Dame Nellie Melba, GBE (19 May 1861 – 23 February 1931), born Helen Porter Mitchell, legendary Australian opera soprano and one of the most famous sopranos, was the first Australian to achieve international recognition in the form. The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British Order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by King George V. Events 1535 - French explorer Jacques Cartier sets sail on his second voyage to North America with three ships 110 men and Year 1861 ( MDCCCLXI) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Events 1455 - Traditional date for the publication of the Gutenberg Bible, the first Western Book printed from Movable Year 1931 ( MCMXXXI) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display full 1931 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Australia topics. Opera is an art form in which Singers and Musicians perform a Dramatic work (called an opera which combines a text (called a Libretto This article is related to a series of articles under the main article Voice type. She and Dame May Whitty both became the first entertainers to become a DBE in 1918. Dame May Whitty, DBE ( 19 June 1865 &ndash 29 May 1948) born Mary Louise Whitty, was an Oscar -nominated The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British Order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by King George V.

Contents 1 Family 2 Marriage 3 Professional career 4 Coldstream 5 Awards 6 Legends and anecdotes 6.1 Patronage of others 7 Solitary radio performance 8 Recording 9 "Farewells" 10 Death 11 Legacy 12 See also 13 Notes 14 References 15 External links

Family

Melba was born at "Doonside" in Richmond (now an inner suburb of Melbourne, Victoria) into a musical family, attending the prestigious Presbyterian Ladies' College, where her musical talent emerged. Richmond is an Inner city Suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Melbourne ( is the second most populous city in Australia, with a Metropolitan area population of approximately 3 The Presbyterian Ladies' College Melbourne, ( PLC) is an independent, Presbyterian, day and Boarding school predominantly for She moved with her father David Mitchell to Queensland in 1880. David Mitchell ( 16 February 1829 – 25 March 1916) was a Scottish - Australian builder Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern corner of the mainland continent Due to Melba's decision to follow her career path, her family resented her and as a result there was a build up of tension between both her and her family.

Marriage

She married Charles Nisbett Frederick Armstrong, the son of a baronet, who managed a property near Mackay, Queensland. Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern corner of the mainland continent They had one son. Although on paper the marriage lasted almost twenty years, in practice it was over within two. Melba wanted to sing and hated the tiny rural town and the simple weatherboard house. In the long wet season, mildew grew on everything and the piano fell to pieces. Melba was a free spirit; motherhood and social conventions did not suit her, although later in life she was close to her son and grandson. She escaped back to Melbourne to plan for the trip to Europe. Her mother-in-law, keen not to lose a grandson, helped Melba with introductions during her early career. Later, when Melba was famous, a scandal occurred after the news of her affair with Philippe, Duke of Orleans, the heir of the Bourbon pretender to the French throne, became public. They had travelled across Europe to St Petersburg in a private train carriage and been seen together in a box at the opera. The affair led to her husband filing divorce proceedings against her.

Professional career

In 1886, she travelled to Europe with her family in an attempt to begin a musical career. With no success in London (although promised parts by Sir Arthur Sullivan), she continued to Paris where a prominent music teacher, Madame Mathilde Marchesi, agreed to tutor her. London ( ˈlʌndən is the capital and largest urban area in the United Kingdom. Sir Arthur Seymour Sullivan MVO (13 May 1842 &ndash 22 November 1900 was an English composer of Irish and Italian descent best known for his operatic Paris (ˈpærɨs in English; in French) is the Capital of France and the country's largest city Mathilde Marchesi (born Mathilde Graumann March 24, 1821 &ndash November 17, 1913) was a Mezzo-soprano, teacher of singing Melba's first starring role (as Gilda) was at the Théâtre de la Monnaie, Brussels and she returned to London to Lady de Grey's patronage, ensuring her success with the aristocratic audience at Covent Garden. Brussels (Bruxelles pronounced; Brussel pronounced) officially the Brussels Capital-Region, is Thus began a professional career in Australia, England, Europe and the United States that saw her as the prima donna at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden through to the 1920s. Originally used in Opera companies " prima donna " is Italian for "first lady" WikipediaWikiProject Opera --> The Royal Opera House is an Opera house and major performing Covent Garden (Pronunciation kɒvʌnt is a district in London, England, located on the easternmost parts of the City of Westminster and the southwest She was feted by royalty and her recordings for HMV always cost at least one shilling more than any other singer's, having their own distinctive mauve label as well. Before the War, Melba nights were social events and the audience blazed with jewels. Melba herself wore couture costumes by Worth of Paris and her own jewels. The Performing Arts Collection (Melbourne, Vic. Melbourne ( is the second most populous city in Australia, with a Metropolitan area population of approximately 3 ) holds a cloak made for Melba to wear in Lohengrin and the Powerhouse Museum, Sydney, has a less glamorous velvet dress worn in Faust. The Powerhouse Museum is the major branch of the Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences in Sydney, the other being the historic Sydney Observatory. Sydney (ˈsɪdniː is the most populous city in Australia, with a Metropolitan area population of approximately 4 Melba also sang in New York at the Met and Chicago, and famously, at Oscar Hammerstein's opera house, drawing the Met audiences to his new theatre, even though Caruso was singing at the Met. New York ( is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States and is the nation's third most populous Chicago (ʃɪˈkɑːgoʊ is the largest City by population in the state of Illinois and the American Midwest of the United States. Oscar Hammerstein may refer to Oscar Hammerstein I (1847&ndash1919 cigar manufacturer opera impresario and theatre builder Oscar Hammerstein Enrico Caruso (born Errico Caruso; February 25 1873 &ndash August 2 1921) was an Italian Opera singer She rescued the house financially.

