Richard Bonynge and Dame Joan Sutherland collection, 1741-2016
- Bib ID:
- 6807518
- Format:
- Manuscript
- Related Online Resources:
- Finding aid at National Library of Australia
- Access Conditions:
- Part permission required for research; part not available for research. Not for loan.
- Description:
-
- [between 1741 and 2016]
- 293.82 metres (214 ms boxes, 436 music boxes, 13 small folio boxes, 75 medium folio boxes, 58 large folio boxes, 8 map folios, 3 small phase boxes, 2 large phase boxes, 2 oversized phase boxes, 604 sound/av carriers)
- Summary:
-
MS 10757 encompasses Richard Bonynge and Dame Joan Sutherland's working career archive and research library, with the most substantial component comprising a vast array of music manuscripts, published scores and sets, sheet music, photocopies, and music excerpts. The archive contains a collection of singing methods, vocalises, and treatises ranging from the eighteenth to twentieth centuries, used to research and develop singing techniques appropriate to different time periods and styles of vocal repertoire; as well as numerous scores and parts annotated and used by both Richard Bonynge and Joan Sutherland, including arrangements by Douglas Gamley for recordings and live performances, and Joan Sutherland's annotated libretti and performance notes. The archive also reflects the depth and breadth of Richard Bonynge's interests as a researcher and collector, and includes multiple formed collections relating to music, singing, theatre, and performance. Groupings of material acquired or curated by Richard Bonynge include a collection of Anna Pavlova ballet scores and parts; collections of music organised by genre, region, language, style, or composer, including a collection of Australian sheet music and music hall ephemera; and collections of theatre programmes, news cuttings, advertising ephemera, sheet music, postcards, costume designs, and research notes relating to figures such as Dame Ellen Terry, Sir Henry Irving, Adelina Patti, Noel Coward, Ivor Novello, and Dame Nellie Melba. Additionally, the archive contains 52 large custom scrapbooks of news clippings, programmes, letters, cards, and photographs documenting Dame Joan Sutherland's career, including her farewell tour; awards, medals, and honours; publications by and about Richard Bonynge and Dame Joan Sutherland; portfolio editions of the late nineteenth-century theatrical broadside The Stage and its Stars; and a complete set of custom bound Opera (UK) magazines from 1948 to the present. The archive also includes a substantial audiovisual component, with over 600 recordings of performances by Richard Bonynge and/or Joan Sutherland.
- Cultural sensitivity advisory notice:
- Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander and other First Nations people are advised that this collection includes content that may be distressing and/or culturally sensitive, including language and/or images that could cause offence and may not be considered appropriate today.
- Biography/History:
-
Conductor and pianist Richard Bonynge AC, CBE (1930 -) and dramatic coloratura soprano Dame Joan Sutherland OM, AC, DBE (1926 - 2010) married in 1954. Together they formed one of the most influential operatic partnerships of the twentieth century, with Richard Bonynge conducting most of Dame Joan Sutherland's operatic performances from 1963 until her retirement in 1990.
- Notes:
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- Manuscript reference number: MS 10757.
- Reading Room Access Note: For preservation reasons, we are unable to deliver digital and audiovisual carriers to the Special Collections Reading Room. Please contact Ask a Librarian to enquire about access.
- Subject:
- Time Coverage:
- 1741-2016
- Occupation:
- Other authors/contributors:
- Terms of Use:
- Permission required for copying of Richard Bonynge and Dame Joan Sutherland's copyright material for research purposes.
- Copyright:
-
Copyright Undetermined
If you wish to copy or order copies, contact us. For access conditions return to the record display above.
- Reason for copyright status:
- A Manuscript Collection may have a range of formats and dates.
Copyright status was determined using the following information:
- Material type:
- Literary, dramatic or musical work
Copyright status may not be correct if data in the record is incomplete or inaccurate. Other access conditions may also apply. For more information please see: Copyright in library collections.
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