Dame Nellie Melba

Dame Nellie Melba (19 May 1861 – 23 February 1931), born as Helen Porter Mitchell, was an Australian opera singer. She became one of the most famous singers of the late Victorian Era and the early 20th century. Melba was the first Australian to achieve international recognition as a classical musician.

Early life

Melba was born in Richmond, Victoria, the eldest of seven children of the builder David Mitchell and his wife Isabella Ann née Dow. Mitchell, a Scot, had emigrated to Australia in 1852, becoming a successful builder. Melba was taught to play piano and first sang in public around age six.

Career

Melba studied singing in Melbourne and made a modest success in performances there. After a brief and unsuccessful marriage, she moved to Europe in search of a singing career. Failing to find engagements in London in 1886, she studied in Paris and soon made a great success there and in Brussels. Returning to London she quickly established herself as the leading lyric soprano at Covent Garden from 1888.

Melba's first recordings were made around 1895, recorded on cylinders at the Bettini Phonograph Lab in New York. A reporter from the Phonoscope magazine, present at the recording, noted that "the results were entirely satisfactory to all present". Melba was less impressed: "I'm afraid the needle and the cylinder will never do justice to my voice."

Legacy

Melba's name is associated with four foods, all of which were created in her honour by the French chef Auguste Escoffier. These are Peach Melba, a dessert, and Melba toast, Melba Sauce, and Melba Garniture, all savoury dishes.

Melba was appointed Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1918 for her charity work during World War I. She was the first Australian to receive this honour.

Death

Melba died in 1931 in Sydney, at the age of 69, from septicaemia which developed after facial surgery in Europe some months before. She was given a state funeral in Melbourne.

See also

• List of sopranos
• Music of Australia