MUSICAL APPRENTICESHIP

Te Ao Hou, July 1958, Page 11

MUSICAL APPRENTICESHIP Te Wiata had always dreamed of studying under Garcia, who was the teacher of that other great New Zealand bass Oscar Natzke. This dream was not to be fulfilled as Garcia died just before Inia reached England. Upon reaching England he enrolled as a student at the Trinity College of Music and took private lessons from James Kennedy Scott. As well he took daily lessons at the Berlitz School of Languages, studying German, Italian and French. He remembers this period as the most difficult period of his life. Each day he took a separate language which meant that he became so mixed up that he could not absorb any of them. Eventually he decided to concentrate on German, until he had mastered it a little and attempted Italian later. He gave up French altogether, largely because his voice was not really suited to the French type of song. At Trinity College he took counterpoint and theory and so forth but was disappointed to find that his great interest in opera was not catered for. There was no opera class. Some of the students worked together by themselves on operas but he felt that this was not a good grounding for the real thing. He also sensed that the voice production which he received from his teacher was not improving his voice, in fact it was going back. So he decided to put his cards on the table and ask the advice of his teacher. He was received very sympathetically by Kennedy Scott and they parted the best of friends. He then joined the Opera Company run by the great English soprano Joan Cross. The students paid about £80 a term in fees and operas were performed in the provinces by the students themselves and produced by Joan Cross. This was wonderful experience. It was in the Tothams Theatre in Devon that Te Wiata performed the part of Sir Astra from the Magic Flute. The Tothams Theatre had a romantic history as it was built by the son of the great writer Chekov. This performance was such a success that it was repeated nine times in Devon, and then in other towns. The end of the three year term sponsored by the N.Z. Government was near when Peter Fraser visited England. Te Wiata

took his opportunity to apply for a further year in which to continue his experience with the opera company. This was granted. Towards the end of this year Te Wiata began to see that it was time he thought of striking out on his own. Against the advice of all he decided to try an audition at Covent Garden. This was an adventurous step as it was not easy to be engaged once an audition had failed. One can imagine the singer's feelings as he stood on the stage and looked into the empty theatre where somewhere in the darkness sat the judges. Amongst the ten singers who were being auditioned there was an American called Anthony Marlow who also became well-known as an opera singer. He was the only one to ignore the custom to render two songs for the audition, so Te Wiata decided to follow his lead and when his turn came he sang arias one after the other until he was asked to stop. His performance was followed by the usual “we shall advise you by post how your audition was received”; when a very high masculine voice rose from the darkness of the empty theatre to enquire if he knew the part of the Speaker in “The Magic Flute”. He didn't but he said Yes very promptly. The voice told him to come for a rehearsal the next day to prepare for a performance at Covent Garden the following night. Te Wiata spent the whole night learning the part and sang it perfectly on the night of the performance. Among the principal singers in that performance was the Australian soprano Rosina Raysbeck whom New Zealanders will remember from the very successful concerts she gave here just before she went to England. Others in the cast were the famous English tenor Peter Peers and the polish singer Marion Nowkski.