Dame Joan Sutherland 70th Birthday Gala | Australia House, London | Tuesday 10th December 1996

We are delighted to publicly release the video recording of Dame Joan Sutherland’s 70th Birthday Gala at Australia House, London 1996 to celebrate her birthday today.

The event was a joint production of the Australian Music Foundation, then celebrating its 21st year, and the 4-year-old Tait Memorial Trust. We hope you enjoy watching this magical moment from 21 years ago.

The gala event was creatively directed by Jan Black. Jan has worked closely with us to bring this archive recording in memory of Dame Joan Sutherland to you.

It was a great opportunity to bring together Dame Joan and Maestro Bonynge’s love of the Operetta repertoire with all the extraordinary Australian generation of singers who were living in London at that time, in a beautiful Viennese Christmas Gala concert and dinner.

It was a challenging trying to co-ordinate everyone as well as Dame Joan and Richard, to all be in London on that night as everyone had very busy international careers. We turned the fabulous exhibition hall at Australia House on its side and used the marble columns as a proscenium. Dickie Lowe’s exquisite stage design which featured commedia dell’arte masks was the perfect complement to the musical performances.  It all worked amazingly well and thanks to all the hard work of Jan and the rest of the Committee, the evening was a great financial and artistic success and Dame Joan looked so happy. Also a wonderful tribute to the beautiful late Deborah Riedel.

Entitled, ‘A Viennese Christmas Gala’ the concert was conducted by Richard Bonynge with the Britten Sinfonia, and featured Australian artists, Yvonne Kenny, Deborah Riedel, Jeffrey Black, Julian Gavin, Anne-Maree McDonald, Glenn Winslade, Paul Ferris, Christina Wilson, Liane Keegan & Joanna Cole who stepped in for an indisposed Amanda Thane. It was a fabulous night that we will never forget.

The events principal sponsors were Mercury Asset Management,  Hartley Poynton Ltd,  Qantas, R.T.Z plc & The Lynn Foundation. The generosity of all of the donors was extraordinary. You can find their names in the credits of the concert video.

Special mention must be made of HE The Hon. Neal Blewett AC who graciously allowed us to use the then recently refurbished Australia House. It was a great night to be an Australian.

Happy Birthday Dame Joan from us all at the Tait Trust.

Viola, Lady Tait (nee Viola Wilson), Founding Patron of the Tait Memorial Trust | THE D'OYLY CARTE OPERA COMPANY

Viola, Lady Tait’s zest for life was an inspiration. These qualities remained with her always together with a remarkable memory, clarity of mind and youthful outlook. With a prodigious vocal talent she excelled in the operas of Gilbert & Sullivan, beginning as a chorister with the Carl Rosa Company in the United Kingdom, graduating to the D’Oyly Carte Opera Company, and was given a year’s contract as principal soprano. Accepting a contract to tour Australia in 1940, she was to meet and marry her future husband, Frank Tait.

She was a champion of new and emerging talent, adjudicating for numerous scholarships and awards both in Australia and overseas. As an adjudicator for The Mobil Quest in 1950, Viola was instrumental in launching Joan Sutherland’s career. This passion for supporting young artists continued throughout her life, in 1992 she inspired her daughter, Isla Baring, to organise a fundraising concert in support of a young Australian singer, Liane Keegan, who was newly arrived in London. It kicked off with a Christmas Concert at Australia House. The concert was a great success and became the foundation of our yearly events. Liane went on to have a major international career, she sang Erda in the recent Opera Australia, Ring Cycle.

Programme for JC Williamson's production 'Chu Chin Chow', Theatre Royal 26 May,1923
Programme for JC Williamson’s production ‘Chu Chin Chow’, Theatre Royal 26 May,1923

In 1984, the Performing Arts Collection, housed at the then newly opened Victorian Arts Centre, received a significant donation from Lady Tait of 300 costume designs by leading European theatrical designers of the late Victorian and Edwardian periods. The designs had been imported for use in re-staging productions in Australasia by the commercial theatre management J.C. Williamson Ltd and its forerunners.

Another of her loves was writing and researching Australian theatrical history. She amassed a formidable collection of theatrical memorabilia and was the author of The Family of Brothers (1971), which chronicled the contribution of the Tait brothers to Australian theatre.

