Guide to the Dame Nellie Melba theatre programs and ephemera held in the PROMPT Collection, National Library of Australia

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Series. Performances, 1889 - 1899

Opera Performances, 1889 - 1891 (File)

Recital, 1889 (Item) - Box 1

28 June, Buckingham Palace (London, England). Program on paper doily.

Recital, 1891 (Item) - Box 1

25 June, Buckingham Palace (London, England). Program on paper doily.

Command performance for German Emperor & Empress, 1891 (Item) - Box 1

8 July, Covent Garden (London, England). Royal Italian Opera. Roméo et Juliette (Gounod), Act 4 and others. Nellie Melba as Juliette. Souvenir program.

Opera Performances, 1895 (File)

Faust (Gounod), 1895 (Item) - Box 1

12 June, Royal Opera House, Covent Garden (London, England). The Royal Opera. Nellie Melba as Marguerite.

Opera Performances, 1898 - 1899 (File)

Faust (Gounod), 1898 - 1899 (Item) - Box 1

11 January, Metropolitan Opera House (New York, New York USA). Royal Opera. Nellie Melba as Marguerite. Also includes cast lists for Catherine (Lavedan), Don Giovanni (Mozart) 1899 and Merchant of Venice (Shakespeare) 1898.

Lucia di Lammermoor (Donizetti), [1899?] (Item) - Box 1

3 June, Royal Opera House, Covent Garden (London, England). Nellie Melba as Lucia. Fragment of program only, date uncertain, could also be for a performance in 1905.

Series. Performances in the 1900s, 1902 - 1930

Opera Performances, 1902 (File)

Grand Coronation Concert for King Edward's Hospital Fund, 1902 (Item) - Box 1

11 June, Royal Albert Hall, London. Special Sunday Concerts. Nellie Melba with others including Clara Butt.

Australian Concert Tour, 1902 (Item) - Box 1

Under the direction of Mr George Musgrove.

Australian Concert Tour: First Concert, 1902 (Item) - Box 1

27 September, Town Hall, Melbourne. Nellie Melba with others.

Australian Concert Tour: Second Concert, 1902 (Item) - Box 1

30 September, Town Hall, Melbourne. Nellie Melba with others.

Australian Concert Tour: First Concert, 1902 (Item) - Box 1

11 October, Town Hall, Sydney. Nellie Melba with others.

Australian Concert Tour: Fourth Concert, 1902 (Item) - Box 1

23 October, Town Hall, Sydney. Nellie Melba with others.

Madame Melba's Concert, 1902 (Item) - Box 1

5 November, Town Hall, Melbourne. Nellie Melba recital.

Mad scene from Lucia di Lammermoor (Donizetti) and La Traviata (Verdi), 1902 (Item) - Box 1

26 November, Princess Theatre, Melbourne. Nellie Melba as Lucia in Lucia di Lammermoor (mad scene). Nellie Melba as Violetta in La Traviata. Grand Opera Season Souvenir program and two tickets

Opera Performances, 1903 (File)

Concert d'Adieu (of E.A. Beaumont), 1903 (Item) - Box 1

31 January, Town Hall?, Melbourne. Nellie Melba with others.

Opera Performances, 1904 (File)

Concert in aid of Queen Charlotte's Hospital, 1904 (Item) - Box 1

5 May, Queen's Hall, London. Nellie Melba with others. Includes handbill.

Recital, 1904 (Item) - Box 1

9 June, Buckingham Palace, London. Program includes: Monsieur Gilbert, Signor Caruso, Madam Melba, Master Vecsey and Director, Paolo Tosti. (Programme attached to card)

Opera Performances, 1906 - 1907 (File)

April edition of The Burr McIntosh Monthly (New York: The Burr Publishing Co., 1906), 1906 (Item) - Box 1

Featuring a portrait and bio of Nellie Melba as Marguerite, probably from Gounod 's Faust.

