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Preludefrom la traviata- GiuseppeVerdi AustralianOpera and BalletOrchestra Conductedby BrianCastles-Onion

Welcome AdrianCo[lette AM ChiefExecutive, Opera Australia

AustralianNationaI Anthem

'Be[[ Song'from Lakmd- L6oDelibes joan Sutherland

TheHonourable Jutia Ci[tard MP PrimeMinister of Austratia

'Parigi, o cara'from la traviata- CiuseppeVerdi JoanSuthertand, Luciano Pavarotti

Her ExcettencyProfessor Marie BashirAC, CVO Governorof New SouthWales

Mad Scenefrom Luciadi Lammermoor- GaetanoDonizetti JoanSutherland

Mr Moffatt OxenbouldAM

'Era dessoit figtiomio' from LucreziaBorgia - CaetanoDonizetti JoanSuthertand

MrAdamBonynge

'Va, pensiero'from Nabucco- CiuseppeVerdi AustralianOpera and BatletOrchestra, Opera Australia Chorus Conductedby BrianCastles-Onion

Home SweetHome JoanSuthertand 'Casta Diva'fromNorma -VincenzoBellini JoanSuthertand !* .,,ils tI i I

JoanSutherland is certainlythe greatestvoice of the century.

The late LucianoPavarotti. tenor

DameJoan's unique God-given gift hasbeen an inspiration for methroughout my career andthanks to herrecordings, will be inspiringmany singers for yearsto come.She is greatly missed,but hervoice lives on .

CherytBarker, soprano

WheneverJoan sang, there was always an incredible awareness amongst all thosepresent, that wewere hearing something very special and magical, especially in herdazzling displays of coloratura.I am extremely fortunate to havebeen part of thiswonderfulexperience.

CtiffordGrant OAM, bass

DameJoan Sutherland was not onlyone of thegreatest singers ever but a trueartist in every sense.Her dedication to herart wasexemplary and the legacyof LaStupenda will be with usalways. PeterColeman-Wright, baritone

I rememberstanding on stagenear Joan each night duringthe BellSong in Lakm6,thinking that I mustnever become blasd about beingso closeto suchsupreme art. My goodfortune in beingher colleaguewas sweetened all the moreby herendearing warmth, wit andfriendliness. For me,an honourand a pleasure.

John PringleAM, baritone

It is an honourfor OperaAustralia to arrangethe program for DameJoan's State Memorial Service.Her stellar talent, and the time sheand her husbandRichard Bonynge invested in Australia,inspired both a great audiencefor opera and the developmentof so manyfine Australianartists.We would not havea moderncompany of suchdepth and significance without her example.

Adrian CotletteAM, Chief Executive,Opera Australia

Hervoice and careerhave been likea beaconfor all of us.I can't imaginethat anyonein the history of all singingwas ever better. Thankyou for all you gave to us, and to me especially. MaritynHorne, mezzo-soprano

Dameloan Sutherlandinspired not only with her voice,but with her loveand appreciationof all who workedwith her. Shegave us such joy. Hervoice could melt the coldestof hearts.Her bel canto heroinesset a benchmark for all who will follow. Thankyou DameJoan for allyou taughtme, for makingme laughand for makingme cry. Restin Peace,La Stupenda.

Emma Matthews,soprano ,.,,'%'*t

Shutthe doors, Turn out the [ights, Pu[[the curtainto a close.

Put awayyour tickets, Packup the chairs, Silencethose who shout'theshow must go on'.

Quietenthe piano, Hushviotins, Softenyour voicesand [et the mournersin.

Todaywe remember.

Not the diva,La Stupenda, the soprano,the dame. But our grandmother,our mother,our one true love,our famity,our friend.

Shewas our morningsun, our eveningstar. Shewas more than a voice,she was our song.

So;

Shutthe doors, Turn out the [ights, Pul[the curtainto a close.

And remember.

Peacebe with you my darlinggrandmother. Youwitl be in our heartsuntilthe endof davs.

NatashaBonynge t;lr$ ffi ffi ffi H ffi-r$l in ffi

i ii WhenI arrivedin Londonin 1966to studyat theLondon Opera Centre, I knew almost nobody. A shorttime later, I wastold to be at a masterclass conducted by RichardBonynge - which mademe somewhat nervous - andeven more so when I discoveredthe great Joan Sutherland wasto be thereas well.