It was also Marchesi who persuaded her to adopt a suitable stage name. 'Melba' was chosen as a contraction of the name of her native city. ^[1]

Melba visited New Zealand in February 1903 after her tour of Australia. She arrived in Invercargill from Hobart and was welcomed by Sir Joseph and Lady Ward (Otago Daily Times, February 17, p. Events 1500 - Battle of Hemmingstedt. 1600 - Philosopher Giordano Bruno is burned alive at Campo de' Fiori 6. ). After giving one concert in Dunedin she travelled to Christchurch. She was interviewed on the train. (The Press, February 20, p. 5). The Wellington concert was on Monday February 23 and reviewed the following day (Evening Post, February 24, p. Events 1455 - Traditional date for the publication of the Gutenberg Bible, the first Western Book printed from Movable Events 303 - Galerius, Roman Emperor, publishes his edict that begins the persecution of Christians in his portion of the 5. ).

Coldstream

In 1909, she bought Coombe Cottage at Coldstream, a small town 50 km east of Melbourne. Coldstream is a small town just outside eastern suburban Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The house is located at the current juncture of Maroondah Highway and Melba Highway (named in her honour). The Maroondah Highway (also known as Whitehorse Road from Balwyn to Croydon) is a major east-west thoroughfare in the eastern suburbs of Melbourne The Melba Highway connects the outer eastern Suburb of Coldstream, near Lilydale, and the Town of Yea, in Victoria's Central Coombe Cottage is now the residence of Melba's granddaughter, Pamela, Lady Vestey (the mother of the 3rd Lord Vestey). Melba also set up a music school in Richmond, which she later merged into the Melbourne Conservatorium. The Melba Memorial Conservatorium of Music is a school of music located in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.

Awards

She was appointed Dame Commander of the British Empire in 1918 for her charity work during World War I, and was elevated to Dame Grand Cross of the British Empire in 1927. The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British Order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by King George V. The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British Order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by King George V. She and Dame May Whitty were the first entertainers to be awarded the honour of Dame Commander of the British Empire. Dame May Whitty, DBE ( 19 June 1865 &ndash 29 May 1948) born Mary Louise Whitty, was an Oscar -nominated

Melba was the first Australian to appear on the cover of Time magazine, in April 1927. Time (trademarked in capitals as TIME) is a weekly American Newsmagazine, similar to Newsweek and ^[2]

Legends and anecdotes

Despite the angelic voice for which she was admired, she was also known for her demanding, temperamental diva persona; often she would make last-minute decisions before a performance, and often would deliberately upstage other sopranos during their performances, grabbing the attention for herself. An angel is a Spiritual Supernatural being found in many Religions Although the nature of angels and the tasks given to them vary from tradition to tradition A diva is a celebrated female singer The Italian term is used to describe a woman of rare outstanding talent in the world of Opera, and by extension in theatre and A persona, in the word's everyday usage is a social Role or a character played by an Actor. She felt that the three words "I am Melba" were sufficient to explain her every wish or whim. She tolerated no rivals. The tenor John McCormack, on the night of his London debut, attempted to take a bow with her on stage, but she pushed him back forcefully. The tenor is the highest male voice within the Modal register, just above the Baritone voice John McCormack (14 June 1884 &ndash 16 September 1945 was a world-famous Irish Tenor and recording artist celebrated for his performances of the Operatic "In this house, no one takes a bow with Melba. " McCormack, her preferred tenor, acknowledged the beauty of her voice, however, when he said that he had once failed to sing the response to Melba's phrase in Romeo et Juliette as he was listening to her singing.

