This special performance of „Die Fledermaus“ was Dame Joan Sutherland’s farewell gala from the Royal Opera House after singing on the London stage for almost 40 years. In this gala, she sings in Act II with her two special colleagues and friends Luciano Pavarotti and Marilyn Horne. The celebrated dramatic soprano Joan Sutherland was born and grew up in Australia. She joined the Covent Garden Company in 1952 singing the First Lady in Mozart’s „Die Zauberflöte“. Amongst her numerous honours she was named Dame of the British Empire in 1979 and joined the Order of Merit in 1991. Even after her retirement from the opera stage she was frequently seen at major vocal competitions as adjudicator along with her colleague and friend Marilyn Horne. She died in 2010 in Switzerland, aged 83.