Chalet Monet

Step inside the Swiss residence once shared by opera legend Dame Joan Sutherland and her husband, Richard Bonynge. Over 350 pages, more than a thousand photographs survey the rooms and furnishings, along with many of Bonynge's collections. Personal anecdotes trace the couple's life together in the house.

For readers who have come to love opera and its colourful personalities, the chalet can feel like a fairy tale, almost a Cinderella story brought to life. The house holds a long history and a theatrical flair, and its owners' energy is stamped on every room. Its grand proportions sit comfortably alongside a sense of intimacy, with corners for quiet reflection, views worth lingering over, and shelves of books, paintings and music waiting to be enjoyed.

The home is described as a feast for the senses, a place where countless stories have been told or started. For decades it has echoed with music, witnessed by the walls, the couple, and perhaps a neighbour or two, along with the cows grazing the slopes outside.