Dame, Nellie Melba (1861-1931)

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Australian soprano, Dame Nellie Melba is regarded as the most accomplished and famous soprano of her time and was the first Australian to achieve international recognition on the opera stage. Born Helen Porter Mitchell, Melba was raised in Melbourne in a musical family and received her early singing tuition from Ellen Christian and the Italian tenor, Pietro Cecchi. After marriage and the birth of her son, she went on to study in Paris with the prominent teacher Mathilde Marchesi. Marchesi is credited with transforming her into a brilliant vocalist and for persuading her to adopt a stage name, which she chose to be 'Melba', an abbreviation of her home town.

In 1887, Melba made her operatic debut in Brussels as Gilda in Verdi's Rigoletto and went on to sing with great success in London, Paris, Milan and New York. She established herself as Covent Garden's prima donna, maintaining her own permanent dressing room there. Her most famous operatic role was as Mimi in Puccini's La Boheme and she studied many of her operatic roles with the composers themselves. Her recitals included many songs, notably Bishop's Home Sweet Home and Arditi's Se saran rose (The Melba Waltz).

Between 1904 and 1926 Melba made almost 200 recordings and in 1920 she appeared on a pioneering radio broadcast from Guglielmo Marconi's factory. Some recordings of her voice have been re-released for contemporary audiences but the limitations of early recording technology have not justly preserved the quality of her voice. Melba's interpretative abilities were often criticised, however, her voice was remarkable for its even quality over a range of almost three octaves, and for the purity of its timbre.

Melba returned to Australia on many occasions, touring in 1902 and 1909 and with the Melba-Williamson Opera Company in 1911, 1924 and 1928. In 1909 she bought a property at Coldstream near Lilydale, Victoria, named Coombe Cottage. She based herself in Australia during the First World War and worked to raise funds for war charities. For her services to the war effort, Melba was made a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1918. During this period she established a singing school at the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music, now renamed the Melba Memorial Conservatorium of Music, providing her services free of charge.

In 1927 Melba sang at the opening of Parliament House in Canberra, and was elevated to Dame Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire. She gave a series of farewell concerts in the 1920s, with her final performances taking place in Australia in 1928.

Melba died in 1931 of septicaemia from an infection acquired during plastic surgery. She was given a state funeral in which the motorcade was over a kilometre long. Her name is associated with two foods, the Peach Melba dessert and Melba toast, and her image features on the Australian 100-dollar note.

Information from
Record number
1141605863673
Other names
  • Helen Porter Mitchell
  • Helen Porter Armstrong
  • Nellie Mitchell Armstrong
Born
  • 19 May 1861, Richmond, Melbourne
Died
  • 23 February 1931, Sydney
Gender
female
Activities
  • Opera Singer
  • Soprano
Honours
  • Order of the British Empire - Dame Commander, 15 March 1918
  • Order of the British Empire - Dame Grand Cross - Civil, 03 June 1927
Updated
06 March 2006
To cite this page
http://nla.gov.au/nla.cs-ma-ANL%3AMA~1141605863673

Dame, Nellie Melba (1861-1931)

Information from
Record number
000000347525
Other names
  • Helen Porter Mitchell
  • Nellie Mitchell Armstrong
Born
  • 1861
Died
  • 1931
Updated
12 June 1991

Dame, Nellie Melba (1861-1931)

Information from
Record number
000001081937
Other names
  • Helen Porter Armstrong
  • Helen Porter Mitchell
Born
  • 1861
Died
  • 1931
Updated
04 February 1981

Dame, Nellie Melba (1861-1931)

Information from
Record number
000001397518
Born
  • 1861
Died
  • 1931
Updated
11 December 1992