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Composer Must Take
New Work to London
IVf R. Dudley Glass, an Australian composer with an established
reputation in Britain and America, will leave soon for
London with the manuscript and score of a light opera, Drake
of England, which he hopes will be performed as a Coronation
piece in London.
The opera based on the
Louis N, Parker play
Drake, to which Sir Her
bert Tree gave stage life at
His Majesty's Theatre,
London, years ago, has in
terested two theatrical or
ganisations In Melbourne.
But their Interest ap
parently was heightened
by the prospect of pre
senting It, as a "borrowed
success," once London set
the seal of approval on
It.
Mr. Glass, who has been
abroad for many years, be
lieves that British subjects
can be developed just as
romantically as those of
Central European or Ame
rican origin.
"I think it Is certainly
time that we got back to
our own racial legends and
stories," he said.
In Britain and America
the Australian composer
and author is established
as a lecturer.
Since he was last in Mel- .
bourne collecting material
for his pictorial book.
"Australian Fantasy," he
has spent three years in
the United States lecturing
at universities and clubs,
chiefly on national music
In Its varying native in
spiration.
MR- Glass has given
many talks
throughout England
on music, and on Aus
tralia.
In London he is a mem
ber of the panel of the
London County Council
— By -i
A Staff
Correspondent
and the Imperial Insti
tute.
His anthem, Australia,
Land of Ours, used to be
played regularly on Austra
lia day in London by the
Australian organist and
journalist the late Mr. Ar
thur Mason, and his song
The Empire is Marching
has been sung widely and
recorded.
One of his surprise roy
alties comes annually from
his orchestral Intermezzo
Will o' the Wisp, which has
for four years been the
signature tune on the
B.B.C. feature In Town
Tonight.
He has completed a chil-
dren's book for Christmas
publication by Frederick
warne, with illustrations
by Strube.
When he returns to Lon
don shortly . the composer
will settle down to polish
his opera' on a Norwegian
theme, Gerda, which he
. hopes will be presented In
Australia in good time.
"k
gORN in Adelaide in
1899, Mr. Glass
achieved both' a Lon
don and a Melbourne
production of The
Beloved Vagabond. .
Later, Mr, Glass spon
sored in London his ope
retta The Toy Maker of
Nuremberg, and in 1945
shared, as lyric writer, in
the run for 18 months of
A Night in Venice, by
Johann Strauss.
His skill in the writing
of lyrics he has turned to
good account in the setting
to music of the Nonsense
Songs of Edward Lear and
Song of Peter Rabbit,
based on Beatrix Potter's
"Tale of Peter Rabbit."
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