Joan Alston Sutherland OM AC DBE (1926 - 2010)

Born 7 Nov 1926 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Ancestors

Died 10 Oct 2010 at age 83 in Les Avants, Montreux, Vaud, Switzerland

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Biography

Joan Sutherland OM AC DBE is a member of Clan Sutherland.

Joan Sutherland OM AC DBE is Notable.

A transcendental performer who had a magic quality that held audiences captive right around the world. Her influence extended well beyond the opera world and reached into popular culture.

Sydney Morning Herald, 2010 ^[1]

During the International Gathering of Clan Sutherland in 2003, Dame Joan and her husband stayed with the Hon. Martin and Mary Ann Janson at Uppat House. She was for many years until her death an Honorary Vice President of the Clan Sutherland Society in Scotland.

Performance Legacy, Awards and Honours

Known as 'La Stupenda', Dame Joan Sutherland was a world famous opera singer.

Even at 16 she had a fantastic voice. She also weighed 16 stone, suffered from chronic sinusitis and had appalling teeth. It was her courage, and her husband's guidance, that transformed this gawky girl into a superlative actress-singer. The Womens Weekly, 1963^[2]

Joan Sutherland was born to a gifted singer, Muriel Alston, and she studied piano and voice with her mother until 1946, when she won a vocal competition and began studying voice with John and Aida Dickens. She made her singing debut as Dido in a concert performance of Henry Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas in Sydney in 1947 and her operatic debut in the title role of Sir Eugene Goossens’s Judith in 1951. Cash prizes from several vocal competitions made it possible for her to move to London with her mother and begin studying with Clive Carey at the Royal College of Music.

In 1952 she was accepted into the company of the Royal Opera, Covent Garden, and made her first appearance there as the First Lady in Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s The Magic Flute.

Her accompanist and vocal coach, Richard Bonynge, who had worked with her in Sydney, was convinced that her future lay in the florid coloratura repertoire, even though Covent Garden was training her as a dramatic Wagnerian soprano, which was in vogue at the time.

In 1954 she married Richard, and with his help and encouragement she began to develop her higher range.

In 1959 Covent Garden revived Gaetano Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor for her, and in 1961 she made her New York City debut in the same role at the Metropolitan Opera. Her performance in this difficult title role won international recognition and established her as the leading coloratura of the 20th century.

Sutherland afterward sang in Venice, Vienna, Dallas (Texas), Paris, Barcelona (Spain), Genoa (Italy), Milan, San Francisco, Chicago, and her native Sydney. Her greatest later successes were as Norma in Vincenzo Bellini’s opera of that name, Cleopatra in George Frideric Handel’s Giulio Cesare, and the three sopranos in Jacques Offenbach’s The Tales of Hoffmann. She also had an impressive concert career and can be heard on many highly acclaimed recordings.

Sutherland retired from performing in 1990. ^[3].

Companion of the Order of the British Empire/Dame Commander
In 1961 she was appointed Companion of the Order of the British Empire (C.B.E.). In the New Years Honours in 1979 she was elevated to the rank of Dame Commander (D.B.E.).

1961 Australian of the Year
When the Australia Day Council Chairman Sir Norman Martin named her the 1961 Australian of the Year, he proclaimed: ‘She is the Nellie Melba of our time – no doubt about that. Joan Sutherland has restored Australia to the glittering centre of the musical world.’ ^[4]

Order of Australia
In the Queen's Birthday Honours List 9th June 1975 Dame Joan was one of the inaugural recipients of the newly established Order of Australia (created February 1975) in which she was made a Companion (A.C.) ^[5].

Order of Merit
29th November 1991: H.M. Queen Elizabeth II bestowed on Dame Joan membership of the Order of Merit.

For many years Dame Joan served as an Honorary Vice President of the Clan Sutherland Society in Scotland. She was incredibly proud of her Scottish roots and took a great interest in the work of the Society.

Birth and Family Life

Dame Joan Sutherland was born in 1926 in Sydney, Australia, the daughter of parents with deep Scottish roots. She inherited much of her musical talent from her mother.

Her mother, Muriel Alston had married the older widower William Sutherland in 1921. William had 4 children from his previous marriage, and Muriel and William added Barbara in 1922 and then Joan in 1926 to their large family.

On the day of her sixth birthday her father took her for a swim at the beach on Sydney Harbour, located 111 stone steps below their home at Point Piper. Afterwards he collapsed at the top of those steps. Dead from a heart attack.

