Three of the world’s leading opera houses will join Opera Australia in paying tribute to Dame Joan Sutherland at a London gala marking the centenary of the Australian soprano’s birth.

La Stupenda: The Voice of the Century, presented by the Tait Memorial Trust in conjunction with Opera Australia and the Metropolitan Opera, will take place at Australia House on Wednesday 28 October, with Sutherland’s husband and longtime musical collaborator, conductor Richard Bonynge, as guest of honour.

The Metropolitan Opera, Royal Opera and Venice’s Teatro La Fenice will contribute tributes to the singer, whose international career spanned more than four decades.

Sutherland taking her bows after Alcina. Photo courtesy of the Historical Archive of Teatro La Fenice

Peter Gelb, general manager of the Metropolitan Opera, described Sutherland as “one of the most transcendent singers of the 20th century – if not the entire history of our art form”.

Sutherland performed more than 200 times in 11 roles with the New York company, making her debut as Lucia di Lammermoor in 1961. Her final appearance there was a farewell recital in 1989, with Bonynge accompanying her at the piano.

La Fenice’s tribute recalls the 1960 production of Handel’s Alcina, directed by Franco Zeffirelli, in which Sutherland’s performance earned her the epithet “La Stupenda”, or “the stupendous one”. Bonynge played harpsichord in the production.

The gala will feature the Tait Sutherland Chamber Orchestra, conducted by Natalie Murray Beale, and soloists Cassandra Wright, Alasdair Kent, Duncan Rock, Emmanuel Fonoti-Fuimaono, Bella Marslen, Eden Shifroni, Lyla Levy-Jordan, Karl Huml and Valda Wilson. Guest sopranos Ellie Neate and Soraya Mafi will appear courtesy of Opera Rara.

The program spans works by Bellini, Donizetti, Verdi and Delibes, alongside operetta and music by Noël Coward.

Tait Memorial Trust chairman Isla Baring said the event would celebrate both Sutherland’s artistry and her partnership with Bonynge, while highlighting the trust’s work supporting young Australian and New Zealand performing artists in the UK.