Welcome to the community hub built on top of the Opera for the People Wikipedia article.
Here, you can discuss, collect, and organize anything related to Opera for the People. The
purpose of the hub is to connect people, foster deeper knowledge, and help improve
the root Wikipedia article.
Opera for the People was an Australian commercial radio program produced and conducted by Hector Crawford. Well-known operas were retold by a narrator and actors, punctuated with their most tuneful arias, performed by some of Australia's best singers, backed with a symphony orchestra. Most were spread over two half-hour segments, but could be played as one continuous program. The long-running series also sold to New Zealand, Canada and Hawaii, and was copied elsewhere.[1] The program was broadcast on 3DB, from 19 November 1946 to 20 March 1949; 21 operas were presented in this format, most were played twice — whether fresh productions or old recordings replayed was not divulged. Originally scheduled for Tuesdays at 8 pm, from 2 March 1947 3DB and 3LK broadcast the program on Sunday evenings at 7 pm, the slot previously occupied by the serial Melba.
Crawford ran an Opera for the People quest in Sydney, broadcast 3DB and 53 other stations throughout Australia – the largest commercial radio hookup to that date — 27 June 1947.[2]
Tales of Hoffmann 25 May, 1, 8. With June William Howard, David Allen, Wyn Laird.[12] Repeated 21, 28 December 1947; and again on 5, 12 September 1948.
Highlights of Opera 21 March 1948; 18 April 1948; 16 May 1948. With Glenda Raymond, John Lanigan, David Allen, and Valentine Stewart. Repeated 26 September 1948.
The first public concert in the series was held at the Melbourne Botanic Gardens on Saturday 3 March 1947, with singers Glenda Raymond, John Lanigan, William Laird, David Allen, and Ailsa MacKenzie reprising their parts in the radio adaptation of Rigoletto. The concert was broadcast live by Victorian radio stations 3DB-3LK, 3BA (Ballarat), 3BO (Bendigo), and 3GL (Geelong), and worldwide through Radio Australia.[19]
An Opera for the People concert was held 30 June 1947 at the Melbourne Town Hall in aid of the YWCA. Soloists included John Lanigan, Maxwell Cohen, Glenda Raymond and Noella Cornish; accompanist, Eunice Garland.[20] £709 was raised.[21]
A concert by the stars of Opera for the People was held on 8 August 1947 in the Horsham Town Hall, in aid of the Horsham Base Hospital.[22]
"A praiseworthy and ambitious new venture for 3DB by Hector Crawford Productions", Donald Weaver, The Herald.[3]
The arias seem to flow naturally from the dialogue, and there is not the musical comedy effect which might so easily have been created by such a method of presentation. Glenda Raymond is exquisite; William Laird's fine baritone seems to be gaining in richness. As a rule, I find a tenor the least attractive of masculine voices, but John Lanigan's voice is one of outstanding beauty, and his diction is perfect.[23]
^"Today's Guide". The Herald (Melbourne). No. 21, 709. Victoria, Australia. 17 December 1946. p. 17. Retrieved 23 December 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
^"Today's Guide". The Herald (Melbourne). No. 21, 715. Victoria, Australia. 24 December 1946. p. 11. Retrieved 23 December 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
^"Today's Guide". The Herald (Melbourne). No. 21, 721. Victoria, Australia. 1 January 1947. p. 11. Retrieved 23 December 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
^"Today's Guide". The Herald (Melbourne). No. 21, 732. Victoria, Australia. 14 January 1947. p. 15. Retrieved 23 December 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
^"Today's Guide". The Herald (Melbourne). No. 21, 744. Victoria, Australia. 28 January 1947. p. 13. Retrieved 23 December 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
^"Today's Guide". The Herald (Melbourne). No. 21, 909. Victoria, Australia. 9 August 1947. p. 19. Retrieved 23 December 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
^"Today's Guide". The Herald (Melbourne). No. 21, 784. Victoria, Australia. 15 March 1947. p. 17. Retrieved 23 December 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
^"Operatic Role". The Herald (Melbourne). No. 21, 855. Victoria, Australia. 7 June 1947. p. 2. Retrieved 23 December 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
^"Today's Guide". The Herald (Melbourne). No. 21, 867. Victoria, Australia. 21 June 1947. p. 19. Retrieved 23 December 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
^"Today's Guide". The Herald (Melbourne). No. 21, 921. Victoria, Australia. 23 August 1947. p. 24. Retrieved 23 December 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
^"Today's Guide". The Herald (Melbourne). No. 21, 912. Victoria, Australia. 13 August 1947. p. 17. Retrieved 23 December 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
^"£709 for YWCA". The Herald (Melbourne). No. 21, 906. Victoria, Australia. 6 August 1947. p. 6. Retrieved 23 December 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
^"Today's Guide". The Herald (Melbourne). No. 21, 908. Victoria, Australia. 8 August 1947. p. 13. Retrieved 23 December 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
