Wallingford/Jarlov Family Trees

Alexander Turnbull Library Biographies 1921 p4a

The death of Sir Charles Santley at the great age of 88 years, brings to mind his visit to this country 33 years ago, when he "discovered" Mr John Prouse, of Wellington, the well-known singer. Mr Prouse had been a singer at local concerts, but his voice had had no special training, and he had never learnt to play a musical instrument, yet, as Mr Santley said "he was full of music, and with cultivation he might become one of the best singers of his day." He advised Mr Prouse, although he was between 30 and 40 years of age, to go to London and go through a thorough musical training. This Mr Prouse decided to do and sailed with his wife and family in ... first Tongariro, Captain J. Bone being in command at that time, from Lyttelton in May, 1890. He arrived in London in July, and commenced his studies immediately, with a result that is known to all music lovers in the Dominion. Mr Prouse was born in the Dominion, but London life greatly appealed to him, and between times he flew hither and thither, seeing and hearing all he could, and enjoyed the life to the full, which he described as living in a new world. His stay in the Homeland lasted for some time, Mr Santley taking the greatest interest in all that pertained to the New Zealander's musical training, and was delighted when he saw his protege finding his way by sheer merit into the best musical circles in the metropolis. Mr Prouse became a general favourite because of his free and easy colonial style and his unassuming disposition. The aged Dean Jacobs, of Christchurch, who had not been in the Homeland for 40 years, went Home in the Tongariro with Mr Prouse, and Mr W. K. Howitt, of Devonport, was also a passenger, a young man on his way to a college in Scotland.

From The Prouse Connection:

John was a baritone singer of world fame, trained in England but returned to Wellington and worked in the family firm then called 'Prouse Bros. Timber Merchants' and later 'Prouse Lumber Ltd.'

The Cyclopedia of New Zealand [Wellington Provincial District]

Singers

Professional singers are usually teachers, of vocal or instrumental music. One notable exception to this rule, however, is found in Wellington,-Mr. John Prouse, without some mention of whom no record of the musical talent of the Capital city would be complete.

Mr. John Prouse, the well-known baritone singer, is the third son of the late Mr. Richard Prouse, one of the pioneer settlers of Wellington, and was born in 1856 in this district. From a very early age he displayed musical taste and the possession of a good singing voice, and as a lad he was a member of the church choirs at the Wainui and at the Taita, where his family resided. Mr. Prouse, however, was of a rather retiring disposition, and it was not until 1885 that he made his debut upon the concert platform at Wellington. At a bound he leaped into popularity. His rich rotund voice, and his faculty for fine and true expression, at once proclaimed the born artist, and local musicians cordially welcomed the young debutant as an acquisition to the musical resources of the City. At the Wellington Musical Festival of 1888, Mr. Prouse won golden opinions by his splendid singing of the music allotted to the rôle of "Elijah" in Mendelssohn's immortal oratorio. It is only just to observe that Mr. Prouse ascribes much of his success as a singer to the careful tuition he received during two years from Mr. Robert Parker. Acting upon the strong advice of his friends, Mr. Prouse, in 1890, left for England, accompanied by his wife and family, in order to have his voice and method trained and developed under good masters. For twelve months he studied with characteristic earnestness of purpose under Mr. T. A. Wallworth, ex-professor of the Royal Academy of Music, and at the Academy of Mr. Wilhelm Ganz, the well-known song-writer, devoting himself chiefly to oratorio work. During this period he also found time to accept concert engagements at the Crystal Palace, in St. James's Hall, London, and in the provinces, receiving many flattering notices for his performances. Mr. and Mrs. Prouse and family returned to Wellington in 1892, and since then Mr. Prouse has taken part in nearly all the principal concerts given in Wellington, besides filling engagements at Auckland, Christchurch, Ashburton, Timaru, Dunedin, and Invercargill. He was entrusted with the baritone solo parts in several of the musical works produced at the Wellington Musical Festival of 1894, and for oratorio work both here and in the South Island his services are in constant request. Mr. Prouse has a great love for his art, and a deep sense of its grandeur and dignity. As a consequence, he has consistently eschewed its lighter and ephemeral side, and devoted himself almost entirely to high class music, especially oratorio, of which he is one of the best exponents in the Colony. He certainly stands unrivalled in New Zealand as a baritone singer in oratorio, and in the rendering of such songs as "Nazareth" (Gounod), "Thou'rt Passing Hence, my Brother" (Sullivan), "The Holy City" (Adams), and "Les Rameaux" (Faure). Mr. Prouse has derived much advantage in his musical studies from the musical taste and enthusiasm of his wife, and, in this connection, it may be observed that the artistic gifts of the parents have descended to their children.