Lady McKell and Viola Tait at opening of the ballet, ca. 1950 1 photograph
Lady McKell and Viola Tait at opening of the ballet, ca. 1950

Her last book, Dames, Principal Boys and all that: A History of Pantomine in Australia (2001) was lavishly launched at Her Majesty’s Theatre, Melbourne, the home of the Tait-Williamson empire. When Viola’s death was announced the illuminated sign outside the Theatre read “Farewell Lady Tait, Star”.

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Viola Wilson (1938-39)   

Source: The Gilbert & Sullivan Archive         

[Born Pressburg, Austria-Hungary 1 Nov 1911, died Melbourne, Australia 6 Feb 2002]

Viola Wilson, whose real name was Viola Hogg, studied singing for six years at the Scottish National Academy of Music. In 1935 she was engaged by the Carl Rosa Opera Company and sang in the chorus of Die Fledermaus at the Lyceum Theatre, London. After tours of the British Isles and South Africa, she graduated to principal soprano.

Upon returning to London she auditioned with D’Oyly Carte Opera Company and was given a year’s contract as principal soprano, taking Viola Wilson (her maternal grandfather’s name) as her stage name at Rupert D’Oyly Carte’s suggestion. From May 1938 to June 1939 she appeared with the Company as Patience in Patience, Phyllis in Iolanthe, Yum-Yum in The Mikado, and Gianetta in The Gondoliers. Three of these parts were shared with other artists at various times: Patience and Phyllis with Ann Drummond-Grant until December 1938, and Gianetta with Helen Roberts. Miss Wilson also appeared on occasion in 1938-39 as Rose Maybud in Ruddigore and Elsie Maynard in The Yeomen of the Guard. She left the D’Oyly Carte in June 1939.

Viola Wilson then accepted an offer from Nevin Tait, J. C. Williamson’s London director to tour Australia and New Zealand in the Gilbert & Sullivan operas. In the 1940-42 Williamson tour she appeared as Aline in The Sorcerer, Josephine in H.M.S. Pinafore, Mabel in The Pirates of Penzance, Casilda in The Gondoliers, Princess Ida in Princess Ida, Rose, Patience, Phyllis, and Elsie. While in Australia, she met and married Frank Tait, later Sir Frank, the youngest of the five Tait brothers who were then running the Williamson Company. She retired as a singer in 1946 but remained involved with the Williamson Company, serving for a time as an artistic director.

Viola Wilson in character as Elsie in Gilbert and Sullivan's The yeoman of the guard, 1940?] [picture] / S.J. Hood
Viola Wilson in character as Elsie in Gilbert and Sullivan’s The yeoman of the guard, 1940?] [picture] / S.J. Hood

Following Sir Frank Tait’s death in 1965, Lady Viola Tait, as she was then known, wrote an informal history of the Williamson-Tait partnership. In “A Family of Brothers: The Taits and J. C. Williamson; a Theatre History” (William Heinemann, Melbourne, 1971) she also provides a good deal of information about her own life and career.

Lady Tait retained her interest in the performing arts thoughout her life and was a patron of many arts organizations, including the Tait Memorial Trust. She was instrumental in the establishment of the Performing Arts Museum in Melbourne, and was appointed a member of the Order of Australia (AM) in 1990. In her later years she published a book on the history of pantomime in Australia, “Dames, Principal Boys…and All That” (Macmillan, Melbourne, 2001)

Source: Viola Wilson

Brian Castles-Onion on preserving La Stupenda | Limelight

Wonderful article published in Limelight Magazine about Brian Castles-Onion’s quest to save and share the recordings from Australia’s operatic past. Volume 1 sold out (let’s hope they press some more CDs). These recordings have particular significance for the Trust as Isla Baring’s father, Sir Frank Tait, produced this tour as part of the JC Williamson/ Sutherland Opera Company. It was Sir Frank’s ambition to present Dame Joan Sutherland to the Australian public after her international acclaim. The Sutherland Williamson Opera Company was formed in 1963. Richard Bonynge as Artistic Director engaged a team of world renowned principals and internationally successful Australian artists. One of the principals was Luciano Pavarotti, a young tenor from Modena. The chorus was all Australian. There was no government subsidy and the fate of Williamson’s future rested on the success of the venture.

Luciano Pavarotti
Luciano Pavarotti enjoying a game of Tennis in 1965. Photo Isla Baring

Sir Frank lived to see his ambition fulfilled. The triumphant Melbourne opening heralded the return of Dame Joan to her homeland. It was a season never to be forgotten. In Richard Bonynge’s words: “Sir Frank Tait has done the greatest service to Australian Theatre and to the arts of anyone we know.”

