A STRUGGLING SINGER.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XLII, Issue XLII, 14 April 1908, Page 1

A STRUGGLING SINGER.

WHAT HIS CHANCES ARE IN . LONDON. ADVICE FROM MR PHILIP NEWBURY. ("Press" Sydney Correspondent.) SYDNEY, March 28. "No, I should eortainly not advise young singers to go to Europe unless they have phenomenal voices. ' ' It was Mr Philip Newbury, the New Zealand tenor, who thus replied to my query as to the prospects for Australasian singers on the other side of the world. Mr Newbury, the first vocalist from tho Dominion to make his mark at Home, is just now in Sydney, about to begin a concert tour which will include New Zealand; and as he has justly won a place amongst the prominent people of the English concert platform, his view will be read with interest by musical aspirants. "It would break your heart," said he, "to walk into the agents' offices, and see the numbers oi applicants with good voices, endeavouring to get a chance. And they will not even listen to them. Why, it's one long list of tragodies. Of course, the phenomenal voices come to the front; but jthen there are hundreds of others, of jthe third and fourth grade, and with i these the market is overcrowded. You [have the~Guildhall School of Music, iand' the other great institutions sending out fine voices every year, and so the stream goes on, for from all parts lof the world young singers come to ' I London. That is why I say unless a voice is phenomenal, it is unwise to go to London in hope of creating a sensation, and getting plenty of engagements. The story, unfortu- I nately, is the other way about. ' ' ' ' What about the student who desires to go to Europe to study?" Mr Newbury was not convinced that even this was necessary, for he declared that one teacher in Sydney, whom ho named, was fully equipped for the work of training voices. At the same timo, the tenor announced that there is a big future in England just now for a contralto, and that a good bass voice is also badly wanted. There is a basso cantante, Mr Robert Radford, who has come into deserved prominence of recent years, ] but the basso of the type of the late Signor Foli is rare, and Mr Newburv states that no successor to that dis- j tinguished singer has yet appeared. During our pleasant chat, I gained a good deal of information about New Zealanders and Australians in London. Miss Nora Long, of Wellington, and well known also in Christchurch by reason of her attractive voice, which ,has beon heard a good deal in concert 'work in New Zealand, has sung at the jCuappell Ballad concerts, and made [other appearances in London, but latjterly she has not been seen much in | public. Miss Mabel Manson, of-Dun-ipdin, is a popular New Zealander also jin London, who has appeared frequently in concert work, singing recently at the Bechstein Hail and at the Church Army concert at the Queen's Hall. Unfortunately, illness has interfered materially wiVh her plans. Concerning Australians, he states unhesitatingly that the best work—outside that done, of course, by great singers like Madame Melba and Madame Ada Crossley — is being accomplished by Madame Mary Conly, the, Melbourne soprano, and Miss Ssta d'Argo (Hetty Holroyd), of Sydney. They appear at important concerts, and are invariably well received. In view of this, it becomes interesting to quote the opinion of the musical critic of "Tho Times" concerning a recent London performance of Sir Charles Stanford's "Stabat Mater":— "lf there is one participant upon whom more depends than any other, it is the soprano soloist, and the refinement of Madame Mary Conly 's singing was something to bo grateful for." The name of Miss Amy Castles was mentioned. "Ah! to Miss Amy Castles, I take off my hat," said the tenor, suiting the action to the word, with a sweeping bow. "Now, there you have a beautiful voice." Yet Miss Castles, though her voice is of such superb quality, has not had her opportunity yet in London, but she has been singing with success on the Continent. Two other Australians, Miss Kate Rooney and Miss Maud Dalrymple, have been singing frequently in various parts of the United Kingdom. It was at one of his concerts in Sydney some years ago that Mr Newbury brought Miss Dalrymple out, and before going to [England she toured Now Zealand as one of the members of a visiting concert company. For young Arnold Trowel], the Wellinaton 'cellict' son of Mr Thomas Trowel], Mr Kowburw reserves hia greatest praise, so far as colonial musicians are concerned. "He is absolutely prodigious!' is his verdict— indeed, he goes so far as to say that Trowcll is the greatest living virtuoso on the 'cello. "Gerardy? Well, yes, in my opinion, Trowell has a finer technique than even Gerardy?" he replied. "That's a big thing to say!" "Well, I say it. Mind, do not confuse what I say. He is the greatest living executant, and New Zealand ought to be proud of him. We call him 'The Wizard of the 'Cello' at Home. I was at a recital he gave in tho Beehstein Hall, when the audience went mad over him. Trowell, in my opinion, is just as great on the 'cello as Kreisler on the violin." The "discovery of Trowell on tho Continent, after he had finished his studies in Brussels, was, it appears, quite accidental. The credit of it is attributed to a concert agent named Rainbow, who, while visiting the town, saw casually a poster announcing a concert which had just taken place. His onquiries led him to hoar Trowell play, and he promptly snapped him up for London, where ho has appeared under the direction of Mr Vert and his partney. Another New Zealander who is distinguishing himself in a kindred field to that of music is Mr Leslie Poole Smith, son of the late Mr Robert Smith, of the firm of Smith and Smith, Dunedin and Wellington, Aocording to Mr Newbury, this young painter should have a great future. Two of his pictures were accepted for the Royal Academy this year, and he is" now at work upon another fine painting, an English sunset, in which he is achieving remarkable results in tone and colour. , As for Mr Newbury himself, it was not so oasy to get him to speak of j his own achievements. Christchurch and Dunedin residents will remember j his silvery tenor very well. It was as I a mere child hailing from the Isle of j Wight, that he first came to Dundein, 11 ' ■ — i

