Arts Centre Melbourne has unveiled a new digital exhibition called Grand, featuring photographs and information about four costumes worn by Dame Joan Sutherland during her glittering career.

In 2018, Opera Australia donated 30 complete costumes worn on stage by Dame Joan to the Australian Performing Arts Collection (APAC). The collection includes gowns, head pieces, jewellery, wigs and shoes from costumes that La Stupenda wore in her most famous roles, among them Violetta in La Traviata, Marguerite de Valois in Les Huguenots and the title role in Lucia di Lammermoor.

Grand features four costumes from productions of Semiramide, The Tales of Hoffmann, Lakmé and Lucrezia Borgia, and serves as a beautiful introduction to the bigger collection.

Joan Sutherland performing the title role in Lakmé for The Australian Opera in 1976. Photograph by William Moseley, courtesy of Opera Australia Archives

The Australian Performing Arts Collection has partnered with Deakin University to use modern technologies such as photogrammetry and 3D scanning to bring the artefacts to life. The 3D scanning allows details to be captured in high-definition. This means you can zoom in tight to see the fabric, jewellery and embroidery up close. It also allows the costumes...