If a singer's greatness can be gauged by how detested she was by colleagues, then Melba would undoubtedly be the greatest singer of all time. In Emma Eames' memoirs, Melba is an unnamed wicked force who frustrated opportunity after opportunity for Eames. Emma Eames ( August 13, 1865 - June 13, 1952) was an American Soprano. Titta Ruffo, Rosa Ponselle, John McCormack, Luisa Tetrazzini, Frances Alda, and others also spoke of their unpleasant experiences with Melba. Titta Ruffo ( June 9, 1877 - July 5, 1953) was an Italian opera singer generally regarded as the greatest Italian baritone of his generation WikipediaWikiProject Opera#Infoboxes --> Rosa Ponselle ( January 22, 1897 &ndash May 25, 1981 John McCormack (14 June 1884 &ndash 16 September 1945 was a world-famous Irish Tenor and recording artist celebrated for his performances of the Operatic Luisa Tetrazzini ( June 29, 1871 - April 28, 1940) was an Italian dramatic Coloratura Soprano. Frances Alda (born Fanny Jane Davis) ( May 31, 1879 - September 18, 1952) was a New Zealand -born Soprano. Emma Eames later in life averred that Melba had a beautiful voice, but of her portrayal of Marguerite in Gounod's Faust (illustration, left), Eames quipped that "She would have hung the jewels off her nose if she could!"

Some poetic justice occurred when Enrico Caruso, during a performance of La bohème, as a joke, pressed a hot sausage into her hand that he'd hidden in his pocket as he sang "Che gelida manina, se la lasci riscaldar. Faust is an opera in five acts by Charles Gounod to a French libretto by Jules Barbier and Michel Carré from Carré's play Poetic justice is a literary device in which Virtue is ultimately Rewarded or Vice punished, often in modern literature by an Enrico Caruso (born Errico Caruso; February 25 1873 &ndash August 2 1921) was an Italian Opera singer "("What a cold little hand, let me warm it")

Melba described Florence Austral as "One of the wonder voices of the World", hardly the remark of a diva so ungenerous to her colleagues. Florence Austral (16 April 1892 - 15 May 1968 was an Australian operatic Soprano renowned for her interpretation of Wagnerian roles although she never appeared She was from a previous generation to Caruso and his colleagues above. She found Caruso coarse and uncultivated, as shown by his sense of humour in the sausage incident. Tetrazzini was simply outsung by Melba and the Covent Garden audiences decided, not Melba. Her colleagues of the earlier days, such as the great de Reszke brothers, a tenor and a bass, did not complain of such treatment. Jean de Reszke, born Jan Mieczyslaw, ( 14 January 1850 &ndash 3 April 1925) was a Polish Tenor. Edouard de Reszke, born as Edward, ( 22 December 1853 - 25 May 1917) was a Polish Operatic bass born in On the recording of her Covent Garden farewell, in tears, she even thanks the "dear Stagehands".

Once, two tradesmen were working at Coombe Cottage and Melba overheard one of them say he had never heard her. Melba sat them down and accompanied herself in an impromptu concert at the piano, not stinting on the time. Of course there are many legends about Melba and the exact truth will probably never be known, as Melba, ever the businesswoman, encouraged them herself.

As a final proof of the kinder side of her nature, she undertook strenuous tours of small Australian country towns where she would often perform only in a wooden hall. The concerts were sold out and the windows were left open, partly because of the heat and partly because Melba wanted Australians to hear her. Many even listened from underneath the floor, the halls being built up off the ground and the wooden structure providing excellent acoustics. Of course the famous tale of her advising Dame Clara Butt to "sing 'em muck", referring to Butt's forthcoming tour of Australia, is another side of the legend. Dame Clara Ellen Butt DBE ( 1 February 1872 &ndash 23 January 1936) sometimes called Clara Butt-Rumford after her marriage