Butthe two people could not havebeen more friendly and encouraging. The advice they gave meat that veryfirst meetingchanged the direction of mycareer and gave me both inspiration andconfidence.

Threeyears later, when I finishedmy courseat the OperaCentre, I wasoffered the chance to be a supportingsoloist at the RoyalFestival Hall, and for thefirst timeI stoodon stagewith DameJoanforaconcertperformanceolAlcina-whichforayoungrecentstudentwasan awe-inspiringexperience. But that great lady was totally supportive - and remained so for all four decadesthat I cameto knowher.

Therecan be no doubtthat herswas a uniquevoice - thegreatest of itstime. But her audiences didn'tnecessarily know the great lady behind that voice.She was friendly, approachable, honest, generouswith her time and supportive to younger colleagues. Joan's focus was only on presenting thefinest quality of music,and her wonderful offstage personality was a bonus.

Asa singershe had no rivals.Whenshe sang, itwas the sound of heaven.

Asa person,she brought pleasure just bybeing in theroom. lt willbe a verylong time before we hearsuch a voiceagain.

Andas well asthat weare alsosaying goodbye to a marvellouswoman.

Dame KiriTe KanawaONZ, DBE,AC, soprano

Joan'ssupreme artistry has given incalculable pleasure to countlessthousands around the world.Nobody lucky enough to haveheard her in thef leshwil! ever forget the sheervisceral thrillofher performances.We, along with those who didn't hear her live, have been hugely enrichedby herastonishing legacy of greatrecordings. The magnificent and timeless Sutherlandvoice now lives on, unforgotten,in thegrateful memory of somany. Wherever she isnow, we hope Joan is singing away, doing those breathtaking vocal leaps and trills that we will neverforget, running around performing mad scenes,and, of course,nailing those high E-flatsevery time.

AnthonyFreud, Ceneral Director and CEO; PatrickSummers. Music Director HoustonGrand Ooera Treasuredmemories come to mindabout performing with Joan - to bestanding next to her an stagewas truly amazing, as the magnificence of hervoice resonated throughout her whole bodyand itsenergy radiated to herfellow artists,inspiring our ownperformances. Joan possessedawicked sense of humour,was always down to earthand loyal and supportive to hercolleagues. Not only the greatest voice of the20th Centurybut Joan was a wonderful humanbeing and I wasprivileged to haveknown and worked with her for many years.

JenniferBermingham OAM, mezzo-soprano

JoanSutherland had no quaLmsabout singing anything. With a superbtechnique built in a lifetimeof dedicationto her art, shewas an inspirationto workwith. To sing with Dame Joan Sutherlandlifted one's own performance to anotherlevel, and I willnever forget the honour andprivilege of workingwith her. Thankyou Joan.

LaurisElms AM, OBE, mezzo-soprano

Simplyput, DameJoan was Australia's greatest opera singer. She was hailed around the world asLa Stupenda, was a fine ambassadorfor Australiaand made an extraordinarv contribution to operaboth here in Australia and internationallv.

LyndonTerracini, Artistic Director,Opera Australia

I askedher in thesecond act of DieFledermaus to dancepart of theczardas. She said, "Are you crazy?Dancing it andsinging it at thesame time? you must be joking." Then she'd go ahead anddo it. Shewas very game. Lotfi Mansouri,direcror

Whatcan onesay? Joan Sutherland not only possessedthe greatestvoice of the Z\th century shewas alsobrilliant, clever, witty and the mostprofessional colleague with whom t everworked. Whata privilegeit hasbeen for me to singin elevendifferent operas overtheyearswith ourwonderful Dameloan! A singerof herstature with the abilityto creategreat characters on stageis a nrity. RobertAltman AM, OBE, baritone

A wonderful colleague,a veryfunny and lovely lady. tt wasthe thril! of a lifetime to have known her and to havesung with her. Thankyou, Joan,for filling my tife with such a wealth of wonderfulmemories and pleasures. RobertGard OBE, tenor

"school's neverout," shealways said. t considermyself fortunate to haveknown Joan Sutherlandas a colleagueand friend. All thosehappy memories of wonderful performances. Sharingthe thrill and beauty of her extraordinaryvocal art. Her masterlytechnique, a 1esson to us all. A light hasbeen extinguished.t will missyou, dearestJoan. CraemeEwer AM, tenor foou

A careerthat spannedmore than forty yearsis surelysomething of a phenomenonin the operaticworld. Joan herself tended to betittleher achievements- shewas givena voiceby Cod,she worked hard, learned to singproperly and kept on singing.

