Dame Joan Sutherland

Dame Joan Sutherland (November 7, 1926-October 10, 2010) was named "La Stupenda" by her fans and is best known for the bel canto operas of Donizetti and Bellini.

She made her concert debut in Sydney, as Dido in Purcell's Dido and Aeneas, in 1947 and made her operatic debut in Judith, in 1951. In 1952, she first performed as the First Lady in Mozart's The Magic Flute, at London's Royal Opera House.

Sutherland's Methropolitan Opera debut took place on November 26, 1961, when she sang Lucia di Lammermoor. Her last appearance there was on December 19, 1987, when she sang in Il trovatore. Other noteworthy operas she has performed are Lakme, Les Huguenots, Semiramide, Don Giovanni, La Sonnambula, Les contes d'Hoffmann, Gigoletto, Turandot, Dialogues of the Carmelites, The Midsummer Marriage, and Norma.

In 1961, she was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire and also named the Australian of the Year. In the Queen's Birthday Honours of June 9, 1975, she was named a Companion of the Order of Australia. In the New Year's Honours of 1979, she was elevated from Commander to Dame Commander.

On November 29, 1991, the Queen bestowed on Dame Joan the Order of Marit. In January 2004 she received the Australia Post Australian Legends Award. Two stamps featuring Joan Sutherland were issued on Australia Day 2004. Laster in 2004, she received a Kennedy Center Honor.

In her own words, given in an interview with The Guardian newspaper in 2002, her biggest achievement was to sing the title role in Esclarmonde in 1971.