Julie Owens (Parramatta, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

It is a magnificent performance. There were many tributes to Joan, as you would expect at this time. The opera director John Copley was one of her many friends and admirers. They had known each other as they grew in the early days, so he knew her quite well. He said—and I suspect that he is absolutely right—that people did not realise just how hard she actually did work to achieve this extraordinary standard.

Again, the thing about Joan Sutherland is, in this unassuming person and this voice that just appeared as if it came from heaven, you did not see the evidence. You did not see the signs of the technique. It was so well hidden in her mastery—an extraordinary thing. Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, who by the way is not a bad singer in her own right—not bad at all, Dame Kiri, a quite extraordinary performer—says that Joan was an inspiration to a generation of performers. One of my favourite quotes about Joan Sutherland comes from Kiri. She says:

She was a bit like the Pied Piper. We followed her to the top of the hill and hopefully we got there too.

It is an amazing thing when artists of the calibre of Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, Pavarotti, and Joan Carden admired this woman so greatly and aspired to a standard that they freely acknowledged they would probably never reach.

It is hard to imagine another Joan. It is hard to imagine another artist emerging with the natural physical talent, the capacity to work, the musicality and the partnerships, and the opportunities that generate the greatest work. It is hard to imagine another one. I hope we get many more so that we can experience the extraordinary magic that was Joan Sutherland. She will, of course, live on. Her voice lives on in the many recordings that she made although I am aware that she did not make an official recording of the Queen of the Night. There is a pirate copy, apparently, but I will not be going into that one. She did not make an official recording of the Queen of the Night and I am very sad about that because that is one that I would love to hear.

She will live on also in the many voices that were inspired by her and in those who marvel at her capacity to strive for standards that most of us cannot imagine. She will also live on forever in the hearts of those who heard her.

Dame Joan is survived by her husband Richard Bonynge and her son Adam and two grandchildren. I thank them for sharing their wife, mother and grandmother with us for a time and I wish them well in this difficult time.

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