Australia’s most famous opera singer, Dame Joan Sutherland, died in Switzerland on Sunday aged 83, after a long battle with illness.
“The family of Dame Joan Sutherland … wishes to let all her friends and admirers know that she passed away very peacefully in the evening of October 10 at her home in Switzerland after a long illness,” a statement faxed to AFP by a family assistant said.
Born and raised in Sydney, “La Stupenda”, as she was dubbed by theatre lovers, moved to Switzerland 20 years ago after her retirement from the stage.
“Her legacy lives on in the beautiful arias with which she graced the world,” Recording Academy CEO Neil Portnow said in a media release.
“[She] possessed an organic and elegant voice with astonishing range, vibrance and sense of drama.”
On many lists of the world’s greatest sopranos she ranks second only to Maria Callas. The late Luciano Pavarotti dubbed her “the voice of the century” and Spanish diva Montserrat Caballé said her voice was like heaven, AFP reported.
She is survived by her husband Richard Bonynge, her son Adam and daughter-in-law Helen, and two grandchildren, Natasha and Vanya.
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