Richard Bonynge

Richard Bonynge
Tenor Colin Lee, soprano Pretty Yende, conductor Richard Bonynge, mezzo-soprano Violina Anguelov and baritone George Stevens at a concert performance of Lucia di Lammermoor in Cape Town in April 2013
Born	Richard Alan Bonynge (1930-09-29) 29 September 1930 (age 86) Epping, New South Wales, Australia
Occupation	Conductor and pianist
Years active	1962–present
Spouse(s)	Dame Joan Sutherland (1954–2010, her death)
Children	Adam Bonynge

Richard Alan Bonynge AC, CBE (/ˈbɒnɪŋ/ BON-ing) (born 29 September 1930) is an Australian conductor and pianist. He is the widower of Australian dramatic coloratura soprano Dame Joan Sutherland. Bonynge conducted virtually all of Sutherland's operatic performances from 1962 until her retirement in 1990.

Bonynge was born in Epping, a suburb of Sydney, and educated at Sydney Boys High School before studying piano at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music and gaining a scholarship to the Royal College of Music in London, where his piano teacher was Herbert Fryer. He gave up his music scholarship, continuing his private piano studies, and became a coach for singers. One of these was Joan Sutherland, whom he had accompanied in Australia. They married in 1954 and became a duo, performing operatic recitals until 1962. When the scheduled conductor for a recital of operatic arias became ill and the replacement conductor was involved in a car accident, Bonynge stepped in and, from that time on, he conducted virtually all of his wife's performances.