Joan Sutherland

Born the daughter of Scottish immigrants, Joan Sutherland's father died when she was six years old. She was raised in a musical family by her non-professional mezzo-soprano mother, thriving with singing lessons during her childhood and undergoing years of dedicated work and training. After winning first prize in a singing competition, which provided two years of free vocal training, she made her debut in Sydney in 1947. Following additional competition wins, she moved to London to study at the Royal College of Music and subsequently debuted as a resident soprano at Covent Garden in 1952, appearing in "The Magic Flute." Although she gave her first concert at 21, her voice reached its full maturity approximately seven years later. Sutherland married conductor Richard Bonynge, a childhood friend and former singing coach, in 1954; they had one son and two grandchildren. Throughout her four-decade career, she became one of the leading 20th-century coloratura sopranos, performing in over 1800 operatic appearances and portraying 49 different roles. She authored an autobiography, "The Progress of a Prima Donna," published in 1997, and an authorized biography was written by Norma Major in 1995. After retiring on October 2, 1990, she divided her time between homes in Australia and Montreux, Switzerland. She experienced severe arthritis in her adult years and died on October 10, 2010, at her home near Montreux, Switzerland, at the age of 85.