Celebrated soprano Dame Joan Sutherland has died peacefully at the age of 83. Family members said the star passed away on Sunday evening at her home near Geneva in Switzerland.
The Daily Mail reports that Sutherland only retired from performing 20 years ago and had been in poor health since a bad fall in 2008 when she broke her legs.
Joan Sutherland was born in Australia to Scottish parents and began singing as a small child. Originally she performed as a mezzo-soprano like her mother but later she realised that she was actually a soprano and concentrated on her higher range. She was 33 before she achieved her first major success and fame with a performance of Lucia at the Royal Opera House in Convent Garden.
She was acclaimed across the world for her wide-range of roles and was called 'La Stupenda' by her Italian fans. Friend Luciano Pavarotti called her the "voice of the century".
She was well-know for singing the operas of Handel and performed in 'Norma', 'Il Trovatore', 'La Traviata' and 'Riogoletto'.
Her husband is conductor Richard Bonynge and she is also survived by her son Adam and two grandchildren. In a statement her daughter-in-law Helen said: "She’s had a long life and gave a lot of pleasure to a lot of people."
