Browning Mummery

Who was Browning Mummery?

Joseph Browning Mummery, was an Australian opera tenor of the 1920s and '30s who achieved a considerable reputation in Europe as well as Australia.

Mummery was born in Carlton, Melbourne. His first tutor, when he was a boy, was the Italian baritone A. C. Bartleman. In 1920, his operatic career began when he was accepted into the Gonzales Opera Company.

Throughout his career he played lyrical leading roles in a host of operas, including Madama Butterfly, The Magic Flute, La bohème and Tosca which was one of his favorites. He sang with Dame Nellie Melba in La bohème. The role he enjoyed most was David in Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg.

He worked with conductors such as Sir John Barbirolli, Sir Malcolm Sargent, Sir Thomas Beecham and Sir Henry Wood.

He sang extensively in America and later taught in Melbourne. At one point he had a seven-year contract with His Master's Voice. Mummery appeared as the solo tenor in the 1934 film, Evensong with Evelyn Laye.

He retired to Canberra, where he died on 1974, aged 85.