WAGNERIAN SOPRANO

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXIII, Issue 22457, 29 June 1936, Page 3

WAGNERIAN SOPRANO

AUSTRALIAN PRIMA DONNA

MADAME AUSTRAL ARRIVES

Ranked as one of tho great dramatic sopranos in the world, with a very real and comprehensive knowledge of opera in all its phases, is Madame Florence Austral, who arrived at Auckland on Saturday by tho Mariposa. Madame Austral left almost immediately for Wellington and, with her husband, Mr. John Amadio, one of tho greatest flautists of the day, will make a broadcasting tour of the Dominion. The singer has just concluded a tour of Australia, broadcasting opera. Madame Austral, who is tall and very fair, with a • delightfully musical speaking voice, first sang in public at tho Ballarat South Street festival during the war, when her voice aroused the interest of the judges. At that time, said Madame Austral, she knew so little of "real" music that she had to ask one of the judges what ho meant by "operatic arias." The name Wagner conveyed nothing to her, but to-day, after .15 years, she is recognised as the greatest Wagnerian artist of the present time. J n 1920 she went to the United States to study, and spent some time working and listening to other artists, a form of study which she considered invaluable to a young singer. During that time she was offered an engagement at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York, but, feeling herself not yet ready to embark upon a public career, she declined the great honour and crossed to England, where she continued her studies for a time. Later she made a number of appearances in concert and with orchestra in London, and spent many heart-breaking moments trying to gain recognition in the world of singing. Dramatic Success Success came to Madame Austral suddenly and dramatically when, in 1922, one of the principals at Covent Garden became ill and she was given the role, which is now one of her best known, of Brunhilde in Wagner's "Die Walkure," a role hitherto attempted only by famous German sopranos familiar with Wagnerian traditions. From that night Madame Austral's career was nothing short of meteoric. She has appeared in London and New York under the greatest conductors of the day, and in Holland and in Berlin, where she had the honour of being the first British singer to sing at the great Berlin State Opera House.

Madame Austral has made several records and has had a wide experience of all types of opera. Wagner, however, remains her favourite composer, nnd in her opinion he is the only composer who has successfully combined drama with grandeur, melody and orchestration. There was, she said, a finesse about Wagner's work that was unequalled. She considered that Australia possessed a large and definite opera public, and she was surprised to find at a plebiscite taken in Sydney recently that 97 per cent of the people voted Wagner's "Tristan and Isolde" as their favourite opera. Incidentally, "Tristan and Isolde" is Madame Austral's favourite opera and, she considers, one of the most difficult. Her broadcasts included many of the less well known operas such as "The Tales of Hoffman," "Die Walkure" and "La Boheine," which she said are less frequently staged than others. Madame Austral considered that broadcasting opera was an ideal method of educating people in this direction. Moments of Relaxation Although music is, of course, the prime factor in her very busy life, Madame Austral possesses several engrossing hobbies. She has a lovely home in Hampstead surrounded by attractive gardens and equipped with a hard tennis court, for tennis is one of her main forms of relaxation from singing. The music room is planned to represent a miniature concert hall. She is also fond of cooking and delights in preparing and serving new and attractive dishes. This, together with plain and fancy sewing and fine tapestry work, are Madame Austral's favourite indoor occupations. "1 am afraid I do not have the general stage superstition regarding 'unlucky green,' " said Madame Austral, who considered that a fair-haired and fair-skinned woman could wear almost any colour effectively, with the exception of' "hard" shades of red or violet. She considered that if women paid more attention to what suited their individual colouring and less to the fashionable prevailing colour the problem of looking well dressed would be more than half solved. Madame Austral designs all her own gowns and dressmakers simply carry out her orders regarding colours and designs. For stage wear she prefers white, black, cherry and lettuce green. She considered that brown, blue, pink, beige and black were the ideal colours for day and street wear.