NINON VALLIN

New Zealand Listener, Volume 21, Issue 536, 30 September 1949, Page 7

NINON VALLIN

F you want to interview Ninon Vallin you will enjoy the experience most if you can speak French too-an accomplishment which few New Zealand journalists seem to have the time to acquire -but even in a three-way conversation it is impossible not to be impressed by her vitality and friendliness. When. The Listener met her in Auckland the other day, Henri Penn (an old acquaintance who is travelling with Madame Vallin as her associate artist) was interpreter, but the personality of the veteran soprano needed no translation. At 63 she seems not to have grown old, but rather to have attained a richly gifted and graceful maturity. Besides music she has two abiding interests and enthusiasms. As with all her countrymen, the first of these is*France; the second is the land. When she is not on tour, her own home is deep in the countryside outside Lyons, one of the loveliest parts of France, and the house itself is a farm homestead which dates back to the 15th Century. Farming is a subject on which The Listener itself feels at home. Was the" farm a large one? she was asked. "For France, yes. It ix of about 20 acres, and we have a little of every-

thing. We keep horses for riding and for work; we have chickens and cows and dogs, and much fruit-cherries ‘and peaches, apricots and grapes." Madame Vallin’s love of country life includes a special fondness for horses. While she was in Auckland she paid a visit to the racing stables at Takanini, and during her present, tour she is hoping to spend a few days on a New Zealand farm, perhaps near Christchurch which is the New Zealand city she liked most on her last visit. This time she hopes she will like’ it evén more, "Christchurch is lovely," she said, ‘fbut last time it was winter, and very, very cold. Now it is spring and everything should be green." 4 She hopes to see more of other parts of New Zealand too — especially the country districts but the cities will claim her for most of her time here. As before, she is making a point of meeting as many French-speaking residents, ayd visiting as many French clubs as possible; she also hopes to learn something of University life in New Zealand, and of the part music and. the arts play in it. (Listeners to 1YA will hear Ninon Vallin on Tuesday, October 4, wHen the first hour of a public concert will be broadcast.)