The death of her father dramatically changed her family's fortunes. William was a master tailor and had been forced to mortgage the family home to sustain the business during the depression, as doctors and lawyers were no longer able to pay for the suits he crafted for them On his death, the family sold their home, Joan's older siblings moved into their own shared accommodation and Muriel, Barbara and Joan moved back into Muriel's family home.

From the age of 5 Joan was plagued by chronic sinusitis, ear infections and bad teeth. Her mother, thinking that her tonsils were the problem, took her to a specialist. That child, the specialist said, Has the most perfect vocal chords I have ever seen. She must have no operation that will damage them. Therefore, at 11 years of age she retained her tonsils and her perfect vocal chords, but her sinuses, ears and teeth remained an issue. Poor health and pain became normal conditions that she tolerated and she was known to have fortnightly medical treatments to flush her sinuses to allow her to function.

Her sister Barbara suffered from insecurities and epilepsy and tragically took her own life as a young woman. As Joan's musical talents manifested, she made the decision to move to London and her mother accompanied her.^[6]

In London she continued to build her friendship with Australian Richard Bonynge. While she trained in Opera, he was her frequent accompanist and coach. While she was emerging as an extraordinary talent, Rick's influence was immense. He understood her voice and her temperament and helped her to craft her career. ^[7]

Marriage

Thus began one of the most significant, enduring and fruitful artistic partnerships in Australia's history

Sydney Morning Herald, 2010^[8]

Joan married her accompanist and vocal coach,Richard Bonynge, in 1954 ^[9][10]. She had one son,Adam Bonynge, who was born two year's later, in 1956.^[11]

Death

Joan died on 10 October 2010, in Switzerland, after a long illness.^[12]

Tributes

• The City of Penrith's Performing Arts venue in Sydney, Australia is called "The Joan", and is formally known as the "Joan Sutherland Performing Arts Centre" ^[13]
• A Prima Donna's Progress: The Autobiography of Joan Sutherland, published 1997

Sources

1. ↑ Bryce Hallett and Ellie Harvey, Sydney Morning Herald, 12 October 2010, retrieved online 23 January 2019 Link to Article
2. ↑ Joan Sutherland (1963, February 13). The Australian Women's Weekly (1933 - 1982), p. 18. Retrieved January 23, 2019, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article47492925
3. ↑ Brittanica, "Dame Joan Sutherland, Australian Opera Singer", retrieved online 23 January 2019 Britannica - Joan Sutherland
4. ↑ National Australia Day Council, Australian of the Year Honour Roll, 1961 Joan Sutherland Australian of the Year Recipients - Dame Joan Sutherland
5. ↑ Dame Joan (1979, July 25). The Canberra Times (ACT : 1926 - 1995), p. 3. Retrieved January 23, 2019, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article110569932
6. ↑ Joan Sutherland (1963, February 13). The Australian Women's Weekly (1933 - 1982), p. 18. Retrieved January 23, 2019, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article47492925
7. ↑ Joan Sutherland - The Reluctant Prima Donna, Director Steve Cole, Producer Chris Hunt / An IAMBIC Production for BBC Wales, Documentary, 2006 at euroarts.com
8. ↑ 12 Oct 2010, Mark McGinness, Sydney Morning Herald, Final bow for La Stupenda, retrieved online 23 January 2019 [1]
9. ↑ Marriage Registration: "England and Wales Marriage Registration Index, 1837-2005," database, FamilySearch Record: QVDJ-1K2B (accessed 21 December 2022), Joan A Sutherland marriage to Richard A Bonynge registered Oct-Nov-Dec 1954 in Kensington; citing 1954, quarter 4, vol. 5C, p. 2101, Kensington, London, England, General Register Office, Southport, England.
10. ↑ Brittanica, "Dame Joan Sutherland, Australian Opera Singer", retrieved online 23 January 2019 [2]
11. ↑ Bryce Hallett and Ellie Harvey, Sydney Morning Herald, 12 October 2010, retrieved online 23 January 2019 [3]
12. ↑ Bryce Hallett and Ellie Harvey, Sydney Morning Herald, 12 October 2010, retrieved online 23 January 2019 [4]
13. ↑ The Joan, Penrith, retrieved online 23 January 2019 [5]

• The family tree of the Dukes, Earls, Lairds and Chiefs of Clan Sutherland 1100-2015 by John M Sutherland-Fisher, Genealogist of Clan Sutherland
• Private papers in the collection of John M Sutherland-Fisher, Genealogist of Clan Sutherland
• Wikipedia: Joan Sutherland