To the opera houses of Europe—by rail

Press, 15 July 1987, Page 22

To the opera houses of Europe —by rail

Byl

KAY FORRESTER

Ten years ago Haydn Rawstron, concert agent, had three clients and a Eurail pass. Now his con-, cert agency partnership has a track record that includes contracts with all of the world’s major opera houses. The former Christchurch Cathedral chorister has managed to combine his interests in music and business in his Lon-don-based management agency.

Haydn Rawstron grew up in Christchurch, after moving with his family at age three to Halswell from the family farm at Hororata. His interest in music he attributes to his grandmother. As a youngster he was in the Cathedral Choir, for two years as a soloist, and attended Cathedral Grammar. He went on to Christ’s College and learnt piano, organ, viola, harmony and composition from such teachers as Ernest Empson, Vernon Griffiths and Charles Foster Browne. He was awarded an organ scholarship to Christ Church, Oxford. The scholarship netted him an

Arts Council bursary and the Tripp scholarship from Christ’s College. After three years study at Oxford he headed for Bayreuth. "It was a mecca for anyone interested in Wagner. That was my interest and I was able to do a lot of research on Wagner as well as working."

His time in business and the commercial German he learnt was to serve him well in approaches to German opera houses later. From Bayreuth he came back to Christchurch for 18 months before heading back to England. In London he studied opera coaching for 10 months with New Zealander John Matheson — “the best opera coach in the world today.” He says he learnt more about music in those 10 months than in his three years at Oxford.

That involvement in opera convinced him that the art form was his field. A year working at an opera house in Oldenburg in northern Germany gave him an overview of the opera world. He turned down the

offer of a further two year contract as a production assistant at Oldenburg to return to London to set up as an agent He started his business with a capital of £5OO and three New Zealanders as clients. They were John Matheson and tenors Barry Mora and Richard Greager. That was in 1977. The three are still clients of what is now Rawstron-Stlll International Management, Ltd.

The first few years he spent largely on the move, missing out the local agent middlemen and making direct approaches to the opera houses of Germany and Scandinavia.

“Obviously if I was going/to survive I had to approach things by other than the traditional network of agents operating in Europe. It would be almost impossible to break in on that so I made direct contact with the opera houses. Many of the agents worked through agents in other countries. I went straight to the opera houses.” His Eurail pass proved invaluable.

From Germany he widened the field to Scandinavia setting up an unusual network of contacts to get his clients work. When, in 1980, he decided on a partnership with Scotsman, Athole Still, a former opera singer, champion athlete and publicity agent, the new business had 15 to 20 singers on its books. In the last seven years the circuit for singers has been further widened to include Russia, Canada, North America, Italy and France.

“We have done contracts with every major opera hquse in the western world — La Scala, the Met., Covent Garden ... The partnership has about 20 singers it gen-eral-manages and another 30, for which it has some responsibility. Haydn Rawstron says the role of concert agent is not just about getting singers work. It is about “finding them the right job at the right time,” advising them on their careers.

Rawstron-Still has a list of coaches it advises its singers to go to. Their

specialty subjects include language and style. “We have built up quite a network. Not, perhaps, part of the usual agency service but something that I think is necessary for singers.”

As a New Zealander with already established links in international opera, Haydn Rawstron seems an obvious contact for New Zealand singers heading overseas.

A number have called on him. Unfortunately, he says, of those who have he has been able to help only a few. That is a reflection he says of how New Zealand singing lost its way in the 19705. “We have the generation of singers like Richard Greager, Anson Austin, and Chris Doig. We have people like Kiri Te Kanawa and Malvina Major, who are a few years older. But there is a great gap after that. “New Zealand singing, I think, rather lost its way. The national opera company closed its doors and the good singing teachers we had got older. We don’t have so many people like Clifton Cook (of Chrstchurch) who

virtually singlehandedly can turn out singers like Greager, Doig and Austin

The gap is being bridged, he says, helped greatly by the return to New Zealand of people such as John Matheson and Chris Doig. “Having five people living and working from New Zealand has done so much for the confidence of singers here. People like Michael Houstoun, John Matheson, William Southgate, Chris Doig and Malvina Major have changed attitudes. I don’t hear now ‘They’ve come back because they couldn’t make it overseas’.” Mr Rawstron still lists several New Zealanders on his books. To the original three have been added Malvina Major, Patrick Power, William Southgate and Richard Mapp.

“And we are investing a lot of time in Nicola Ferner-Waite also.” Others include Russian singer Galina Kalinina, Swedish conductor Arnold Oestman, and American singer Kathleen Kuhlmann.