The Autobiography of Joan Sutherland

About this book

Joan Sutherland's voice remains one of the marvels of our century. Her liquid tone, astonishing trills, range and accuracy justly earned her the title "La Stupenda", and led to standing ovations for her performances in all the major opera houses around the world. Now retired from singing but still busy judging, the most famous soprano of our time has at last written her autobiography, bringing to vivid life that remarkable career which spanned more than forty years. Brought up in a musical family in between-the-wars Australia, she saw early success in local singing competitions, finding enough encouragement to come to London in pursuit of her long-held ambition to sing at Covent Garden. Assisted by an Australian friend, Richard Bonynge, who was to become her husband and key musical partner, she began a sequence of dizzying triumphs across a wide repertoire, from Handel and Mozart to Bellini and Donizetti. Her definitive performances in operas such as "Lucia di Lamermoor" and "Norma" have forged ineradicable links with some of the most challenging coloratura roles in the repertoire. She is also remembered for her revival of some great French works and her love of operetta. In her own words, Joan Sutherland narrates the story of an ususpected talent which grew to become perhaps the finest of its age. She writes of colleagues, such as Luciano Pavarotti, Marilyn Horne and Alfredo Kraus, often filling in the comic and practical details of performance, as well as detailing the immensely hard work and punishing travel. Above all, this is the autobiography of a natural star whose irresistible warmth, professionalism and sheer joie de vivre have earned her a permanant and undiminished place in the affections of the music world. - Jacket flap.