But how many voicesthroughout history have been able to encompassa wide and amazingly diverserepertoire * sing constantly for forty years in the great opera housesof the wortd and survive?

ln her sixtiesshe was still singingNorma, Lucrezia Borgia and Luciain hugetheatres. Her long careerencompassed the baroqueoperas of Hande[,Haydn and Mozart- the nineteenth- centuryltalian and Frenchoperas ranging from the romanticto the verismo- Rossini,Bettini, Donizetti,Verdi, Puccini and Cileain the ltalianschool; Weber and Wagnerin the Cerman schoot;Counod, Delibes and Massenetin the French;with a few foraysinto operettaand a big recitalrepertoire. She sang much modernmusic, both in the theatreand concerthatt, by Britten,Tippett, Walton, Honneger,Frank Martin and Poulenc,not to forget in excessof forty completeopera recordings and countlessdiscs of ariasand songs.Many of the operaswhich shesang had not beenheard in the twentieth centuryor certainlynot for fifty years.

Why did this voicesurvive when so many careerstoday areso short,and survivesinging such diverseroles - Aidaand Otympia,Turandot and Lucia,Eva and Norma?

I can onty imaginethat it was becauseher techniqueof singingwas begunand nurturedin the schoolof bel canto.And what, we are constanttyasked, is bel canto?So many bookshave beenwritten about it, but it almostbelies description. lt unitesthe three naturaIregisters of the voice- the chest,middle and head- into one.lt demandsa seamlesslegato, a cotoratura techniqueand absolutecontrol of dynamics.lt requiresa beautifuIsound. The sizeof the voice hasnothing to do with it - atl categoriesof voiceare improvedwith trainingand Joan was fortunatethat her mother had studiedwith BurnsWalker, a pupilof Marchesi,herself a pupil of Manuel Carciawho was Rossini'sfirst Almavivain TheBarber of Seville.From an earty age shewas exposedto the right method.But method is not enough.One must be bornwith an instinctfor singingand this can rarelybe taught- only developed.Atthough there are hundreds of bookson the subject,I defy anyoneto conquerthis art by readingthem. Joan conquered this art becauseof an innerstrength, a tenacityof purpose,an enormousself-discipline and a great heart.

Shelearned, she sang and sheendured. She was a stronglady who realisedher potentialand in the erltirewortd shewas probablythe one leastconscious of it.

RichardBonynge AO, CBE

Editedwith permission,from an article written in Sydneyin i9B9and origina[[y published in/oan '1989 Sutherland-ATribute,pubtished by HoneysettPubtications in € $ f

i,. * ffi +&i.9 # & iA aE 1B &, i,' i-& ,? DameJoan herseLf is held in the highestesteem and affectianin myfamily. I grieveover the lossof thisgreat diva, especially from theprofessional and private sphereof my own interactionwith her. Thisbegan long ago, almostf iftyyears, in 7961 , whenI wasa secretary at DeccaRecords, London" Decca gave me thespecialtreat of attendingJoan's recording of Handel'sAlcinawith a stellar castconducted by Richard,in thatyear.Thust firstmetloan after that recordingas we travelledin the lift together.Even though shemust have been tired, shewas sofriendly and interestedin my own studyand experience.This meant allthe more to me when eventuallyI sangthe title role in ALcinafor OperaAustraLia, conducted by Richard.The following year Dameloan wasthe nextAlcina. With the far too earlydemise of DameJoan it seemswe come to the endof a very specia!operatic era. JoanCarden AO, OBE, soprano

Tobe on the stagewith Joan was to know thatyou werein the presenceof greatnessand I count myselffortunate that I am able to saythat "l workedwith Joan Sutherland". lt was an associationand connectionta be proud of, but at the sametime to enjoy,for shesimply enioyedher friends and coLleaguesas much as we enjoyedand valuedher presencein our workinglives. I stillmiss the 1Ayears of showswe did togetherand I shalLmiss even more the kindness,modesty and aboveall humourwhich she showed towards us lessermortals, her fellow singers. RichardCreager, tenor

Whatcan I sayabout Joan Sutherland? A megastar,an icon,La Stupenda. She was allthose and more.But to me shewas a realperson and talkedto me especiallywhen t performed in lI trovatorewith her.I reallygot to knowher. Shebecame a realfriend and helpedme enormously.I shallnever forget her kindnessand wordsof supportwhen I first sangfor the Companyin 1983.