Patronage of others

Despite the hatred Melba may have inspired in her colleagues, Melba was respected and did help the careers of younger singers. She taught for many years at the Conservatorium in Melbourne and looked for a "new Melba". Melba passed her own personal cadenzas onto a young Gertrude Johnson, a valuable professional asset. In Music, a cadenza (Italian for cadence) is generically an improvised or written-out ornamental passage played or sung by a soloist or soloists usually Gertrude Emily Johnson OBE (1894-1973 was an Australian Coloratura Soprano and founder of the National Theatre in Melbourne In 1924, Melba brought the new star Toti dal Monte, fresh from triumphs in Milan and Paris but still unheard in England or the US, to Australia as a principal of the Melba-Williamson Grand Opera Company. Antonietta Meneghel ( 27 June 1893 – 26 January 1975) better known by her stage name Toti Dal Monte, was a celebrated Italian The Australian baritone John Brownlee was helped by her, and it was Brownlee who accompanied Melba on her last commercial recordings in 1926, where her voice sounds as astonishingly preserved as ever. John Donald Mackenzie Brownlee ( January 7, 1900 – January 10, 1969) was an important Australian Baritone of the twentieth The Australian tenor Browning Mummery sang with Melba in her Covent Garden farewells also. Browning Mummery ( 12 July 1888 in Carlton, Melbourne Victoria &ndash 16 March 1974) was an Australian Melba also "discovered" a lyric soprano named Stella Power whom she thought sounded a lot like herself. In early 1918 Miss Stella Power participated in a "Melba Concert" with Nellie Melba at the Isis Theatre where she was well received. Power was dubbed "the little Melba", but Power lacked Melba's ambition, soon married and had a child, and retired.

Solitary radio performance

In 1920 she appeared on a pioneering radio broadcast from Guglielmo Marconi's factory in Chelmsford, England. Marchese Guglielmo Marconi mar'koni (25 April 1874 – 20 July 1937 was an Italian inventor best known for his development of a Radiotelegraph system Chelmsford is the county town of Essex, England and the principal settlement of the borough of Chelmsford. People listening on the radio barely heard a few scratches of the trill and two arias she sang. It was an historic moment but there were few radio receivers for people to hear her, so she never made another radio broadcast not realising the potential of the new medium. The microphone was not even adapted to recording until 1924 and Melba carefully sang a select repertoire for it. Her farewell from Covent Garden was largely broadcast.

Recording

Melba's official "farewell" to Covent Garden in 1926 was recorded. Her voice still sounds remarkably fresh, and at the end of the evening she makes a tearful speech to the audience.

Some recordings of her voice were made in the early 20th century, and have been re-released on CD for contemporary audiences. A Compact Disc (also known as a CD) is an Optical disc used to store digital data, originally developed for storing digital audio The audio fidelity of the recordings reflects the limitations of the early days of commercial sound recording. However, even these early recordings show an almost seamlessly pure voice, with effortless coloratura, legato and perfect intonation. Melba had perfect pitch and Michael Aspinall says of her on the complete London recordings issued on LP, that there are only two rare lapses from pitch in the entire set. Even so they are hard to hear. The recordings give an idea of the voice which people described as silvery and disembodied, with the notes forming in the theatre as if by magic and floating up through the theatre. Like Adelina Patti, and unlike the drama of Tetrazzini, her purity of tone is probably the reason for her fame with British audiences with their choral and orchestral traditions. Adelina Patti ( February 10, 1843 - September 27, 1919) was one of the most highly regarded Opera Singers of the 19th century

"Farewells"

She then left for Europe and later developed a fever in Egypt which she never quite shook off. She is also well remembered in Australia for her seemingly endless series of "farewell" tours between her last stage performances in the mid 1920s and her final, last concerts in Australia in Sydney on 7 August 1928, Melbourne on 27 September 1928 and Geelong in November 1928. Sydney (ˈsɪdniː is the most populous city in Australia, with a Metropolitan area population of approximately 4 Melbourne ( is the second most populous city in Australia, with a Metropolitan area population of approximately 3 MCite/Citephp.--> Geelong (dʒəˈlɔŋ is the second largest city in the state The real final performance was a mere matinee in Adelaide, ending perhaps the most stellar operatic career which had begun in 1887.

From this, she is remembered in the vernacular Australian expression "more farewells than Nellie Melba".

Her autobiography "Melodies and Memories" was published in 1925. There are several biographies of her and countless articles and references. A film called "Evensong" (1934) was a loose adaptation of her life based on the book by Beverley Nichols and later the Australian Broadcasting Commission produced a more authentic mini-series on her life "Melba" (1987), starring Linda Cropper miming Yvonne Kenny, which does not quite convey the more exciting side to her story. Linda Cropper is an Australian actress noted for her Television roles Yvonne Kenny AM (25 November 1950 is an Australian Soprano, particularly associated with Handel and Mozart roles

Death

She returned to Australia but died in St. Vincent's Hospital, Sydney in 1931 aged 69 of septicaemia which had developed from facial surgery in Europe some weeks before. Sepsis is a serious medical condition characterized by a whole-body inflammatory state (called a Systemic inflammatory response syndrome or SIRS caused The evidence for the facelift being the cause has been doubted in the new biography of Melba - the timeline of five months between operation and hospitalization makes this causation unlikely. She was given a state funeral from Scots' Church, Melbourne, which her father had built and where as a teenager she had sung in the choir. A state funeral is a public funeral ceremony held to honour Heads of state or other important people of national significance The Scots' Church a Presbyterian church in Melbourne, Australia, was the first Presbyterian Church to be built in the Port Phillip District She was buried in Lilydale, near Coldstream. Lilydale is a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Its Local Government Area is the Shire of Yarra Ranges. Her headstone has Mimi's farewell words "Addio, senza rancor" (Farewell, without bitterness).

