Mercury (Hobart, Tas. : 1860 - 1954), Friday 28 January 1949, page 22


Music and Drama

By "Minerva"

BARITONE STUDIED SINGING UNDER

REHABILITATION

JOHN CAMERON, Sydney baritone, who will give a concert in the Hobart Town Hall on February 5, did not consider singing as a possible career until during the war. He studied under Army education and the rehabi-litation training scheme.

HE has won high praise from

music critics during his career as a professional singer.

Before enlisting in the A.I.F. he had taken a few singing lessons as a hobby. When he went to the Middle East in an artillery unit, he packed in his kit a volume of Schu-bert's songs.

At a Tel Aviv cafe he heard a Jewish girl playing jazz for the troops and he placed the song album on the piano before her.

She began to sing one of the songs with him. but broke down half-way through and burst into tears.

The girl. Lilli Cedarbaum, was a former singer in the Vienna State Opera who had been ex-pelled by the Nazis.

Many times after that, John Gam-eron sang with her in concerts for

the troops.

Successes As Soloist

On his return to Australia, he transferred to an Army education unit, and it was then he decided to become a professional singer.

After his discharge, he continued his studies under the rehabilitation scheme, and was given his first big chance by the A.B.C. This was to sing with Georges Thill, famous French tenor, at a Sydney orchestral

concert.

Further successes were achieved as soloist in "Sea Drift" (Delius) and in Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, under the conductorship of Eugene

Goossens.

In his concerts at Hobart and Launceston John Cameron will have the assistance of the Tasmanian Orchestra, conducted by Murison

Bourn.

Auriel Garratt will give a re-

citai in the Hobart Town Hall on February 15 (Regatta night).

She will present a selection of French and Italian operatic arias, a group of lieder, and modern. art

songs.

Pianist Enid Stokle will accom-pany the young singer, and an in-strumental trio will complete the

programme.

Preparations are in full swing for the Repertory Theatre production of Shakespeare's "Much Ado About Nothing," which will open at the Playhouse on February 19.

The cast of more than 30. ls settling down to assiduous rehear-sal under the direction of Mainland producer, Paul Hill.

The wardrobe committee is tackling the formidable task of dressing the play with an entirely

new set of costumes.

They are being taken from de-signs prepared by the Hobart artists. Eileen Brooker and Peggy Chandler, who are responsible also for the de-sign of settings for the play.

Duo-Pianists

The duo-pianists Rawicz and Landauer will give their Hobart con-cert in the Town Hall on February

Music students with a particular Interest in two-piano work are eagerly anticipating the visit of this famous pair, who rank among the world's finest duo-pianists.

Melbourne soprano Kathleen Goodall will be assisting artist.

Aboriginal tenor Harold Blair who sang to a packed house in Hobart early in January will re-

visit Tasmania.

He will open at the Hobart Town/

JOHN CAMERON

Hall on March ¿7', will visit Devon-

port on March 22, and will be at the ] National Theatre, Launceston, on

March 24.

Music-lovers who were impressed by the quality of this artist's singing will welcome the opportunity of hear-ing him again.

Tasmanians who are disappointed at not seeing the Italian Grand Op-era Company at present visiting

Australia will have an opportun- J ity of hearing four of the principals I in excerpts from opera when they broadcast from Sydney on February 6 over the national network.

Rina Malatrasi, the phenomenally successful "Madame Butterfly" of thc current season, will be heard singing with tenor Rodolfo Moraro in the duet from the finale to the first act of Puccini's opera.

Maestro Franco Ghione will con-duct the Sydney Symphony Orches-tra in this im}K)rtant operatic broad-

cast.

Entries for the Drama Festival to be held in Launceston in the first week in March must reach the sec-retary (Anne Godfrey-Smith), Car-narvon St.. Launceston, by. Febru-.

ary 10.