Opera

Strangely enough I associate Dame Joan Sutherland with failed attempts to use a Coke machine.

My grandfather studied and sang with Dame Joan at the Sydney Conservatorium and later on briefly at the Sydney Opera House. One story he used to tell about Dame Joan was finding her in a corridor frustrated and confused by a new fangled invention from the seventies that would allow you to purchase drinks via a machine. Nonno (as we call him) had recently familiarised himself with the functioning of the drink machine and instructed her upon its complex operation. The thought of two practitioners of this high Baroque art, puzzling over a coke machine – one very large soprano and one short Italian tenor – was always an amusing image.

But upon hearing about her death this morning Nonno also said another thing that he would often repeat about Dame Joan: “She was a really lovely person. Really humble, just like everybody else, never acted like she was a big star.” This is something that has been repeated in numerous obituaries about the great Australian singer, and leads me to think whether she is the greatest Australian of the last century?

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  • Just Was says:

    09:21am | 07/01/11

    Dame Joan Sutherland belonged in another age. She was racially prejuduced at times, but could do it in a voice better than others. When once in a post office she berated the dark chap who was serving her, in a belittling way that also showed what she thought of other… Read more »

  • Jake says:

    02:59pm | 08/12/10

    Are you stupid? “Opera singers aren’t even that talentedin the pantheon of artists, they have less range than many pop singers…” 1) All opera singers have years of intense training to perfect their technique 2) Their ranges are much wider than most pop singers. Pop singers sing one octave many… Read more »

 

Whatever happened to the grand promoter of the great big ETS tax – Prime Minister Rudd?  Channel 9 said it cost $1.4 million to take 68 people to Copenhagen.

Rudd sails in the sunset: Garrett goes solo over Copenhagen.

What was the cost of the remainder of the 114 that actually went?

Up to Copenhagen the great tax advocates were Mr Rudd and Senator Wong who have suddenly gone very quiet and given all the running to junior Minister Peter Garrett.

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  • guenstiges hotel says:

    08:11am | 25/02/10

    Factor Officer,break accept eat now church chain early cry moment factory asset relevant narrow pub drawing survey overall regulation definition performance divide play revolution buy leadership weight build connect spring standard sentence previously need else pupil commitment publication job priority relative aid rare general speech route environment forest truth floor… Read more »

  • persephone says:

    09:57am | 13/01/10

    Roberto and haven’t we had a lot of ‘the coldest this, the hottest that’ in recent years? That’s the whole point - once upon a time, these extreme climate events were dotted out through the years, with one excepitional event not matched for decades. Now we have extreme events occuring… Read more »

 

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