| Variations of Name | Florence Mary Wilson | Florence Fawaz |
| Biography | Florence Austral was an Australian operatic soprano renowned for her interpretation of the most demanding Wagnerian female roles, although she never gained the opportunity to appear at the Bayreuth Festival or the New York Metropolitan Opera.
She was born Florence Mary Wilson, but adopted the professional surname Austral in 1921 in honour of her homeland of Australia. She was considered to have few equals in sheer vocal quality. Acting was not her strong point and her characterisations were mainly achieved with the voice, which made her recordings so vastly enjoyable. She, Germaine Lubin and Frida Leider were considered to be the great Wagnerian dramatic sopranos of their era, together with Kirsten Flagstad, who did not rise to international fame until the 1930s.
She was discovered by the choirmaster Rev. Edward Sugden at the Wesleyan Methodist Church in Melbourne. In 1914, she won first prizes in the soprano and mezzo-soprano categories at a singing contest in Ballarat, obtaining a scholarship which enabled her to continue her studies with Elise Wiedermann. She went to New York in 1919 to study further with Gabriele Sibella.
Austral went to London where she was promoted by the leading British bass of the day, Robert Radford. She made her Covent Garden debut in 1922 as Brünnhilde in Wagner's Die Walküre, and later in the same role in Siegfried. In 1923, Austral appeared with Dame Nellie Melba, who praised her purity of tone and the gleaming power of her high notes. She appeared in many benefit concerts during the early part of World War II, before illness forced her to retire in 1940. |