KennethCo[[ins, tenor

Tohave shared the operaticstage with DameJoan wasa rareand treasuredprivilege. My memoriesof heryears with the Companywill alwaysbe associatedwith the unfailing beauty and sheenof her voice;of professionalismand dedication;of her relaxeddemeanor, even in the most trying circumstances;and finally of a warm,generous colleague.

AnsonAustin OAM, tenor

My first associationwith Joan was back in 1965when t wasa veryyoung BaronDuphol to her Violettam Latraviata in the Sutherland-WilliamsonCrand Opera Company. I wasvery much in aweof heramazing voice and presence,and then laterin my career! wasprivileged to work withher in Luciadi Lammermoor,lI trovatore,Norma, I puritaniand Hamtet, wheret always found her to be a colleaguewith greatunderstanding, mateship and professionalism. She was a truly amazingperson ' Donatdshanks Ao. oBE. oass oToou "%trho/ou/

JoanSutherland's first performanceof Luciadi Lammermoor,in Londonon 17 February1959, signaltedto the world that an admired company artist hadjust beenelevated to the status of internationalsuperstar. On that evening,Sutherland was accordeda positionin the operatic firmamentthat would be enhancedover the yearsby a seriesof exceptionaIinterpretations in the greatestopera houses, concert halls and recordingstudios of the globe.At her final operatic performancein Sydneyin 1990and her GalaFarewell at CoventCarden on the very last night of the sameyear, audiencesshowered her with gratitude and affection for the quality of her work throughoutan honourablecareer that spannedfour decades.

Luciain 1959 not only showcasedSutherland's impeccable bel cantotechnique, but also a dynamic stagedirector, FrancoZeffiretli, and one of the most reveredand expert ltalian conductorsof the 20thcentury, Tutlio Serafin.lmportantly it was the cutminationof years of hardwork in whichJoan's quite modestoperatic aspirations were reviewed,questioned and extendedby the dedicationand faith of severalwho recognisedand believedin her ability.Most notabteamong them was her husband,conductor Richard Bonynge, who, aswe[[ as reatisingthe heightsshe coutd attain, was ableto give herthe practicaland emotional assurancethat sheneeded to follow her remarkablevocal instincts.

Suthertandrose to the top of her professionwith naturaIhumitity and strongprofessional discipline,nurtured in the ensembleat CoventCarden since joining the companyin 1952. Sheknew that to be a primadonna was as much a responsibilityas a privilege.As her fame grew and as new audiencescame to hearher live performanceswith the soundof her dazzling recordingsringing in their ears,she was aware of just how much was expectedof her and how much of eachperformance's success was in her hands.She had an abilityto bringout the best in thosearound her, onstage and off, andwas an exampleand inspirationto younger colleagues,fitted with hopeand ambition.At the sametime shewas a gloriousaffirmation to experiencedartists of just how closeto vocalperfection an individualcoutd come.

Her returnto Australia- to headthe Sutherland-WitliamsonCrand Opera Company in 1965, and then her secondhomecoming in 1974to begina 16-yearassociation with TheAustralian Opera- were [andmarksin our country'smusical history. Audience expectations were high, but the realityof her performancesexceeded them a[[.Not just the phenomenalvoice, but her charm and sincerity as a performerand colleagueendeared her to all who heard and worked with her. Her legendarystatus derivesnot only from one of the longestand most distinguished careersin operatichistory, but from the fact that her beautifuland uniquevoice could engage, involveand emotionatlytransport the listener.When listeningto JoanSutherland sing, one knows with absolutecertainty that one is in the presenceof greatness.Fortunately her recordedlegacy sti[[ remindsus of just how blessedwe are to have beentouched and enriched by her artistry.

Moffatt OxenbouldAM

Edited,with permission,from a foreword to Diva- DameJoan Sutherland, Australia's Opera Legend, pubtishedby AustraliaPost in 2004.