Sir Frank died at the age of 81 after the Melbourne season finished and while the company were in Adelaide. It was the end of an era in the history of Australian theatre.

We are thrilled that Maestro Castles-Onion has produced a professionally mastered collection of recordings, not only of the Tour but also of Robert Allman, June Bronhill & Nance Grant. It truly is a remarkable achievement.

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The opera conductor has taken on the task of ensuring that these Aussie greats are not forgotten.

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Throughout my career, I’ve been fortunate to be surrounded by many singers of celebrity. These famous names were not only on record – having collected opera recordings from the age of four – but also personal friends. Over two decades ago, when I first realised the need to preserve old tapes to CD format, I wrote to four dozen singers who had performed in Australia in the decades since the 1940s, asking if they had any ‘recordings’ of themselves. Most of these Australian-born singers had never been offered the luxury of studio recordings and the only captures of their voices and artistry were from ‘live’ performances on tape. These primitive sound relics, which have lain silent for decades, hold a wealth of wonderful voices, which are our operatic history!

La Sonnambula from the Sutherland- Williamson Grand Opera Season of 1965. Photo from Brian Castles-Onion’s Private Collection
Three years ago, I commenced the Great Australian Voices series on Désirée Records in the hope that future generations would have the opportunity to hear how their musical ancestors sounded, what they sang, how they sang, who they sang with and what they thought about their roles.

So far, Nance Grant, Robert Allman and June Bronhill have each been honoured with 3CD sets. Nance and Bob were close friends for many years. Bob eventually became like an uncle and we spoke daily. I knew his thoughts and opinions on the world of opera – then and now – and he was the obvious choice for the premiere set of the series. He was the greatest Australian baritone of his era at a time when we boasted also the voices of John Shaw and Raymond Myers! His voice and art had not been captured in the recording studio… a profound oversight.

Desiree Records - Australian Artists Collection
Desiree Records – Australian Artists Collection

The first CD release set the format – a complete audio coverage from the earliest broadcasts in singing competitions to the ‘final’ stage performance; an accurate biography containing important casts and dates; personal thoughts on favourite roles and colleagues, with rare photographs on and off-stage. Even their favourite colour has been chosen for the cover and CD artwork! The Allman set was completed and came from the manufacturer two weeks before his untimely death. Bob had the pleasure of knowing that his operatic career had been preserved to be heard by future generations.

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Nance Grant was one of the greatest of all Australian sopranos. Christian Thielemann told me personally that he considered her to be one of the three greatest Sieglindes he’s ever heard on record. (High praise for a singer who never had the opportunity to sing outside Australia!) Her final performance shows her shining on high Ds with a Nilsson-like brilliance in arrangements created for Joan Sutherland.

bronhill-cd

June Bronhill’s recording career was extensive but her ‘opera’ career had not been documented. Unlike the previous releases, I was unable to interview her in person because she died in 2004 and her autobiography does not show what I believe to be the ‘real’ Bronhill. Despite this, I contacted a dozen friends and colleagues who had known her and succeeded in producing what has been called the ‘definitive Bronhill biography’.

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The long-awaited release of the Sutherland-Williamson Grand Opera Season of 1965 has been enormously popular. The excerpts on this 4CD set, recorded in less-than-studio conditions, display the essence of Sutherland in full flight. Here is a full, healthy voice wedded to an immaculate vocal technique, innate musicality and a generosity of stage presence that personified ‘La Stupenda’. All the operas in the 1965 season are represented – with and without Sutherland. The original tapes range in audio quality from excellent (those recorded by ‘management’ from placed microphones on the proscenium) to those recorded by a hidden microphone in a coat lapel. These audience recordings capture the more unusual partnerships like Joan Sutherland and Alberto Remedios in Lucia, or Elizabeth Harwood and Luciano Pavarotti, also in Lucia.

