Clytie Hine was an only child, born in
Adelaide, South Australia in 1887 to William Henry Hine, a jeweller and Mary McDonald. At age 16, having studied piano privately since age 7, she commenced studies with Bryceson Treharne at the
Elder Conservatorium,
University of Adelaide. Her voice studies were under Frederick Bevan. She graduated
AMUA in 1908 and the following year travelled to London to study under
Medora Henson at the
Royal College of Music. On the strength of her performance in
Schumann's
Genoveva at the RCM, In 1914 she married
John Hine Mundy, a free-lance cellist who worked with the
London Symphony Orchestra,
Albert Hall Orchestra, Beecham Opera Company and elsewhere. In 1921 they left for the United States with their children, settling in New York, and becoming well known for their joint recitals featuring early English music. She also sang in opera in America and beyond while contracted to William Wade Hinshaw, and her husband became principal cellist and orchestra manager for the
Metropolitan Opera. He also collaborated with
Edward Eager on composing a musical comedy, ''The Burglar's Opera
, which was also staged under other titles, such as The Liar
, The Burglar
, The Rascal
and The Gay Rascal''. Clytie Mundy retired from performing in the late 1920s, and became a renowned singing teacher. She maintained a private class of twenty-five vocal students, a choral class of about twenty, two vocal quartet parties, and a women's trio.
Alfred Drake,
Nanette Fabray,
Kathleen Ferrier,
Celeste Holm,
Peter Pears and
David Wayne. but transferred to Mundy in 1940. He had almost daily lessons with her, and his partner
Benjamin Britten would often also attend, as accompanist. Pears found her "a wonderful woman to work with, very sympathetic and forthright". She became lifelong friends with Pears and Britten. To help secure an American premiere of Britten's opera
Peter Grimes in 1946, she hosted three private performances of excerpts at her apartment for
Serge Koussevitzky (who had commissioned the opera),
Leonard Bernstein,
Ralph Hawkes and others. Pears returned to her for some more lessons in 1948. Britten dedicated his setting of the song "
Down by the Salley Gardens" to Clytie Mundy, and his setting of the Scottish lullaby "O can ye sew cushions?" to her daughter Meg. They also named their pet miniature dachsund "Clytie" after her.
Teaching She taught at the
Academy of Vocal Arts in
Philadelphia, and was musical adviser to the
American Theatre Wing. Actors such as
Kirk Douglas and
John Forsythe studied speech with her. She retired in the late 1950s; in 1970 the Royal College of Music established an annual scholarship in her name,
The Clytie Hine Mundy Recital Prize, which was discontinued after her death. ==Personal life ==