Traveling the world, guest appearances in major cities, and countless social engagements. It is a world full of what many might term eccentric personalities, and of course the thorniest of these would have to be the diva.

But this is where Dame Joan Sutherland is unlike the rest. Her warm modest disposition is a long way from the other often highly-strung variety of opera divas.

There are few singers who have equaled the career of this Australian soprano. She gave around 1.800 performances in her career and for more than forty years, sang over 50 operatic roles in many of the world's most renowned opera houses.

In the sixties she married the then up and coming conductor, Richard Bonynge and the two became one of the most celebrated musical duos of the century.

Dame Joan retired back in the eighties and spends much of her time these days adjudicating singing competitions and caring for her other great love, her garden in the family home in Switzerland.