Final night of La Sonnambula. Sutherland/ Williamson tour 1965
Final night of La Sonnambula. Sutherland/ Williamson tour 1965

Many more surprises are in the pipeline. Two sets will hit the shelves in the early part of 2017. One honouring Australia’s greatest ever soprano and the other an international star who had their career tragically cut short. But no more hints…

– See more at: http://www.limelightmagazine.com.au/features/brian-castles-onion-preserving-la-stupenda#sthash.yRT4vLzI.dpuf

Source: Brian Castles-Onion on preserving La Stupenda, Limelight Magazine

Jewels of the Bel Canto – Elena Xanthoudakis, Catherine Carby, Richard Bonynge, Royal Northern Sinfonia

The Tait Memorial Trust are thrilled to announce the launch of a new recording by Tait Awardee, Elena Xanthoudakis, and the great Australian master of Bel Canto, Richard Bonynge. Released by Signum Records the CD will be officially launched in March 2014 generously supported by the Borletti Buitoni Trust. Please watch the attached video

Elena Xanthoudakis, Soprano - Jewels of the Bel Canto Conducted by Richard Bonynge Catherine Carby, Mezzo Soprano. Royal Northern Sinfonia
Elena Xanthoudakis, Soprano – Jewels of the Bel Canto Conducted by Richard Bonynge
Catherine Carby, Mezzo Soprano. Royal Northern Sinfonia

2008 Tait Prize winner, Elena Xanthoudakis was nominated for a Borletti-Buitoni Trust Award in 2011 and is a ‘Borletti-Buitoni Trust artist’. The BBT and Signum Records have come together to present Elena in a solo recital disc of ‘Bel Canto’ arias called ‘Jewels of the Bel Canto’ with the Royal Northern Sinfonia and Maestro Richard Bonynge. Jewels of the Bel Canto’ is for release April 1st 2014 and also features special guest artist, Australian Mezzo-soprano Catherine Carby, as Alisa in Lucia.

The process of making this CD involved Elena coaching with Maestro Bonynge in his home in Switzerland which were also supported by the Tait Memorial Trust.

More info about Elena here

Review of Joan Sutherland tour recording 1965 – Opera News 2003

Joan Sutherland “LIVE IN AUSTRALIA 1965

Joan Sutherland - I Puritani
Joan Sutherland – I Puritani

Excerpts from Semiramide, Faust, La Traviata, La Sonnambula. Harwood, Sinclair, Elms; Pavarotti, J. Alexander, Opthof, Rouleau, Cross, others. Sutherland-Williamson Grand Opera Company Orchestra and Chorus, Bonynge/Weibel. Desirée Records CD 2965 (Norbeck, Peters & Ford, dist., 802-868-9300)

On July 17, 1951, Joan Sutherland left Sydney, Australia, with a purse full of prize money and the dream of singing at Covent Garden. Fourteen years later, she returned, the centerpiece of an old-fashioned, rigorous tour presented by J. C. Williamson Ltd. and organized by Sir Frank Tait, who had arranged legendary Nellie Melba tours for the same company in 1911, 1924 and 1928. In the space of fourteen weeks, Sutherland sang forty-three performances in four Australian cities — twelve Violettas, eleven Lucias, eight Semiramides, six Sonnambula Aminas, and six Faust Marguerites.

The arduous task of artistic director was given to Richard Bonynge, who cast the other principals, oversaw everything and, of course, conducted. After some rather spiky moments upon arrival, when the local press attempted to create controversy about Sutherland’s lengthy absence from her homeland, the tour was a phenomenal success, creating an interest in opera that ultimately resulted in the establishment of several resident companies. Sutherland was in spectacular form for the tour, establishing herself as a national heroine through the glory of her singing. Conductor and Sutherland-chronicler Brian Castles-Onion has painstakingly assembled tapes, chosen excerpts from various “pirate” sources and released this two-CD set with the blessing of the diva.

Although sound quality is variable (only the Sonnambula excerpts are in really poor sound, however), the vocalism is of such prodigious quality that these documents are a must for Sutherland fans and for students of singing. Reservations held by some about the lack of clarity in the soprano’s diction, her sometimes-muddy middle register, her “cool” temperament, will surely be diminished — if not obliterated — by evidence to the contrary on these discs. And her trademark assets — supreme agility, exquisite high E-flats and that amazing trill, are represented in abundance. Here you’ll find Sutherland at her peak. Castles-Onion has omitted selections from Lucia altogether, feeling that the role is well represented elsewhere. He has chosen not to include “Bel raggio” in the Semiramide group for the same reason. But what is included constitutes a feast of virtuoso singing that confirms memories of the soprano one sometimes doubts as too good to be true.

