ARIA SINGING

Dominion, Volume 28, Issue 285, 29 August 1935, Page 6

ARIA SINGING

Last Year’s Contest Winner

In Wellington

MR. DENIS DOWLING At this period when “The Dominion” grand opera contest is being held at the annual festival of the Wellington Competitions Society and is so much in the public eye, special interest attaches to the visit to the city of Mr. Denis Dowling, winner o’ the “Sun” centenary aria contest at -Melbourne last October. The prize for the winner of the Wellington contest is fare and ex•penses of the trip to Ballarat, where the preliminaries of this year's “Sun” aria contest will be held. The final will be in Melbourne. Mr. Dowling described to “The Dominion” yesterday some of his experiences in the great competition which attracts lifitive-born talent from all States of Australia and New Zealand.

Mr. Dowling said that the contest was held in connection with the competitions in Ballarat and took four nights to judge, approximately twenty singers being heard each night. “Of course, it becomes very exciting toward the finish,” he said. “It is marvellous how people turn out to attend. The eight finalists were chosen in Ballarat by the judge there, Professor B. Heinz, and judged in Melbourne by Alfred Hill and Florence Austral. There was not a poor voice in the contest, although there were poor singers. When we gang off in- Melbourne the hall, which holds 2600, was packed. The people received the competitors in a marvellous way, and you can imagine what a strain it was on the contestants. We had to sing two arias in English. I sang ‘EH tu’ from ‘The Masked Ball’ and the prologue from ‘Pagliacci.’ ” New Zealanders First and Second.

Mr. Dowling was awarded 170 points out of a possible 200. Another New Zealander, Miss Hinemoa Kosieur, Auckland, a student at the Melbourne Conservatorium, was second and Mr. Allan Coad, South Australia, was third* Miss Rosieur received 152 points and Mr. Coad 151. “The main thing I found in the contest,” said Mr. Dowling, “was the necessity for a singer to use his brains in identifying himself absolutely with the story of the aria he was singing. There were many beautiful singers who lost their chance because they did not do that.” , Spent Life on Farm. ’ Mr. Dowling spent all his life on a backblocks farm in the Ranfurly district, Otago, until‘about five years ago, . when Mr. F. M.. Tuoby started teaching in Ranfurly. He studied under Mr. Tuohy for two years and a half, and. during that time was very successful in competitions in Dunedin and Christchurch, winning two championships at the former festival and one at the latter. He also had engagements : with musical societies in Dunedin, but his only stage work was the part of the Marquis in "Les Cloches de Corneville,” produced by the Dunedin Op-eratic-Society. When his teacher removed from Ranfurly to Dunedin, Mr. Dowling was left to his own resources. Mr. Dowling’s entry into the Melbourne contest last year has behind it •an interesting story. His younger sister happened to read a paragraph in a newspaper about it. The people of Ranfurly became interested and collected the funds for the trip. “I was very pleased to bring back the prize after that,” he said, in relating his experiences yesterday. Since his return from Melbourne his chief activity has been a concert tour through Otago to collect funds for further tuition, and also he has been engaged by the Broadcasting Board. Discovery of Talent. “I am very pleased the Wellington Competitions Society took this up,” said Mr. Dowling. “It is a movement that will get young singers throughout New Zealand interested. It was proved last year that ■ there are singers here as good as those in Australia, although they are not sb numerous because the population of this country is smaller. If there is anything promising in New Zealand it will be found much more easily in this. way.” It was a shame there was no conservatorium in New Zealand, but perhaps the grand opera contest would lead to the establishment of one. Considering the great number of entries, the Wellington competitions were exceptionally well organised. Mr. Dowling will leave by the Wanganella on Saturday on his way to the Royal College of Music. Last night he broadcast from 2YA and to-night will sing “Ere tu” at the evening concert of the competitions. He has been engaged to broadcast in Australia on his , way to England.