Prime Minister Julia Gillard has praised the late Dame Joan Sutherland as the 'greatest singer of the 20th century'.
Ms Gillard lauded the life of the famed Australian opera singer at a memorial service at the Sydney Opera House.
"And, of course, it is fitting that we gather here at the Opera House," Ms Gillard said in a speech to the packed audience.
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"Where better to say goodbye to the greatest singer of the 20th century than in the greatest building of the 20th century."
The state memorial service celebrating the life of Australia's greatest opera singer began at 10.30am at the Sydney Opera House, the place of one of her final performances in 1990.
Dame Joan, who last month died aged 83 at her home near Geneva, Switzerland after a long illness, came to international renown after travelling to London as the winner of a singing competition in her native Sydney.
La Stupenda, as she was dubbed, led the renaissance of Italian bel canto and French romantic operas, reviving roles of extraordinary difficulty.
She was "the voice of the century", according to Luciano Pavarotti, the late, great Italian tenor. The Spanish diva Montserrat Caballe said her voice was like heaven.
The memorial service commemorated Dame Joan's life and contribution to opera and the arts on both the national and international stage.
