Joan Sutherland (1926-2010)

October 11, 2010 9:06 AM

Dame Joan Sutherland has died at the age of 83. One of the most remarkable female opera singers of the 20th century, she was dubbed La Stupenda by a La Fenice audience in 1960 after a performance as Alcina. She possessed a voice of beauty and power, combining extraordinary agility, accurate intonation, "pin point staccatos, a splendid trill and a tremendous upper register, although music critics often complained about the imprecision of her diction. Her friend Luciano Pavarotti once called Sutherland the "Voice of the Century", while Montserrat Caballé described the Australian's voice as being like "heaven".
posted by Joe Beese (15 comments total)

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posted by Iridic at 9:21 AM on October 11, 2010 [1 favorite]

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[where . = oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!]
posted by Madamina at 9:23 AM on October 11, 2010

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posted by Ahab at 9:41 AM on October 11, 2010

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posted by dnash at 10:01 AM on October 11, 2010

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posted by ob at 10:03 AM on October 11, 2010

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posted by Tarrama at 10:34 AM on October 11, 2010

Another great one lost. :(
posted by Anima Mundi at 11:02 AM on October 11, 2010

She was my first and favorite Lucia di Lammermoor. Listening to her was like a virtual masterclass. I would always say, my God. How does she do that? It was absolutely effortless. No one could equal her breath control, purity of tone and her perfect trill. She will be greatly missed. Farewell, Dame Joan. You will forever be La Stupenda.
posted by cittehkitteh at 11:07 AM on October 11, 2010 [4 favorites]

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posted by LooseFilter at 11:14 AM on October 11, 2010

The silence left behind with the loss of her and her voice is heartbreaking. So no . from me... just a beautiful recording of her singing playing on my speakers, and wishing I had seen her perform just once.
posted by strixus at 12:09 PM on October 11, 2010 [1 favorite]

An incredible voice. She transformed my experience of opera. I hope there are some angel choirs delighted to receive an extraordinary soloist.

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posted by bearwife at 12:59 PM on October 11, 2010

One of the recordings that made me fall in love with opera was the 1971 Rigoletto she did with Pavarotti and Milnes. I listened to it (on cassette, on my Walkman) throughout high school.

Farewell, Dame Joan. Addio, stupenda.
posted by Pallas Athena at 1:40 PM on October 11, 2010

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posted by susanbeeswax at 10:25 PM on October 11, 2010