KEY POINTS:
Mina Foley, soprano. Died aged 77.
Mina Foley, the soprano who captivated New Zealand audiences with the quality and technique of her singing in the 1950s, has died after a long illness. She was the first of the galaxy of singing stars trained by the acclaimed Auckland singing teacher, Dame Sister Mary Leo, a member of the Auckland Sisters of Mercy. Among her later pupils were Kiri Te Kanawa, Malvina Major and Heather Begg.
Foley began singing lessons at St Mary's College in Auckland at the age of 14, and her outstanding success in the Auckland competitions began when she was 16. At age 20, she won the major vocal prizes in the Auckland Competitions, including the John Court Memorial Aria Scholarship.
She went on to Melbourne in October 1950 to compete in the prestigious Melbourne Sun Aria competition. Gaining second place, she was just three points behind the winner, yet was described by the music critic of the Melbourne Herald as the outstanding singer of the night.
This success led to a Mina Foley phenomenon back home. On her return she gave a series of concerts, and during one recital in the Auckland Town Hall, the Mayor of Auckland, Sir John Allum, left a council meeting to congratulate her.
The Herald reported that her concert in the Auckland Town Hall in November with the National Orchestra (now the NZSO) was such a sell-out that 100 people were seated on the stage and many could not gain admittance.
The Herald's music critic, L.C.M. Saunders, wrote of her triumphant reception: "Her beautifully clear high notes, the scrupulous accuracy of her intonation and the flexibility that make her such a promising coloratura delighted all who heard her."
Foley then left for Europe, and studied with the famous singer and teacher Toti dal Monte, in Italy.
She returned to New Zealand in 1952 and gave concert tours throughout the country, singing to capacity audiences.
Because of huge public demand, the National Broadcasting Service (now National Radio) rescheduled its Concert Programme to include the whole of her Wellington concert.
In 1956 she went to the United States to study for a short period with the well-known teacher Greta Stauber. Returning home the following year, she continued to sing until a nervous breakdown in 1961. She spent the next 16 years in Oakley Hospital, and her voice was not heard again on stage for 18 years.
A reviewer in the Auckland Star wrote of her return concert in 1979: "The lyric coloratura tackled some of the most testing pieces in the repertoire, and showed that the brilliant range, particularly the crystal-clear, bell-like top, was still there."
Sadly, ill-health continued to plague her, preventing her from pursuing her singing career.
Donald Munro, who is regarded as the father of New Zealand opera, summarised her singing in these words: "It is the kind of singing that wrings one's heart."
