If I'm correct, Sutherland only sang two Puccini roles onstage: Giorgetta in TABARRO, as a student at London's Royal College of Music (that performance finally convinced Covent Garden to hire her) and Suor Angelica (Sydney 1977 & the Decca/London recording of the following year). In a 1985 Chicago Tribune interview (easy to find online), she and Bonynge mentioned that Tosca and the FORZA DEL DESTINO Leonora "have been in and out of the shelves", but she never performed the complete role. The justly famous TURANDOT recording led to people suggesting she do it onstage, but she never accepted. There is also video footage of her singing Mimì's act III "addio", but again, not the complete role.

Fun facts: because singers in their early career years have to accept whatever roles they're offered, it's amusing to see just what jobs they were invited for before they became well-known. Edita Gruberova sang Kate Pinkerton (an early role in Wien and her only Puccini part)! Beverly Sills sang Tosca, Musetta, Mimì AND the three ladies of the TRITTICO (Giorgetta, Angelica, Lauretta) before ever singing her first Lucia di Lammermoor!!

Also, I am pleased that you have clarified your "but" if you will pardon the expression!

Interestingly, although people rave about Callas, I don't find she engages me emotionally as much as, say, Sutherland. I think she is great, but my response is cerebral rather than emotional.

If it comes to the emotional connection, it's singers like von Stade and de los Angeles who do it for me.

Baron Scarpia probably had a taste for larger than life ladies if he was drawn to opera singers after-all.

So, trying to be frantically logical here, Sutherland is being type-cast as Tosca.

I always disagree with you, as you know, over phrases, if I mostly agree with you on most other things, like "but the sound is tremendous" – the "but" seems so ironic when put in front of the rest of the statement.

You are probably too young to have heard her in her prime but tremendous is so right…..I have never heard anything like it. I know the words to all the stuff she sang so I was never bothered about her Australian-Italian diction – in fact I loved it!

All I was trying to say here was that both Callas and Sutherland have now left us so let's remember them both for their sensational talents. They rank with the greatest singers that have ever lived no matter how many quibbles we could direct at them both. We were lucky to have heard them and, I repeat, we will never hear their like again most probably..

Although famed for lots of the heavy stuff, I prefer her at her more jolly: "Da tempeste" just melts as she glides around it.

A wonderful sound, indeed.