Both Semiramide-Arsace duets are here, the first with the impressive Australian mezzo Lauris Elms, the second with the vocally fearless Monica Sinclair. Sutherland is an imperious, authoritative Semiramide in ensembles, melting vocally in the amorous moments, blending perfectly with both her duet partners. The florid Rossini singing is the kind that makes you press the “repeat” button repeatedly. Even more fascinating for its rarity is Sutherland’s “live” Marguerite, beautifully partnered by John Alexander, a fine Met Faust at that time. The jewel song is peerless, capped by a long trill and even longer B-natural, all in one breath. The love duet and final prison scene and trio are impassioned and beautifully phrased, and the French language brings Sutherland’s voice forward to a lighter, more youthful place, befitting the character. Richard Cross is the excellent Méphistophélès.

Luciano Pavarotti enjoying a game of Tennis in 1965. Photo Isla Baring
Luciano Pavarotti enjoying a game of Tennis in 1965. Photo Isla Baring

In some Traviata selections, we encounter the great “find” of the tour, the young Luciano Pavarotti, who also partnered the diva in La Sonnambula. The Traviata excerpts, which include all the Violetta-Alfredo duets (including the denunciation at Flora’s party, with Alexander as Alfredo), Violetta’s arias, the great duet with Germont and the finale of the opera, are miked closely, to thrilling effect. The textures of Pavarotti’s youthful instrument and Sutherland’s in its prime provide ample goose bumps, and Cornelius Opthof is a superb elder Germont. Violetta was Sutherland’s favorite role, and as it was not always her most successful, she worked extra hard to be convincing in it. In Australia, she succeeded. Finally, La Sonnambula is represented by two excerpts: the gorgeous “D’un pensiero … non è questa, ingrato core” ensemble of Act II, and Amina’s final cabaletta, “Ah, non giunge.” Some may argue with Sutherland and Bonynge’s breakneck speed, but it expresses perfectly both Amina’s joy in awakening to love and Sutherland’s sheer joy in singing. The inclusion of this piece, always a heart-stopping Sutherland moment in the theater, is most welcome, despite the poor sound quality. The discs conclude with a short curtain speech in Melbourne by the overwhelmed prima donna. Bonynge’s conducting is stylish and spirited; he seems to be, along with everyone involved, swept away by the occasion. The Faust selections are also handled very well, by alternate conductor William Weibel.

IRA SIFF, Opera News. April 2003

 

To buy this recording and other rare discs of Dame Joan please click here

Rare recording of Joan Sutherland from the 1965 tour of Australia

 Joan Sutherland 1965 tour
Joan Sutherland 1965 tour

A recording of Dame Joan Sutherland, live in Australia 1965 (Vol. 2) Desiree Records is available via this link

Volume 1 sold out (let’s hope they press some more CDs). These recordings have particular significance for the Trust as Isla Baring’s father, Sir Frank Tait, produced this tour as part of the JC Williamson/ Sutherland Opera Company. It was Sir Frank’s ambition to present Dame Joan Sutherland to the Australian public after her international acclaim. The Sutherland Williamson Opera Company was formed in 1963. Richard Bonynge as Artistic Director engaged a team of world renowned principals and internationally successful Australian artists. One of the principals was Luciano Pavarotti, a young tenor from Modena. The chorus was all Australian. There was no government subsidy and the fate of Williamson’s future rested on the success of the venture.

Sir Frank lived to see his ambition fulfilled. The triumphant Melbourne opening heralded the return of Dame Joan to her homeland. It was a season never to be forgotten. In Richard Bonynge’s words: “Sir Frank Tait has done the greatest service to Australian Theatre and to the arts of anyone we know.”

Sir Frank died at the age of 81 after the Melbourne season finished and while the company were in Adelaide. It was the end of an era in the history of Australian theatre.

Final night of La Sonnambula. Sutherland/ Williamson tour 1965
Final night of La Sonnambula. Sutherland/ Williamson tour 1965

Following the enormous response to the initial Joan Sutherland Live In Australia 1965 (unfortunately no longer available), Desiree Records brings us a sequel which includes Sutherland performing the entire role of Lucia di Lammermoor, plus other rare and unknown recordings including alternate casts.

NOTE: These historical recordings derive mainly from old reel-to-reel quarter-inch tape, recorded with, sometimes, primitive methods. Studio efforts have been made to keep any unnecessary surface noise to a minimum without harming the clarity of sound reproduction.