Melba: First Concert, 1907 (Item) - Box 1

23 November, Town Hall, Melbourne. Nellie Melba with others.

Melba: Second Concert, 1907 (Item) - Box 1

30 November, Town Hall, Melbourne. Nellie Melba with others.

Melba: First Concert, 1907 (Item) - Box 1

10 December, Town Hall, Sydney. Nellie Melba with others.

Melba: Second Concert, 1907 (Item) - Box 1

14 December, Town Hall, Sydney. Nellie Melba with others.

Melba: Matinee Concert, 1907 (Item) - Box 1

17 December, Town Hall, Sydney. Nellie Melba with others. Includes newspaper review, undated).

Melba: Last Night Concert, 1907 (Item) - Box 1

26 December, Exhibition Building, Melbourne. Nellie Melba with others.

Opera Performances, 1908 (File)

Melba, 1908 (Item) - Box 1

30 January, Ballarat, Victoria. Nellie Melba with others.

Melba, 1908 (Item) - Box 1

25 February, Jubilee Exhibition Building, Adelaide. Nellie Melba with others.

Otello (Verdi), 1908 (Item) - Box 1

21 July, Royal Opera Covent Garden, London. The Grand Opera Syndicate. Nellie Melba as Desdemona.

Opera Performances, 1909 (File)

Melba, 1909 (Item) - Box 2

9 March, Town Hall, Melbourne. Nellie Melba with others.

Melba, 1909 (Item) - Box 2

13 March, Town Hall, Melbourne. Nellie Melba with others.

Melba, 1909 (Item) - Box 2

27 March, Town Hall, Melbourne. Second concert. Nellie Melba with others.

Melba, 1909 (Item) - Box 2

1 June, Town Hall, Sydney. First concert. Nellie Melba with others.

Madame Melba's Charity Concert, 1909 (Item) - Box 2

15 November, Exhibition Building, Melbourne. Nellie Melba recital.

Melba Tour, 1909 (Item) - Box 2

No date or venue. Nellie Melba with others. Sydney advertisement on back cover.

Melba Tour, 1909 (Item) - Box 2

No date or venue. Nellie Melba with others.

Melba: In her own Land with her own People, 1909 (Item) - Box 2

9 & 13 March, Town Hall, Melbourne. Australasian Tour, 1909. Publicity brochure.

Opera Performances, 1910 (File)

Grand Melba Matinee, 1910 (Item) - Box 2

16 July, Pleasure Gardens Theatre, Folkestone, England. In aid of the Military Charities and Institutions of Shorncliffe Camp. Nellie Melba with others.

Opera Performances, 1911 (File)

July 1911 – Anniversary of …, 1911 (Item) - Box 2

Postcard with Nellie Melba's portrait by Johnston-Ayres Co. Postmarked 29 June 1911.

La Boheme, 1911 (Item) - Box 2

1 July, Royal Opera Covent Garden, London. Nellie Melba as Mimi.

Melba Grand Opera Season – season brochure, 1911 (Item) - Box 2

Booklet of plots and descriptions of all operas to be performed

Romeo and Juliet (Gounod), 1911 (Item) - Box 2

23 October, Her Majesty's Theatre, Sydney. The Melba Grand Opera Season. Nellie Melba as Juliet. 2 copies.

La Traviata (Verdi), 1911 (Item) - Box 2

28 October, Her Majesty's Theatre, Melbourne. The Melba Grand Opera Season. Nellie Melba as Violetta. Facsimile of program centrefold.

Romeo and Juliette (Gounod), 1911 (Item) - Box 2

24 November, Her Majesty's, Melbourne. The Melba Grand Opera Season. Nellie Melba as Juliette.

Rigoletto (Verdi), 1911 (Item) - Box 2

5 December, Her Majesty's, Melbourne. The Melba Grand Opera Season. Nellie Melba as Gilda. Facsimile of program centrefold.

Faust (Gounod), 1911 (Item) - Box 2

7 December, Her Majesty's, Melbourne. The Melba Grand Opera Season. Nellie Melba as Marguerite. Facsimile of program centrefold.

Melba Grand Opera Season, 1911 (Item) - Box 2

9 December, Her Majesty's, Melbourne. The Melba Grand Opera Season. Nellie Melba as Mimi in La Boheme Act 1. Also includes Carmen Act II, Sansone E Dalila Act I and Il Trovatore Act IV.

Opera Performances, 1912 - 1913 (File)

Charity Concert for University Conservatorium of Music, 1912 (Item) - Box 2

1 March, Her Majesty's Theatre, Melbourne. Hamlet (Thomas) Act 3 - Nellie Melba Ophelia with others and Otello (Verdi) Act 4 - Nellie Melba as Desdemona with others.

Melba and Kubelik Concert, 1913 (Item) - Box 2

4 May, Royal Albert Hall, London.

Madame Melba Jubilee Concert, 1913 (Item) - Box 2

1 June, Royal Albert Hall, London. In Commemoration of 25th Anniversary of First Appearance in London. Percy Grainger was accompanist. 1 program and 1 publicity brochure.

