Richard Bonynge

Richard Bonynge has long stood out as a leading proponent of bel canto opera, earning praise for his command of scores by Bellini, Donizetti, and Rossini. He has directed major opera companies in Australia, North America, and across Europe, restoring numerous works that had fallen into obscurity. His many recordings with Joan Sutherland preserve these efforts and remain widely celebrated for the strength of their artistic partnership.

Born on September 29, 1930, in Epping, a suburb of Sydney, Australia, Bonynge began piano studies at the New South Wales Conservatorium with Lindley Evans. At age 14 he performed Grieg’s Piano Concerto in A minor, signaling an early command of the instrument. He continued his training at the Royal College of Music in London under Herbert Fryer, yet the school resisted his wish to pursue conducting as a second principal subject. He therefore relinquished his scholarship and completed his studies privately. At the same time his growing curiosity about vocal technique led him to work as accompanist to soprano Joan Sutherland; the two married in 1954, creating one of the most notable professional unions in opera. From that point Bonynge concentrated on researching the bel canto repertoire.

His first appearance on the podium arrived unexpectedly in 1962. When the scheduled conductor of Rome’s Saint Cecilia Orchestra withdrew because of illness and the replacement was injured in a traffic accident, Bonynge stepped in. Without formal training he soon began leading Sutherland’s performances, beginning with Gounod’s Faust in Vancouver and Bellini’s La Sonnambula in San Francisco, both in 1963. After his Covent Garden debut in 1964 with Bellini’s I Puritani, the couple returned to Australia the following year; Bonynge then became music director of the Sutherland-Williamson International Grand Opera Company. He made his Metropolitan Opera debut in 1966, again with Sutherland in the title role of Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor. His growing stature brought further appointments: artistic director of Vancouver Opera from 1974 to 1978 and, concurrently, music director of the Australian Opera from 1975 to 1986. In 1977 he received the Commander of the British Empire; Australia awarded him the same honor in 1983, and in 1989 the French government named him Commandeur de l’Ordre National de Mérite.

Bonynge championed the restoration of the ornamentation practices common in bel canto opera during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. He immersed himself in the works of Bellini and Massenet as well as other French and Italian operas of the period, writing cadenzas that many singers have adopted. At leading houses worldwide he has conducted the central works of the repertory. His extensive discography likewise stands out, encompassing numerous previously unfamiliar operas and several nineteenth-century ballet scores by composers such as Delibes, Graun, and Massenet; Sutherland appears on many of these recordings.

Bonynge conducted Sutherland’s final performances before audiences in the United States, Great Britain, and Australia. After her retirement he maintained an active and acclaimed career. He remains one of opera’s most influential figures and has consistently supported Australian singers together with the young artists’ program at the Australian Opera, which he helped establish during his tenure as music director. His complete dedication belongs to the operatic world. He has observed, “I did not choose music, music chose me.” Opera, it seems, found in him a tireless and devoted champion.