
Artist Biography
One of the 20th century’s greatest sopranos, Dame Joan Sutherland’s golden legato and dazzling agility established her as an opera star and placed her at the forefront of the bel canto repertoire revival. Born in Sydney, Australia, in 1926, Sutherland was influenced by her mezzo-soprano mother and began studying voice at 18. She went to London to study at the Royal College of Music as a dramatic Wagnerian soprano, but her crystalline high notes and exceptional coloratura caught the attention of young conductor and pianist Richard Bonynge. The two married, and, at Bonynge’s encouragement, Sutherland transitioned to the dramatic coloratura repertoire for the rest of her career. She debuted at the Royal Opera House singing minor roles, but was quickly handed the lead: Her Lucia di Lammermoor (1835) in the Royal Opera’s 1959 production catapulted her into overnight and lasting stardom. As she triumphed on every major stage, Sutherland enlivened the bel canto repertoire with humorous sparkle and tragic velvet tones; her singing on records was compared to a Stradivarius violin in Lucia and La Fille du Régiment (1839), both conducted by Bonynge. Dame Joan also mentored a young tenor—Luciano Pavarotti—as another lasting contribution to the operatic world.
Hometown
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Genre
Classical