Melba Concert, 1913 (Item) - Box 2

5 October– 6 December, Melba Tour (of U.K.). Nellie Melba with others.

Opera Performances, 1914 - 1915 (File)

Grand Opera Season, 1914 (Item) - Box 2

20 April – 27 July, Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London. Nellie Melba with others.

Melba, 1914 (Item) - Box 2

3 May, Royal Albert Hall, London.

Patriotic Concert, 1914 (Item) - Box 2

21 November, Exhibition Building, Adelaide. Nellie Melba with others.

Melba Special Concert in Aid of the Polish Relief Fund, 1915 (Item) - Box 2

3 June, Town Hall, Sydney.

Opera Performances, 1916 (File)

Melba Russian Appeal Matinee, 1916; 1954 (Item) - Box 3

3 August, Her Majesty's Theatre, Sydney. 4 Acts – The Belle of New York, The Boomerang, Grand Opera - The Last Act of Otello, Grand Opera – The Last Act of Faust. Note dated 22 February 1954, from donor, F.T. Riley, Secretary of the Manufacturing Grocers' Employees' Federation explaining how he got the program with signature. Notes is written on verso of a "Notice to be Posted – Executive Officers, Shop Stewards and Members. 1953".

Opera Performances, 1917 (File)

Tuesday Musical Club Concert, 1917 (Item) - Box 3

16 March, Loring Theatre, Riverside, Ca. USA. Nellie Melba with others.

Concert given by Mme Melba, 1917 (Item) - Box 3

29 March, Exposition Auditorium, San Francisco. In aid of United Allies Relief Fund and San Francisco Base Hospital, American Red Cross.

Concert by pupils of Melba, 1917 (Item) - Box 3

21 August, Town Hall, Melbourne. Proceeds to the Italian Red Cross. Nellie Melba did not perform herself.

Opera Performances, 1919 (File)

Stories of the Operas and the Singers: Official Souvenir, 1919 (Item) - Box 3

Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London. Portrait and biography of Nellie Melba heading Royal Opera Covent Garden 1919 season. P. 65 Artist list, p. 85 biography and p. 87 photograph.

Dame Nellie Melba, 1919 (Item) - Box 3

7 January, Town Hall, Sydney. Concert with Nellie Melba and others.

Dame Nellie Melba: Extra Farewell Concert in Honour of Mr John Lemmoné, 1919 (Item) - Box 3

14 January, Town Hall, Sydney. Concert with Nellie Melba and others.

Gala Performance, 1919 (Item) - Box 3

31 July, Royal Opera Covent Garden, London. In aid of the Housing Association for Officers' Families. La Boheme Act 3 (Puccini) - Nellie Melba as Mimi. Romeo et Juliette Act 3 (Gounod) - Nellie Melba as Juliette.

Dame Nellie Melba, Mr Tom Burke and Miss Adela Verne Solo Pianoforte, 1919 (Item) - Box 3

28 September, Royal Albert Hall, London. Nellie Melba with others.

Opera Performances, 1920 (File)

Dame Nellie Melba, Mr Tom Burke and M. Bratza Lamond, 1920 (Item) - Box 3

2 May, Royal Albert Hall, London. Nellie Melba with others.

Opera Performances, 1921 - 1922 (File)

Farewell Concert to Dame Nellie Melba, 1921 (Item) - Box 3

8 May, Royal Albert Hall, London, England. Souvenir Programme. Concert attended by Princess Mary. Includes note from donor.

Dame Nellie Melba's Home Coming Concert, 1921 (Item) - Box 3

31 August, Town Hall, Melbourne. Nellie Melba with others.

Dame Nellie Melba's Home Coming Concert, 1921 (Item) - Box 3

10 September, Town Hall, Melbourne. Nellie Melba with others.

Dame Nellie Melba, Concert, 1921 (Item) - Box 3

4 October, Town Hall, Adelaide. Nellie Melba with others.

Dame Nellie Melba Concert, 1921 (Item) - Box 3

19 November, Town Hall, Sydney. Nellie Melba with others.

Dame Nellie Melba Concert, 1921 (Item) - Box 3

22 November, Town Hall, Sydney. Nellie Melba with others.

Dame Nellie Melba's Concerts for the People, 1921 - 1922 (Item) - Box 3

8 December 1921 – 24 January 1922. Nellie Melba with others.

Opera Performances, 1922 - 1923 (File)

Dame Nellie Melba's Concerts for the People, 1922 (Item) - Box 3

21 March – 12 April, Town Hall, Sydney. Nellie Melba with others. Copy for different performance (undated). 3 copies.

Dame Nellie Melba's Concerts for the People, 1922 (Item) - Box 3

21 March – 28 April, Town Hall, Sydney. Copy for different performance (undated).

Grand Concert of British Music, 1922 (Item) - Box 3

29 May, Town Hall, Melbourne. Performed by Conservatorium students. Old Pioneers' Memorial Fund celebrating the 87th Anniversary of Batman's Arrival. Under the patronage of Nellie Melba who did not perform.