Title: The Cyclopedia of New Zealand [Wellington Provincial District]
Author: Cyclopedia Company Limited
Publication details: The Cyclopedia Company, Limited, 1897, Wellington
Part of: The Cyclopedia of New Zealand
License: Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 New Zealand Licence

Letter from Christobel Nation Tunnington to Phyllis Prouse Taylor, 18 May 1979:

Cuffie recounts a story told by Jessie (I believe this to be Jessie Parker Cowlishaw) about the bailing out of John by his brothers James and Richard.

The payout was to avoid scandal relating to a famous Italian opera singer (Madame Dolores) who visited New Zealand and also sang with John while overseas. According to Cuffie, Jessie said that "the relationship wasn't regular, as the saying goes" and that she was a very expensive woman.

Cuffie thinks that John may have been pushed into a marriage he did not seek with Lena. Combined with all the travelling with the whole family resulted in a debt of £32,000 that James and Richard paid out, somewhere around 1911.

Evening Post, Volume CX, Issue 31, 5 August 1930, Page 11

OBITUARY

JOHN PROUSE

GREAT LOSS TO MUSIC

Musical circles in Wellington, naturally rejoicing in the Musical Festival now being held, received more than a temporary shock when it became known that Mr. John Prouse, Wellington's veteran singer, had passed away yesterday after an illness lasting a month or so. For over fifty years the late Mr. Prouse, who was 75 at the time of his death, had been associated with music in the Dominion, and he was without doubt the foremost baritone singer this country has produced. It was chiefly iii oratorio that he made his name, but his appearance at concerts of all sorts have been legion. Not only did the late Mr. Prouse make hosts of friends in the musical world, numbering amongst his personal acquaintances musical celebrities of many nationalities, but his personality endeared him to all whom he met, and his death will be regretted by a very large circle of friends. He leaves a widow, three sons, and two daughters. The sons are Messrs. William Prouse (architect) and Oliver Prouse (solicitor), both of Wellington, and Mr. George Prouse, of Milan, Italy. The daughters are Mrs. Goorge Anderson, of Buenos Aires, and Miss Constance Prouse, of Wellington.

Of all the singers that Wellington has produced, none has gained a wider celebrity than Mr. Prouse. He was born in Wellington in 1856, the son of Mr. Richard Prouse, an early settler, his family being connected with the timbermilling business. Early in life he showed himself the possessor of a mellow toned baritone voice. Forty years ago he was the principal baritone in the choir of the Taranaki Street Wesleyan Church, and was much in. request as a soloist at local concerts. Recognising the value of his vocal assets, Mr. Prouse placed himself in the first instance under Mr. Robert Parker for voice training. In later years he went Home, and continued his studies under Mr. T. A. Walworth, R.A.M., and the noted William Ganz. His fame became more than local when at the 1888 Musical Festival, he gave his first performance of the part of Elijah, in Mendelssohn's oratorio of that title. There are very few of the principal towns of New Zealand where he has not sung the part in musical festivals or the performances of choral societies. His performance of the highly dramatic music allotted to the prophet was so effective that when, during his temporary residence in England, there were occasions when Sir Charles Santley, the foremost exponent of Elijah on British platforms, was prevented by indisposition from keeping engagements, Mr. Prouse was chosen to take his place. In the same period Mr. Prouse sang at St. James's Hall, London, at the Crystal Palace, and at various places in the provinces. On his return to New Zealand, which was early in the nineties, his position was at once established as the foremost baritone in the Dominion. For many years thereafter no important musical gathering in any of the principal towns was complete without him, certainly there was no other Elijah wanted by a New Zealand choral society. In the various concert tours of Madame Dolores, daughter of the famous Madame Trebelli —at first she appeared here under "the name of Antoinette Trebelli —Mr. Prouse took an important part, and his elder daughter travelled extensively with Madame Dolores as her accompanist. Mr. Prouse has toured also with Kubelik, the violinist, with Backhaus, the pianist, and with other famous artists. On one occasion Dame Melba sent to Wellington for him to appear with her in Melbourne. His advancing years were no bar to his widening of the circle of admirers by means of broadcasting.

For over 35 years past Mr. Prouse was associated with St. Paul's Pro-Cathedral choir, where, under the direction of his old friend and coadjutor, Mr. Robert Parker, he contributed to some notable performances of the higher class of church music. With his wife, Mr. Prouse was largely instrumental in getting the Christchurch Exhibition Orchestra, (under Mr. Alfred Hill) to visit Wellington in 1906, a movement which gave Wellington its first real insight into the grandeur of a symphony orchestra.

A service will be held in St. Paul's Pro-Cathedral at 9 o'clock to-morrow morning. The interment will be private.