La Stupenda Performs ... Trivia Quiz

Answer: Dido & Aeneas

"Dido & Aeneas" was Purcell's first opera, which he wrote in stages during the late 1600s. The story is taken from Book IV of the "Aeneid", written by Virgil, and it recounts the love between Dido, the Queen of Carthage, and the Trojan hero Aeneas, then documenting the queen's decline into despair when the Trojan abandons her.

Sutherland was only twenty years old when she performed this in a concert in Sydney, but it was enough to showcase her extraordinary vocal agility.

Answer: Mozart

Written in 1791, "The Magic Flute" deals with the education of man as he struggles with the bonds of superstition and religion to attain a state of enlightenment. Eventually Earth turns into a form of Heaven and mortal men become akin to gods.

At this point in her career Sutherland had moved to London to study at the Royal College of Music where she would be engaged as their utility soprano.

Answer: Norma

"Norma" is set during the Roman conquest of Gaul, and it sees the druidess Norma fall in love and bear two children to the Roman proconsul Pollione. Tragically for Norma, Pollione then pursues the young temple virgin Adalgisa.

The lead role, as performed by Callas, contains a wide range of emotion and is, accordingly, viewed as one of the more difficult roles within a soprano's repertoire. I mention this because Sutherland was engaged in 1964 to take on the lead role and produced a performance that was so stunning that it led Pavarotti to call her "the greatest female voice of all time".

The not so subtle attempt to use Sally Field as a hint in this question relates to Sally's performance in the 1979 film "Norma Rae" in which she earned an Academy Award.

Answer: Un ballo in maschera

Verdi's opera is loosely based on a play by the French playwright Eugene Seribe called "Gustave III", which centres on the assassination of the King of Sweden in 1792 while attending a masked ball.

For Sutherland it was the start of a string of roles at the Royal which included playing the Countess in "The Marriage of Figaro" and Desdemona in "Othello".

Answer: Emilia di Liverpool

Joan married Richard Bonynge, an Australian conductor and pianist, in 1954 and gave birth to a son, Adam, two years later. At this point, all of Joan's training had been aimed at becoming a Wagnerian dramatic soprano but her husband was convinced that this was not Joan's fach (voice type) and, consequently, urged her to move toward bel canto (beautiful singing). Demonstrating her potential with Emilia, Sutherland would soon consolidate her position with a breathtaking performance the following year singing Donna Anna in Mozart's "Don Giovanni".

"Emilia di Liverpool" is a two-act dramatic opera by Gaetano Donizetti and it centres on Emilia, the daughter of Claudio, the Count of Liverpool. Emilia is seduced and then forsaken by Frederico.

Answer: Donizetti

Donizetti's work was inspired by "The Bride of Lammermoor", which is a tragic love story that was written by Sir Walter Scott. It tells the story of the love between Lucy Ashton and Edgar Ravenswood. Unfortunately for Lucy and Edgar, the Ashton and the Ravenswood families are the worst of enemies.

"Lucia" is noted for its "mad scene", which is considered one of the most demanding pieces for a coloratura soprano. The difficulty arises from its varied expressive and technical aspects. On the flip-side it also provides an opportunity for singers to showcase their technical proficiencies and accuracy in intonation. Sutherland grabbed her chance by delivering a faultless performance and never looked back.

The nod toward ninja turtles alludes to the name Donizetti holding similarities to Donatello, a member of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

Answer: True

Her album collected the Grammy for "Best Classical Performance - Vocal Soloist" at the 1962 awards. Away from all the accolades the album has garnered, it is considered by many to be an influential recording and a "pristine example of the high art of the coloratura". In 2011 the Australian National Film and Sound Archives added the album to its "Sounds of Australia" archives.

Answer: George Frederic Handel

"Alcina" was based on the poem "Orlando Furioso" by the Italian poet Ludovico Ariosto. The lead character, Alcina, is a sorceress who has a habit of seducing knights who arrive on her island and then changes them into creatures or inanimate objects once she becomes bored with them. She spellbinds the young knight Ruggiero and is then confronted by Ruggiero's betrothed, Bradamante disguised as her brother.

As the question indicates, this was the performance that saw her dubbed "La Stupenda", which means "The Stunning One", a name that would be attributed to her from that day forward all around the world.

Of the other composers, Scarlatti was Italian while Poulene and Gounod were both Frenchmen.

Answer: Massenet

Few sopranos have the courage to attempt this role because of its sheer difficulty. The height that the soprano's voice is required to reach with this piece is such that only those blessed with rare talent are able to achieve it.

For Massenet it was possibly his most ambitious composition, putting together a complex blend of textures and harmonies, delivering the story of a Byzantium empress and sorceress and her love for Roland, the Count of Blois.

Hayden was a German composer, Lehar, Austrian-Hungarian and Celia was Italian.

Answer: Home Sweet Home

At this point Sutherland was 63 years old and her voice was starting to show its age; however, such was her technique that she was still able to deliver astounding performances in the most challenging of roles.

"Les Huguenots" is a classic example of grand opera and was a hit when it opened in Paris in 1836. In later years it suffered a decline in fortune until Sutherland and her husband, Richard Bonynge, revived it in the latter half of the 1900s. Rather fitting then that Sutherland should choose this piece for her last performance.

"Home Sweet Home" was adapted from the opera "Clari, Maid of Milan", which was written by John Howard Payne.