Dame Nellie Melba Farewell Matinee, 1922 (Item) - Box 3

6 June, Town Hall, Sydney. Nellie Melba with others.

Dame Nellie Melba Farewell Concert, 1922 (Item) - Box 3

1 August, Town Hall, Melbourne. Nellie Melba with others.

Matinee Performance given by Dame Nellie Melba, 1922 (Item) - Box 3

2 September, Her Majesty's Theatre, [Melbourne or Adelaide]. In aid of the fund for The Soldiers' War Memorial.

Melba Tour, 1922 - 1923 (Item) - Box 3

September 1922 - June 1923. [No venue, probably London]. International Celebrity Subscription Concerts. Nellie Melba with others.

Melba Concert, 1922 (Item) - Box 3

12 November, Royal Albert Hall, London. Special Sunday Concerts. Nellie Melba with others.

Opera Performances, 1923 (File)

La Boheme (Puccini), 1923 (Item) - Box 4

17 January, Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London. 1922-1923 Royal Opera House Covent Garden Season. British National Opera Co. Nellie Melba as Mimi.

Acts II and III of Aida (Verdi) and Acts III and IV La Boheme (Puccini), 1923 (Item) - Box 4

20 January, Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London. 1922-1923 Royal Opera House Covent Garden Season. British National Opera Co. Nellie Melba as Mimi in La Boheme.

Welcome Home Concert, 1923 (Item) - Box 4

4 December, Town Hall, Sydney.

Opera Performances, January - June 1924 (File)

Dame Nellie Melba Concert, 1924 (Item) - Box 4

22 January, City Hall, Hobart. Nellie Melba with others.

Grand Opera Season Souvenir program, 1924 (Item) - Box 4

29 March – 19 June, His Majesty's Theatre, Melbourne. Nellie Melba & JC Williamson Ltd. 3 copies.

Otello (Verdi), 1924 (Item) - Box 4

15 April, His Majesty's Theatre, Melbourne. Dame Nellie Melba and J C Williamson Ltd Grand Opera. Nellie Melba as Desdemona.

Opera Performances, July - December 1924 (File)

Madame Butterfly (Puccini), 1924 (Item) - Box 4

9 July, Her Majesty's Theatre, Sydney. Dame Nellie Melba and JC Williamson Ltd Grand Opera. Nellie Melba did not perform.

Il Barbiere di Siviglia (Rossini), 1924 (Item) - Box 4

21 July, Her Majesty's Theatre, Sydney? Dame Nellie Melba and J C Williamson Ltd Grand Opera. Nellie Melba did not perform. 2 copies.

Grand Opera Season Souvenir program, 1924 (Item) - Box 4

Her Majesty's Theatre, Sydney. Dame Nellie Melba and J C Williamson Ltd Grand Opera. Features farewell letter printed within program. 3 copies, 2 incomplete copies.

La Boheme (Puccini), 1924 (Item) - Box 4

29 September, Theatre Royal, Adelaide. Dame Nellie Melba and JC Williamson Ltd. Grand Opera. Nellie Melba as Mimi.

Don Pasquale (Donizetti), 1924 (Item) - Box 4

6 October, Theatre Royal, Adelaide. Dame Nellie Melba and JC Williamson Ltd Grand Opera. Nellie Melba did not perform. Includes news clipping of review dated 7 September 1924.

Farewell of Dame Nellie Melba, 1924 (Item) - Box 4

13 October, His Majesty's Theatre, Melbourne. Dame Nellie Melba and JC Williamson Ltd Grand Opera.

La Boheme (Puccini), 1924 (Item) - Box 4

13 October 1924. Proceeds will be given to the Limbless and Tubercular Soldiers' Appeal. Nellie Melba as Mimi.

Opera Performances, 1926 (File)

Farewell of Dame Nellie Melba, 1926 (Item) - Box 5

30 January - 6 February, Free Trade Hall, Manchester, England. Nellie Melba with others.

Melba's Farewell, 1926 (Item) - Box 5

8 June, Royal Opera Covent Garden, London. Excerpts from Romeo et Juliette, Otello and La Boheme.

Farewell Appearance of Dame Nellie Melba, 1926 (Item) - Box 5

8 June, Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London. Nellie Melba with others. Photocopy only.

Farewell of Dame Nellie Melba, 1926 (Item) - Box 5

25 June, Royal Albert Hall, London, England. Nellie Melba with others. 1 program and 1 photocopy with personal note from Melba.

