NOW STREAMING: Norma starring Joan Sutherland Dame Joan Sutherland considered Norma, the lead character of Bellini’s bel canto melodrama, one of her favourite roles. She performed the brilliant and challenging score for Australian audiences for the first time in this 1978 production at the Sydney Opera House, reuniting with her regular collaborator Margreta Elkins, who plays Adalgisa, as well as Ronald Stevens and Clifford Grant. Watch the full opera on our free streaming service, OA | TV: https

NOW STREAMING: Lucia di Lammermoor Dame Joan Sutherland shines in her signature role in this 1986 production filmed at the Sydney Opera House. The production is now available to stream for free in full on OA | TV: https://bit.ly/3hVzFAz | Opera Australia

On this day in 1926, Australia's greatest operatic voice, and the megastar our opera theatre got its name from, was born. What better way to celebrate the occasion than with this historic treat; Dame Joan Sutherland performing La Traviata on our stage with Luciano Pavarotti. 📽 Courtesy of ABC Classic | Sydney Opera House

In 1990 Dame Joan Sutherland, one of the greatest opera singers of all time, bid farewell to the stage with a glorious performance of Meyerbeer’s tragic story, Les Huguenots alongside an all-star cast of Australian singers, and conducted by Richard Bonynge. ✨️ Stream the full performance now as part of our 50/50 digital season - available now: https://soh.online/stream-5050_joan-sutherland_oa_les-huguenots | Sydney Opera House

Luciano Pavarotti and Dame Joan Sutherland singing a scene from Gaetano Donizetti's opera Lucia di Lammermoor at the Metropolitan Opera in New York, 1987. | Luciano Pavarotti

In this clip, Dame Joan Sutherland speaks candidly about something she felt deeply: how many singers today lack the rudimentary skills needed to sing with beauty and without constriction. What she’s pointing to isn’t style or taste — it’s foundation. The ability to keep the voice free, coordinated, and unforced so the sound can actually bloom. When those basics are missing, singers often compensate with tension or effort instead of allowing the voice to do what it naturally wants to do. It’s a p