THE OPERA TO-DAY

Otago Witness, Issue 4029, 2 June 1931, Page 70

THE OPERA TO-DAY

MR JOSEPH HISLOP’S VIEWS MUSIC’S TRANSITION STAGE. Mr Joseph Hislop, the noted tenor, who arrived in Dunedin last week, expressed the opinion to our representative that music was now undergoing a transition which was being felt more in New Zealand than in Europe where music in its higher forms, the opera and the orchestra, still existed and thrived despite the rapid development of mechanical instruments. He was of the opinion that despite the competition provided by its mechanised rivals and despite economic troubles, music continued to roll along its even way. That opera had developed both visually and histrionically during the past 20 years was emphasised by Mr Hislop, though he would not say that the singers of to-day were better than those of the early years of the century. He deplored the prevalent impression that the influence of opera was declining, and stated that the impression was due to the losses of money, which were inevitably associated with the production of opera.

Discussing the great expense involved in operatic production, Mr Hislop stated that, while a musical play company required only one artist for each part, an opera company, with a repertoire of. perhaps, 60 operas, demanded a wide variety of singers—dramatic tenors, lyric tenors, dramatic sopranos, lyric sopranos, mezzo-sopranos, and as many more in every vocal field. Then there were the orchestra, the choruses, the character artists, stage hands, and many other items requiring the expenditure of money, all going to prove that, in order to produce opera at a profit, it would be necessary to charge prohibitive prices for admission. Everywhere in Europe, opera was subsidised by the State or the municipality, and in America it was subsidised by wealthy men of commerce. In Germany, and. to a lesser extent, in France and Italy, every town held the production of operas an essential part of community

Fi equently, European towns with populations of not more than 20,000 had their permanent operas with permanent sub sidies. Tours of opera companies were infrequent and usually took the form of complimentary calls. The Milan opera, for instance, had recently given performances in Germany under Toscanini, and Stockholm was visited not long ago by the Viennese opera. Mr Hislop said that he was convinced that the English people were by nature just as musical as the French, Germans, and Italians, but their musical sense had not been developed to the same extent because they had not had the continental advantages of tradition and environment. Had opera been established from time immemorial ■ London, Manchester, and other English cities, it would by now have become as much a part of the national life as it was in Germany. Mr Hislop considered that the outstanding musical figure in England at the present time was Sir Thomas Beecham. The manner in which Sir Thomas Beecham had drawn and overdrawn upon his resources to further the production of opera was well known. Again and again he had given the British publie memorable grand opera seasons. He was sufficiently a realist, however, to understand that opera in Europe could not pay. It had been subsidised on the Continent for many years and now it was to be subsidised in England. Sir Thomas Beecham was regarded by Mi Hislop as one of the greatest conductors and musicians of the age, and he remarked that his opinion was borne out by the reputation Sir Thomas had achieved on the Continent and in the United States, where he was considered as a genius comparable with Toscanini. Apart from his usual repertoire, Sir Thomas Beecham had shown, in a notable way, the beauties of the works of Mozart. It was he who gave London its greatest season of Russian opera when he introduced Chaliapin and the famous Russian Ballet.

“ New operatic works are constantly being produced in Germany, Italy, and France,” continued Mr Hislop. “An operatic hit is a rare thing, and if there was such a one you would probably hear about it as soon as we. Puccini’s ‘ Turandot ’ was the last considerable success in the operatic world.” To anyone like himself, said Mr Hislop, who sang regularly each season in the opera houses of Sweden, Italy, France, and Spain, the battleground of British opera presented a strange spectacle. On the Continent they were accustomed to seeing opera enjoying a subsidy which allowed a continuing policy, and consequently a smooth organisation. Part of that policy, incidentally, was that opera should be given as far as possible in the native language; and Germany, France, and Italy all had great repertoires of operatic works by their own composers. For himself, when he gave concert recitals he tried to sing as many items as he could in the language of the country where he happened to be. Whenever translations were available of the necessary artistic merit, he would sing the songs and arias of other lands in English to his New Zealand audiences.

After his concerts in Dunedin, Mr Hislop will make a farewell appearance in Wellington. He will then continue his tour in Australia until the end of August, when he will return to London. A South

African tour hgs had to be cancelled through the lack of steamship service.