Opera Legend Joan Sutherland Dead at 83

Joan Sutherland, the soprano Luciano Pavarotti once called "the voice of the century," has died at her home in Switzerland at age 83. The Australian-born singer—known as "La Stupenda" or "The Stupendous One" to opera audiences—became one of the most celebrated opera singers of all time thanks to her warm, vibrant sound and ability to sing evenly over an astonishing range, the AP notes.

Sutherland's voice helped revitalize the school of early 19th-century Italian opera known as "bel canto." Her "magnificent voice, with its enormous range and power, and the interpretations she brought not only to standard repertoire operas but also to bel canto works that had nearly been forgotten, ensure a permanent place for her in the history of our art," said Spanish tenor Placido Domingo, who first worked with Sutherland when he made his US debut in 1961.
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