La Stupenda, a biography of Joan Sutherland

About this book

In the crowded history of opera, few singers have had such a long and distinguished career as Joan Sutherland. By 1960 "Joan" had virtually disappeared from her name, a recognition that she had become a prima donna. The beginning of the 1980s saw her singing as impressively as ever, repeating roles she had made famous more than twenty years previously and embarking on new ventures at a time when most sopranos would be thinking about retirement. The story of the Sydney secretary with a passion for singing who eventually became one of the greatest opera stars in the world could read as a catalogue of triumphs. But Sutherland's success, and her modest acceptance of it, has been set against a background of ill health and personal challenge that makes her seemingly effortless art on stage and recordings seem all the more remarkable. In this biography, written with the complete cooperation of Dame Joan and her husband Richard Bonynge, the full extent of her life and career is encompassed for the first time. There is also a reference section giving comprehensive details of first performances, recordings and a bibliography. The life of Dame Joan Sutherland is, in fact, largely the story of a notable partnership an interdependent association between herself and her mentor, Richard Bonynge, which has led to combined careers of the highest order and to such Sutherland accolades as "The Voice of the Century" and "La Stupenda."--Publisher.