Also available from Desiree Records are these two collections of Robert Allman and Nance Grant.

Robert Allman 

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Nance Grant

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Lucia di Lammermoor (Donizetti):

– Introduction

– Ancor non giunse!

– Regnava nel silenzio

– Quando, rapito in estasi

– Egli s’avanza…La vicina soglia

– Sulla tomba che rinserra

– Qui di sposa eterna fede

– Verranno a te sull’aure

– Il pallor funesto, orrendo

– Soffriva nel pianto

– Se tradirmi tu potrai

– Ebben? Di tua speranza

– Ah! Cedi, cedi, o più sciagure

– Al ben de’ tuoi qual vittima

– Dov’ è Lucia?

– Piange la madre estinta…

– Chi mi frena in tal momento?

– T’allontana, sciagurato

– Il dolce suono

– Ardon gli incensi

– S’avanza Enrico!

– Spargi d’amoro pianto.

Joan Sutherland (Lucia), John Alexander (Edgardo), Cornelis Opthof (Enrico), Clifford Grant (Raimondo), Dorothy Cole (Alisa), Sergei Baigildin (Arturo) – Richard Bonynge – Her Majesty’s Theatre, Melbourne, July 10th 1965.

CD2:

Semiramide (Rossini):

– Bel raggio lusinghier

– Se la vita ancor t’è cara

– Ebben, a te: ferisci.

Joan Sutherland (Semiramide), Spiro Malas (Azzur), Lauris Elms (Arsace) – August 1965 exact date unknown.

La Traviata (Verdi):

– Libiamo ne’ lieti calici

– Che è ciò?

– Un di felice.

Joan Sutherland (Violetta), Alberto Remedios (Alfredo) Andrè Montal (Gastone) – exact date unknown.

Faust (Gounod):

– Seigneur, daignez permettre à votre humble servante.

Joan Sutherland (Marguerite), Richard Cross (Méphistophélès) – cond. William Weibel – August 10th 1965.

La Sonnambula (Bellini):

– Care compagne….Come per me sereno

– Sovra il sen la man mi posa

– Prendi: l’anel ti dono.

Joan Sutherland (Amina), Luciano Pavarotti (Elvino) – Richard Bonynge – Her Majesty’s Theatre, Sydney – October 9th 1965. Encore: Home Sweet Home. Richard Bonynge (Pianoforte), Closing Night – Melbourne.

Bonus Tracks: The Alternate Sopranos

Lucia di Lammermoor (Donizetti):

– Sulla tomba che rinserra

– Qui di sposa eterna fede

– Verranno a te sull’aure.

Elizabeth Harwood (Lucia), Luciano Pavarotti (Edgardo).
Faust (Gounod):

– Alerte, ou vous ètes perdus!

Doris Yarick (Marguerite), Alberto Remedios (Faust), Joseph Rouleau (Méphistophélès)

 

Joan Sutherland & Richard Bonynge Foundation

We are delighted to have such a strong connection with the Joan Sutherland and Richard Bonynge Foundation http://www.jsrbfoundation.com/awards-prizes/tait-memorial-trust/ .

For the past 36 year’s, the aim of this non-profit Australian organisation has been to raise money to help assist our most talented young opera singers fulfil their given potential. With the development of the Foundation in 2010 this has given us greater exposure and opportunities to expand on the activities the Society has presented since its inception in 1978. To date, we have awarded over $300,000 worth of scholarships and study grants and hope to further develop our involvement with these young singers by presenting masterclasses, workshops and a mentoring programme.

From the home page of the JS & RB Foundation website

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2013 Tait Memorial Trust Prize winner, soprano Marlena Devoe from New Zealand

The Trust looks forward to meeting the 2013 Tait Memorial Trust Prize winner, soprano Marlena Devoe from New Zealand who will be offered a prestigious London concert platform as part of her prize from the Bel Canto Awards . Dame Joan Sutherland was one of our founding patrons and loyal supporters due to her long association with Sir Frank Tait ( Isla Baring’s father) the Tait family and J C Williamson’s. The Sutherland-Williamson tour of Australia in 1965 is legendary and was a fitting epitaph to the life of Sir Frank and the enterprise of the Tait brothers.

We wish the Joan Sutherland & Richard Bonynge Foundation well and salute the work they are doing in supporting emerging operatic talent in Australia.