‘La Stupenda’ honoured
Tributes were paid to opera singer Dame Joan Sutherland yesterday as friends and fans gathered for a service of thanksgiving to celebrate her life and work.
Some 2,000 guests filled Westminster Abbey for the noon service in memory of “La Stupenda”, as Dame Joan became known, one of the towering figures of 20th century opera and a stalwart of the Royal Opera House (ROH). She died at her home in Switzerland in October last year, aged 83.
The service was organised by the Australian High Commission, the ROH and the Australian Music Foundation following a suggestion from her biographer, Dame Norma Major.