WANDERING SINGER

Evening Star, Issue 20149, 13 April 1929, Page 17

WANDERING SINGER

M MARTIN DUFF’S RETURN MUSIC IH THE CLD COUNTRY In Mr Martin Dull', the Scottish tenor wh has lived in Dunedin long eiiougli to be called a native of this city.° tho Manuka brought here last, night a very interesting personality. During the past ten. years or so Mr Duff has toured Australia, America, and the Old Country, meeting with considerable success in his profession and incidentally being lortuuate enough to collect at different times sums amounting to £(5,000 from the Queensland "Goble Casket'’ lotteries. 'Many people may remember Air Duff as being wife the firm ot ALessrs Laidlaw and Gray Ltd. ft was about the year 191/ that no went to Wellington to sing the tenor solos in the ‘ Aicssiah’ and ' F.lija ’ for the Choral Society and wiii'c hi that city he was appointed manage lor Alessrs John Winder. In 19‘fp AL Winder sold out his business and Afr Duff with the intention of coming hark again to start business on his own account, left for Australia on a holiday. In Sydney he met Afr Hugh D. Wilson (at one timo_managing directoi of New Zealand Picture Supplies in ’Wellington). Air Wilson at once fixed him up for a tour of Australia with one of tho big picture syndicates. During a season in Brisbane he had his fiisr hi' of financial luck when he won £I,OOO the amount of the “Golden Casket” second prize.

After this success he crossed to San Francisco, and later enjoyed a successful tour throughout the whole of tin* United States.' From New York Mr Duff sailed for Europe, visiting Hamburg and Baris, and being fortunate enough to secure some coaching at the hands of Jean Dc ilosk*. Concert engagements in London followed, but as these were not ton ll cl to he. sufficiently remunerative Air Duff appeared in some of the music halls. Later he ,|oincd a musical trio (the Bohemian Trio), which met with a fair amount of success. It was while in this trio that he married one of his colleagues, Miss Ivy Gennyn, a London violinist, who, like hunsell, had found concert work in a poor way. Subsequently Miss Gennyn and Mr Duff formed an act of their own and played in some of the biggest theatres in London, including the Coliseum. Alter that they went right ahead, and in the space of five years had only ten ' ,,e! -ks out of work. H was always Mr Duff s desire to return to New Zealand, and he had intended to come back in August of this year. However, another bh r win in the “ Golden Casket ” lotteries (£5,000 this tunc) precipitated matters, and the artists sailed sooner than they had expected, arriving in Svclucv on March 21. I heir intentions arc tii tour New Zealand in a lew weeks’ time, but no definite arrangements have vet been made. When asked by a ‘Star mail whether there was a tendency in Britain for classical music to replace imported American jazz, Mr Dull said that Sir Thomas Boecham had done a great deal towards restoring good music in the Old Country. He had been running a number of popular orchestral concerts. Moreover, ho had put forward a scheme suggesting that everyone interested in the great operas in the Old Country should subscribe 2d a week to keep them going. However, he had said that it looked as though the scheme would fall through. A well-known opera singer, stated Mr Duff, was now functioning as “Mr Flotsam—and Mr Jetsam” on the London vaudeville stage. Abroad Mr Duff has been billed as “Mae Duff.” When asked for an explanation of this, Mr Duff said that when he first wont to Brisbane ho found himself billed by mistake as Martin Mac Duff, and, being a superstitions Scot, he had decided to adhere to the “Mac” professionally. -Moreover, it was at that time that he won 1 his first “Golden Casket” prize.