<<<  <<  -- 4 --  Howard Smith    A GENEROUS EARFUL

After intensive studies in Perth, Yurisich made his début at Sydney in 1976, as Paolo in Verdi's Simon Boccanegra. Other roles with Australian Opera have included Germont, Varlaam, and Masetto. Yurisich sang Bottom in Britten's A Midsummer Night's Dream at Frankfurt in 1989. He appeared with the English National Opera ensemble as Escamillo, and in the first performances of Oliver's Timon of Athens (1991) and Xenakis' Bakxai Evrvpidov (1992). He has appeared in London at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden from 1990, as William Tell and Bartolo. His US début was as Donizetti's Henry VIII in New York (1985); and in 1991 he appeared at Glyndebourne, as Leporello.

Dawson's repertoire was largely that of the recital platform, growing from late 19th century tradition of the Smoking Concerts (live performances, for an audience of men only, often held at hotels, where men would smoke and speak of politics while listening to live music) and Chappell Recitals. (In 2007, Chappell of Bond Street invited customers and piano enthusiasts to join the publisher for its inaugural lunchtime recital series featuring some of the very best pianists from London conservatoires.) Dawson exemplified the singing in English custom and owed to Santley a taste and technique suited to Oratorio works, notably by Handel, Mendelssohn and Elgar. In 1920 he began a series of extensive recordings of Gilbert and Sullivan operas under George W Byng.

By 1920 he had achieved total record sales of five million. Finally many of the Savoy operas were re-recorded with Malcolm Sargent. His concert operatic titles included Prologue (I Pagliacci), Credo (Otello), Even Bravest Heart (Gounod's Faust), 'Largo al Factotum' (Barber of Seville), 'Non piu andrai' (Marriage of Figaro), 'O Star of Eve' (Tannhäuser), 'Toreador Song' (Carmen), Pari siamo (Rigoletto) and Sarastro's 'Within this Hallowed Dwelling' (The Magic Flute).

Once-popular songs personally identified with Dawson though not included here are The Bandolero (Stuart), 'The Cobbler's Song' (from Chu Chin Chow), In a Monastery Garden and In a Persian Market (Ketelbey), The Lute Player (Allitsen) and The Boys of the Old Brigade (Weatherley).

On this disc we can invoke the best of Dawson's most popular items [listen -- track 1, 2:19-3:30].

For help listening to the sound extracts here, please refer to our questions & answers page.