Guide to the Theatre programs and ephemera regarding Dame Joan Sutherland and Richard Bonynge, May 1947-August 2015

Summary

Collection number:

Sutherland

Language:

English and English

Preferred citation:

Acknowledgement of use this material should refer to the Ephemera PROMPT collection.

Citation of items from this collection should include references to author's/organisation's name, date, item title, Publisher and place of publication.

Example: J.C. Williamson (Firm). Theatre Royal (Adelaide, S.A.). 1950, Gilbert Sullivan opera season [theatre program] : The gondoliers J. C. Williamson Ltd [Adelaide]

Availability:

Available

Background

Content Summary:

The Sutherland/Bonynge file in the Library's PROMPT collection documents the extensive and intertwined Australian and overseas careers of opera singer Joan Sutherland, and orchestral conductor Richard Bonynge. This husband and wife team of musicians helped the career of the other by frequently performing together, her usually as principal singer under his baton.

It was Bonynge who discovered Sutherland's ability to sing the great bel canto roles and to this end he researched and conducted the operatic repertoire which most suited his wife's unique coloratura voice.

Printed materials in the PROMPT collection include programs and printed ephemera such as brochures, leaflets, tickets, etc. Theatre programs are taken as the prime documentary evidence of a performance by Sutherland/Bonynge. In a few cases however, the only evidence of a performance is a piece of printed ephemera. In these cases the type of piece is identified, eg, brochure.

The list is based on imperfect holdings and is updated as gaps in the Library's holdings for these artists are filled. Unless otherwise stated, all entries are based on published programs in the PROMPT collection.

Biographical / Historical:

Dame Joan Sutherland, one of the greatest opera singers of the twentieth century, enjoyed immense success in all the world's major opera houses as a leading exponent of bel canto for over forty years. She also left an unsurpassed recording legacy, and her concert and recital repertoire was extensive. Educated at St Catherine's School, Waverley, Sutherland first studied singing in Sydney at home with her mother, a mezzo-soprano, and later trained formally with John and Aida Dickens. In 1947 she made her concert debut as the tragic heroine of Henry Purcell's Dido and Aeneas. In 1950 she won Australia's most distinguished prize for singing, the Sun Aria Competition, and sang the world premiere of Eugene Goossens' Judith at the New South Wales State Conservatorium of Music in 1951. Only months later, Sutherland won a scholarship and moved to London to study with Clive Carey at the Royal College of Music. She joined the company of Covent Garden, making her Royal Opera debut on October 28, 1952, as the First Lady in Mozart's The Magic Flute. At first, Sutherland sang roles across the repertoire, often far from what would later become her domain. She was Helmwige in Wagner's Die Walkure, the Overseer in Richard Strauss' Elektra, Amelia in Un ballo in maschera and even the title role of Verdi's Aida, as well as Jennifer in the world premiere of Sir Michael Tippett's A Midsummer Marriage. In 1954, Sutherland married fellow Australian Richard Bonynge, then a brilliant young pianist and accompanist. Under his guidance, Sutherland began to specialise in bel canto operas of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. International recognition of her full vocal stature came with her appearance at Covent Garden in the title role of Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor in February 1959, conducted by Tullio Serafin. Bonynge later became her regular conductor. Audiences and critics alike were awed by a voice of Wagnerian proportions producing the coloratura fireworks that the bel canto repertory demands. In Venice, after a performance of Handel's Alcina, she was hailed as "La Stupenda". Sutherland enjoyed immense success worldwide with her expanding repertoire. This included Bellini roles of Amina and Elvira (both 1960), Beatrice di Tenda (1961) and Norma (1963), and reviving Rossini's Semiramide (1962), Donizetti's La fille du regiment (1966), Maria Stuarda (1971), Lucrezia Borgia (1972) and Anna Bolena (1984). Among her Verdi roles were Violetta (1960), Leonora in Il trovatore (1975) and Amalia in I masnadieri (1980). Her Cleopatra in Handel's Giulio Cesare was considered outstanding. She also distinguished herself in French operas including Meyerbeer's Les Huguenots (1962), Faust (1965), Delibes' Lakme (1967) and Massenet's Esclarmonde (1974). In 1965 Sutherland brought her own company to Australia, the Sutherland-Williamson International Grand Opera Co., with Bonynge as musical director. She returned in 1974 to sing Les contes d'Hoffman with the Australian Opera. From 1976 she returned regularly to the Australian Opera in many of her greatest roles. Sutherland sang her last opera in 1990 in her home town, Sydney. At the end of the performance of Les Huguenots she stood before a background of fireworks spelling out "Farewell", festooned in streamers thrown by an enraptured audience. On New Year's Eve 1990 she made a surprise appearance at Covent Garden singing Home Sweet Home in the party scene of a televised performance of Die Fledermaus. In her retirement, Sutherland made a film appearance as Mum in On Our Selection, worked with young singers as a master teacher, and adjudicated singing competitions all over the world. Sutherland and Bonynge lived all over the world throughout their careers. They resided mostly in Chalet Monet, their home beside Lake Geneva, Switzerland, during their retirement.

Arrangement:

This finding aid is divided into three parts encompassing: 1. Australian performances: Including Sutherland in oratorio, opera, recital and film and Bonynge as piano soloist, accompanist and conductor. In this part readers should be aware that those programs flagged "(AO)" are only held in the Australian Opera PROMPT file of the PROMPT Collection, not in the Sutherland/Bonynge file.2. Overseas performances: Documenting Sutherland in oratorio, opera and recital and Bonynge as accompanist and conductor.3. Tribute performances, memorial services and celebrations: Australian and overseas.

The arrangement in each sequence is chronological by year and then by month, week or day. NB. All dating is based on evidence in the programs or ephemera. Included are Bonynge's career performances after Sutherland's retirement in 1990 and significant singers such as Luciano Pavarotti and Marilyn Horne are also noted.Entries for each program are arranged as follows: (Venue/Theatre and city); company name; name of opera (Creator), concert or recital; year, day/s and month; Sutherland's performance role or other involvement; Bonynge's role.

Additional sequences in the Sutherland/Bonynge file:There are other sequences in this file which are not included in this aid but which researchers will find useful. These are as follows: Press and magazine clippings (Australian and overseas); biography; ephemera and monograph references.

Access and use