aud in that city and in Christchurch ! he first heard the encouraging words which induced him to go to England to study ior nine months under Mr William Shakespeare, and afterwards to study in Italy under Signor Giraldoni, and then in Paris for a year. His debut in London was made at the Crystal Palace classic concerts, where August Manns was condnctor, and on that occasion he sang "Salve Dinora" } from Gounod's "Faust" so well that j ho was recalled three times. Hia concert work took him all over the United Kingdom, and at Covent r Garden he made his first appearance in Italian opera in Wagner's "Flying j Dutchman. ' ' Since his last visit to New Zealand five years ago, he has studied the 3 method of Caruso under the guidance ' of the eminent tenor's coach, Clarici, 1 the teacher of the celebrated basso I battistini. The result is that 'those 3 who have hoard Mr Newbury's voice ' on his present visit to Australia say 1 that it is better than ever. He has become a familiar figure at all the ' important concerts during the past ' five years in London and the chief 1 cities of the provinces. He appeared 1 twenty times at the Royal Albert Hall in the oratorio and concert performances of the Royal Choral Society, singing Elijah" and other works ; with Madame Albani, Madame Kirby Lunn, and Mr Kennerley Rumford as 1 his fellow-principals. At Birmingham he was the tenor soloist ia "The Messiah," the other principals being Madame Kirkby Lunn and Mr Prangcon Davies, whilst he has also sung the ' chief tenor music in "The Messiah" in Belfast, Edinburg, Plymouth,* and other centres. He was in the first peiformance of Sir Edward Elgar'a "The Apostles" at Leeds, bis wife (Madame Emily Spada) singrag the soprano, and Madame Kirkby Lunn tht contralto solos. His London tei>ord in addition to that il.v.udy meationed, included fifty-six appearances at the Queen 's Hall, where he sang in "Tho Messiah," and at the orchestral concerts conducted by Frederick Cowen; eighteen appearances at St. James's Hall, including the Irish ballad concerts with Sir Charles Santley; the performance of "Stabat Mater'" at the Northampton Institute; fourteen appearances at the London Ballad Conceits, and many more appearances at the Bechstein, Aeolian, and Steinway Halls. At, Cheltenham he sang In the original performance of "The Silent Land," ! written for him by J. A. Matthews, and scored for tho tenor voice, with chorus nnd orehest>a. At a concert at Bedford, where he and Madame Spada sang the solos in Mendelssohn's "Hymn of Praise," he appeared also in a new dramatic Cantata, "Mucius. " which contained a tenor part scored for him. His concert engagements have taken him to .every part of England, as well as frequently to Glasgow, Edinburgh, Dublin, and Belfast. So that the tenor has had a very busy time. He is looking forward with great interest to the prospect of renewing old friendships in New Zealand, whither he and his wife wiU travel after their Australian tour. Their visit must necessarily be a brief one, as they have to fulfil engagements in a few months in Buenos Ayrcs, and later on in Boston.