The Concert Platform
Dawson was approached to appear in an important concert in London at the Queen's Hall; but first (in 1909-1910) he made a successful six-month tour of Australia with the Amy Castles company of singers. On his return, he began appearing in Promenade Concerts. A second long tour with his own company in Australia and New Zealand ended with the outbreak of war in Europe in 1914. He returned to England via South Africa, but decided to go back to Australia to enlist in the armed forces.
After the war and with another South African tour under his belt, Dawson returned to England. His voice was now entering its peak phase. A British tour ensued with International Celebrity Concerts, involving recitals of operatic numbers. Accompanied on the piano by Gerald Moore, he then gave lieder recitals at the Wigmore Hall in 1924. An extensive Australian tour (his sixth) occurred in 1931, and he paid further visits to his homeland in 1933, 1935, early 1939 and 1948-49. He made an extensive singing tour of India, Burma and the Straits Settlements during the 1930s. Dawson also visited Ireland. His first BBC radio broadcast was made in 1931 and included lieder by Franz Schubert and Johannes Brahms: he subsequently became a prolific broadcaster, and was still active ‘on air’ as late as the 1950s.
Read more about this topic: Peter Dawson (bass-baritone)
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