Opera Performances, 1927 (File)

Dame Nellie Melba's Farewell Tour, 1927 (Item) - Box 5

Undated. Sydney, Brisbane, Newcastle, Rockhampton, Toowoomba. Nellie Melba with others.

Dame Nellie Melba's Home-Coming Concert, 1927 (Item) - Box 5

2 March, The Auditorium, Melbourne, Victoria. Nellie Melba with others.

Dame Nellie Melba's Farewell Tour, 1927 (Item) - Box 5

15 March, City Hall, Hobart, Tasmania. Nellie Melba with others.

Dame Nellie Melba's Farewell Concert, 1927 (Item) - Box 5

9 and 13 April, Town Hall, Sydney, New South Wales. Nellie Melba with others.

Dame Nellie Melba's Farewell Tour, 1927 (Item) - Box 5

14 May, Central Hall, Newcastle, New South Wales. Nellie Melba with others.

Dame Nellie Melba's Farewell Tour, 1927 (Item) - Box 5

7 July, Exhibition Hall, Brisbane, Queensland. Nellie Melba with others.

Melba's Farewell, 1927 (Item) - Box 5

21 July, Hoyts Roger Theatre, Albury. Nellie Melba with others.

Melba-Zimbalist recital, 1927 (Item) - Box 5

2 August, The Auditorium, Melbourne?, Victoria.

Dame Nellie Melba's Concert for the People, 1927 (Item) - Box 5

10 and 12 November, Exhibition Hall, Adelaide, South Australia. Farewell to Adelaide. Nellie Melba with others. 3 copies.

Opera Performances, 1928 (File)

Dame Nellie Melba Appeal, 1928 (Item) - Box 5

2 May, Town Hall, Melbourne, Victoria. In aid of the Hospitals for Women in Melbourne, the Women's Hospital and the Queen Victoria Hospital for Women. Nellie Melba with artists and two combined orchestras. 2 copies, one in poor condition.

Turandot (Puccini), 1928 (Item) - Box 5

9 June, Her Majesty's Theatre, Melbourne, Victoria. Williamson – Melba Grant Opera Season. Nellie Melba did not perform.

Souvenir Programme to commemorate the visit of Dame Nellie Melba to Footscray, 1928 (Item) - Box 5

15 August, Barkly Theatre, Footscray, Victoria. Nellie Melba did not perform.

Opera Performances, 1930 (File)

Matinee concert, 1930 (Item) - Box 5

10 June, Park Lane Hotel, London, England. In aid of the National Children's Adoption Association. Generously arranged by Dame Nellie Melba. Nellie Melba with others.

Series. Memorial Concerts, 1918 - 2018

Jack Hibberd, A Toast to Melba [play], 1976 - 1982 (File) - Box 6

Four programs for different performances.

Lilydale Historical Museum, 1952 - 2001 (File) - Box 6

Mixed ephemera relating to Dame Nellie Melba and the Lilydale Historical Museum. Includes flyers for Lilydale's Fifth Eisteddfod, October 1952 and Lilydale's Sixth Eisteddfod, August 1953.

Memorial Concerts, 1941 - 2011 (File) - Box 6

Items include:Souvenir Program inspired by Farewell of Dame Nellie Melba 1926, 22 February 1950, Melbourne Town Hall. Proceeds in aid of Melba Memorial Soundshell Appeal. 2 copies of program. Also a promotional brochure for Soundshell Appeal.Souvenir Program of the Melba Memorial Concert, 19 May 1941, Town Hall, Sydney. Australian Broadcasting Commission and the Sydney Symphony Orchestra. In aid of Lord Mayor's Patriotic and War Fund of N.S.W.

[Mixed Ephemera], 1918 - 2015 (File) - Box 6

Includes newspaper cuttings, periodicals, promotional material and theatre programs.

[Mixed Ephemera], 1927 - 2018 (File) - Box 6

Includes promotional material and newspaper cuttings relating to Dame Nellie Melba's performances, Melba's death and memorial events such as concerts.

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