The funeral motorcade was over a kilometre long, and her death made front-page headlines in Australia, the United Kingdom, New Zealand and Europe. Billboards in many countries said simply "Melba is dead".

Legacy

Melba became associated with the song "Home sweet home". She inherited it from Adelina Patti as Prima Donna Assoluta and after many performances the piano would be wheeled out and she would accompany herself singing the song, so bittersweet for her as home was an 11,000 mile sea voyage away when in England. Adelina Patti ( February 10, 1843 - September 27, 1919) was one of the most highly regarded Opera Singers of the 19th century Joan Sutherland later continued the tradition of singing "Home sweet home" and sang it after her own farewell performance in Les Huguenots at the Sydney Opera House in 1990. WikipediaWikiProject Opera#Infoboxes --> Dame Joan Alston Sutherland, OM, AC, DBE (born 7 November 1926

Melba, the last of the 19th century tradition of bel canto sopranos, is one of only two singers with a marble bust in the foyer of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. WikipediaWikiProject Opera --> The Royal Opera House is an Opera house and major performing The other is Adelina Patti. Adelina Patti ( February 10, 1843 - September 27, 1919) was one of the most highly regarded Opera Singers of the 19th century Sydney Town Hall has a marble relief bearing the inscription "Remember Melba", unveiled during a World War II charity concert in memory of Melba and her World War I charity work and patriotic concerts. The Sydney Town Hall is a landmark Sandstone building located in the heart of Sydney. Melba was closely associated with the Melbourne Conservatorium, and this institution was renamed to the Melba Memorial Conservatorium of Music in her honour in 1956. The Melba Memorial Conservatorium of Music is a school of music located in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The music hall at the University of Melbourne is known as Melba Hall. The University of Melbourne is a Public university located in Melbourne, Victoria.

The suburb Melba, Australian Capital Territory is named after Nellie Melba. Melba ( postcode: 2615 is a suburb of Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia. All the streets are named after composers, singers and other musically notable Australians. The Australian 100-dollar note features the image of her face.

'Melba' House at the school Melbourne Girls College in Richmond, Melbourne, uses her name to remember a strong feminist set on leading and achieving.

Her name is associated with two foods, a dessert (the Peach Melba), and Melba toast, both of which were created by the French chef Auguste Escoffier. The Peach Melba is a classic Dessert, invented in 1892 or 1893 by the French chef Auguste Escoffier at the Savoy Hotel, London Melba toast is a very dry crisp thinly sliced Toast often served with Soups and Salads or topped with either melted Cheese or Pâté Georges Auguste Escoffier (28 October 1846&ndash12 February 1935 was a French Chef, Restaurateur and culinary writer who popularized and updated

See also

• David Mitchell
• Melba Conservatorium Victoria
• Melba, Australian Capital Territory
• Melba Highway
• Eva Mylott
• Landon Ronald
• Mathilde Marchesi
• 2MT

Notes

References

• Serle, Percival (1949). "Armstrong, Helen Porter". Dictionary of Australian Biography. The Dictionary of Australian Biography, published in 1949, is a reference work by Percival Serle containing information on notable people associated with Sydney: Angus and Robertson.  

External links

• Bio at Australian Dictionary of Biography online
• website for I am Melba by Ann Blainey 2008
• The Reserve Bank of Australia page on Melba
• Dress worn by Dame Nellie Melba
• Nellie Melba - includes her 1906 recording of the Aubade from the opera by Edouard Lalo Le Roi d'Ys (1888)
• Nellie Melba at the National Film and Sound Archive

Persondata
NAME	Melba, Nellie
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Mitchell, Helen Porter
SHORT DESCRIPTION	opera singer
DATE OF BIRTH	1861-05-19
PLACE OF BIRTH	Richmond, Australia
DATE OF DEATH	1931-02-23
PLACE OF DEATH	Sydney, Australia

Richmond is an Inner city Suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Australia topics. Sydney (ˈsɪdniː is the most populous city in Australia, with a Metropolitan area population of approximately 4 For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Australia topics.

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