HOME TALENT ABROAD.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 53, 26 November 1907, Page 3

HOME TALENT ABROAD.

4 ~ .SINGERS IN THE OLD COUNTRY. . 'J : A.; CHAT WITH MISS ROSE BLANEY. .Those who have interested thomselves in c music., vocal music especially, for any length c of time; will hear something very familiar in ] the-.'tinkle of the name of Miss Rose Blaney ; (Mrs. Jrvine), -the-Dunedin songstress, who j has' bobn resident in London for the last j four • years, aiid* is at present staying n; j Wellington for a few days prior to returning | ten the snioky Thames-side City. Many will . leel for the singer in the bereavement that ] has lately come to hor. . Miss Blaney's , mother, died in Dunedin when she was or. j tho:"voyage; out from: England, and to that ! griof. was added another blow in the death ( of her. father; which took place (also at Dunedin) only , a few weeks since. When Miss Blaney left for London fcur < years ago, slie dopart-cd a vocalist of i proved worth, who had nothing more to learn in Now Zealand, and who had realised as much of that desirable quantity callal popular success as. any local product could hopo to do. The on|y person not altogether satisfied with Miss Hose Blaney was Mis 3 Rose Blaney. She had boen.told by ?r/cet- 1 marnored Dolores that sho ought to go Honie, and, feeling that there might bo something in-. • tho advice of the Queen oi conccrt platforms, she said goodbye,-' and sailed away. Dolores had advised her to- try Signor Stelfani aB a master (then of London, now of Sydney), so, after settling down and getting time to think of music, she duly went to that teacher for a. couple of quarters. She confesses that she did" not learn a great deal from Stelfani, and, not being satisfied, sho sought out another teacher. ■ THE'BEST TEACHER. Before committing herself a sccond tirno she went to all the pupils' concerts she c.ould, including those of tho Royal Academy, but after hearing the conccrt given by the pupils of Madame Minna Fischer she felt that sho need seek no moro. The Aow Zcalander went to Madame, and was delighted with her methods. iho art ot vocalisation in-its highest fomv was an open botik: to Madame Fischer, and, what was Hist:,as valuable, sho possesses the lndehnablc power of imparting her knowledge to the . .."1' always felt-,'! said M.iss Blanoy, thaien'- leaving Madame 1 had loarned something that'would do me good. . I .got to know a good deal about most of the big teachers of voice production in London, but to me there is only one.teacher■ in London— -Madame Minna-' Fischer I" ;: . -SOMETHING TO GO UPON. '• ' "'She'does not talie in anybody, as many pf' the teachers do—she wants something go uponi some • show of voico «iud artistic appreciation on which to build up tho perfected vocal- structure." ' ■ "Any particular method?" "Sh'e has all the nccopted methods at the tips of her fingers, or, rather,. conccaled in her throat; and her method is a combination'of tho best in all, it, seemed tojmo. -"Did' you study your song 3. with her. "No ; as far as I was concerned she novor asked me to. try over songs, unless it was at mV own request—it was production all the. time with her. Her argument is that if a . singer has tho voice, and knows now to. produco it, the brain must do the rnr.t. , Tho interpretation of songs was bramwork— no''instruction can' make a singer a good interpreter of .lyrics if the intellectual faculty is missingl" •-It' is interesting' to know that Mr. Georgo Clutsam', formerly of Dunedin, acts as accompanist to Madame's pupils when the occasion- arises. NEW ZEALAND SINGERS AT HOME. Madamo Fischer numbers among her pupils several- New Zealand girls, who aro striving hard in tho field of artistic endeavour. Among these is Miss Nora Long, or Wellington, who learned , her first paces m vocalisation under the able instruction of sister Alary Agnes, at St. Mary s Convent. Though still'a somewhat nervous girl, Miss Longs voice' had improved greatly, and she was doing very well. Her name lit occasionally included in the programmo of Chappell s balJa'd concerts, and she got a e<iod numbor of engagements at "At Homes" and in tho Pr M is" 0 Irene Aihsloy, an Auckland girl with a very good contralto voice, and a protcgco of Molba, is also doing splendidly, and is one who, Miss Blaney thinks will bo heard of in tlio' future.' Sho has had engagements ■fronv the National Sunday League, which gives concerts all over London onSimday fn tlie; Albert, Hall, the A hambra Music Hall, and the big suburban halls. They arc.understood.. in some- vaguo way, to bo sacred concerts, but that is not the. correct, description—and they always have good artistes and rive splendid concorts. You pay 3d., od., or.ls. admittance for a seat, though ono can walk in without, paying at- a j—tho same law exists in London that applies hero. . Miss iVillsloy is a pupil of Madame lischer, out, has been under Madamo Mnrc.iesi for French. Miss ...Margaret "Wells, of Dunedin, was another who showed great pronnso. She is a contralto,' and had been studying under Santley', but .was. now. with "N idal. -.Miss •Miranda (sister of Miss Lalla Miranda) was also "ono of the hopefuls, folio is an Australian girl,-.with lots of promise. Many m Now .Zealand will remember Walter Kirby, tlie' tenor. . 110 was quite successful, and was"' singing- beautifully—engaged at all tho '.hi®At Homes" and receptions, and has suiig'.bcfore 'Royalty fit Chatsworth House. '• 1(: THE HIGHER STARS. • "And having, heard 'them all, which do yoii think is the greatest singer of thorn all iady singer,.l'mean?" "' Oh; Melba !" said Miss Blaney, in a. tone tliiit suggested surprise at such a question being asked. "There is no singer liko Melba in tlife world—that is, in grand opera—she is .abovd-them all, head and shoulders I Destine, the German pvima donna, whom I heard in -Don Giovanni,' is great in opera, lut Melba—well, she is Melba." ";on' the concert platform?" "I don't know anyone I like better than Dolores'. I saw that the papers were comparing' Madamo Loman with Dolores. I heard the Dutch singer here, and thought h'er : a' very delightful singer, but she is not a" Dolores! " Giachetti, the Italian diva, is another very 1 ;, fine grand opera' artist, and a woiiderful actress. In 'La Tosca and ' Madame Butterfly,' at last Covent Garden season, she was superb. Sho had the power!of arousing the'audience to great enthusiasm, and the French and Italian pooplo yelled 'Bis, .bis' so vociferously that for the moment I thought they did not like her. . '".As Melba is beyond all other soprani, so is . Caruso above all tenors—it is a great voice.! Ganatelli, an Italian tenor, whom I ' lieard in 'La Tosca,' is also very fine. Next to Caruso, the grand opera favourite is Plancon, tlie baritone—what an artist I Scotti is also great. Another performance, the memory, of which I cherish, was seeing Calvo ' as Carmen. No one plays Carmen like Calve, a superb artiste, whose every gesture and movement were tho quintessence of grace." Miss Blaney is to give a single concert in Wellington' on Monday next at the Town Hall bofore sho leaves for Home again.