West Australian (Perth, WA : 1879 - 1954), Saturday 25 April 1936, page 16


AMBITIOUS SINGERS.

DIFFICULTIES TO BE FACED. A Rising Young Soprano.

A warning to Australian singers not to go abroad to study unless possessed of ample money and plenty of grit was given by Mr. Alfred Jonas, an Australian ope-

ratic and vocal coach and instructor, yes-terday, when he reached Fremantle from Great Britain on the liner Jervis Bay. He is returning to Melbourne after spending a year abroad coaching Miss Emilie Hooke, an Australian soprano, who won the 'Sun' aria competition. He was specially commissioned for the task by an English syndicate, the members of which are back-ing Miss Hooke. "Singers who go abroad to study are confronted with a terrific struggle," he said. "I would not advise any Australian singer to undertake it unless he or she had plenty of money, plenty of grit, and a heart like an ox. A singer must be of outstanding merit — not merely a good singer— to get anywhere abroad. In Lon-don people engaging talent have the world to draw on, and they demand and get the very best in appearance and ability. The standard is now extraordinarily high, and the student finds that the more he or she learns the wider the scope becomes." There were many Australians in London at present, he added, and some of them were doing well either In performances or in their studies. The best opportunities were available in broadcasting, the chances in opera being very limited in the short London season. Etta Barnard, a Melbourne contralto, who went abroad only a short while ago to further her studies, had made marked progress. Her voice had developed a good deal since she sang the 'Messiah' with John Brownlee in Melbourne. Speaking of the future of Emilie Hooke, Mr. Jonas said that it was generally re-cognised that it was only a question of time before she advanced to the front rank of sopranos. She had an outstand-ing voice — a lyric soprano "inclined to be dramatic and with, probably, a three octave range." She had made marked progress in three years, and already had appeared in Sir Henry Wood's promenade concerts and had broadcast to Australia several times. Recently she had learnt five operas in four months, and she now sang in French, Italian, German and Eng-lish. "1 was to have gone to Milan with Miss Hooke, but the international crisis prevented our going to Italy,' he added. "As a result I have come back to Aus-tralia. Miss Hooke has gone to Vienna to work, and since she has been there she has sung for Franz Lehar, the com-poser. All the critics in London and on the Continent have spoken highly of her voice, and all she needs now is polish. She is particularly fortunate in that her appearance is excellent— she is a pretty girl, rather tall and graceful."