Sutherland, Dame Joan

Sutherland, Dame Joan, 1926–, Australian soprano. Sutherland studied at the Sydney Conservatory, where she made her debut in Eugene Goossen's Judith in 1951. Beginning in 1952 she was a leading singer at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden in London. She debuted at both La Scala, Milan and the Metropolitan Opera in 1961. Sutherland was considered unsurpassed in the bel canto repertory among contemporary singers. She was particularly celebrated for her singing of the title role in Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor. She frequently performed with her husband, Richard Bonynge, conducting. She was created a Dame of the British Empire in 1979, and she retired in 1990.

Bibliography

See her autobiography (1998); biographies by R. R. Braddon (1962) and E. Greenfield (1973).

---

Sutherland, Dame Joan

(born Nov. 7, 1926, Sydney, Austl.) Australian soprano. After debuting in Sydney in 1947, she moved to London. Having sung minor roles at Covent Garden from 1952, she established her status as one of the leading coloraturas of the 20th century in a 1959 performance of Lucia di Lammermoor. She made her Metropolitan Opera debut in 1961, and she became a favourite there and worldwide in bel canto roles until her retirement in 1991.