Jump to content

Nellie Melba

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Melba, c. 1907

Dame Nellie MelbaGBE(bornHelen Porter Mitchell;19 May 1861 – 23 February 1931) was an Australianoperaticlyric coloratura soprano.She became one of the most famous singers of the lateVictorian eraand the early 20th century, and was the first Australian to achieve international recognition as a classical musician. She took the pseudonym "Melba" fromMelbourne,her home town.

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, England, in 1886, she studied in Paris, France, and soon made a great success there and inBrussels,Belgium. Returning to London, she quickly established herself as the leadinglyric sopranoatCovent Gardenfrom 1888. She soon achieved further success in Paris and elsewhere in Europe, and later at theMetropolitan Operain New York City, debuting there in 1893. Her repertoire was small; in her whole career she sang no more than 25 roles and was closely identified with only 10. She was known for her performances in French and Italian opera, but sang little German opera.

During the First World War, Melba raised large sums for war charities. She returned to Australia frequently during the 20th century, singing in opera and concerts, and had a house built for her near Melbourne. She was active in the teaching of singing at theMelbourne Conservatorium.Melba continued to sing until the last months of her life and made a large number of "farewell" appearances. Her death, in Australia, was news across the English-speaking world, and her funeral was a major national event. TheAustralian $100 notefeatures her image.

Life and career

[edit]

Early years

[edit]
Melba, drawn by Frank Haviland

Melba was born inRichmond, Victoria,the eldest of seven children of the builderDavid Mitchelland his wife Isabella AnnnéeDow (1833–1881).[1][n 1]Mitchell emigrated from Forfarshire, Scotland, to Australia in 1852, married Isabella in 1856 and became a successful builder.[2]Melba was taught to play the piano and first sang in public around age six.[n 2]She was educated at a local boarding school and then at thePresbyterian Ladies' College.[1]She studied singing withMary Ellen Christian(a former pupil ofManuel García) and Pietro Cecchi, an Italian tenor, who was a respected teacher in Melbourne.[4]In her teens, Melba continued to perform in amateur concerts in and around Melbourne, and she played the organ at church. Her father encouraged her in her musical studies, but he strongly disapproved of her taking up singing as a career.[5]Melba's mother died suddenly in 1881 at Richmond.[6]

Melba's father moved the family toMackay,Queensland, where he built a new sugar mill. Melba soon became popular in Mackay society for her singing and piano-playing.[7]On 22 December 1882 inBrisbane,she married Charles Nesbitt Frederick Armstrong (1858–1948), the youngest son ofSir Andrew Armstrong.[8]They had one child, a son, George, born on 16 October 1883.[9]The marriage was not a success; Charles reportedly beat his wife more than once.[5]The couple separated after just over a year,[4]and Melba returned to Melbourne determined to pursue a singing career, debuting professionally in concerts in 1884.[5]She was often accompanied in concert, and some of her concerts were organised, at times throughout her career by the flautistJohn Lemmone,who became a "lifelong friend and counsellor".[10]On the strength of local success, she travelled to London in search of an opportunity.[n 3]Her debut at the Princes' Hall in 1886 made little impression, and she sought work unsuccessfully fromSir Arthur Sullivan,Carl RosaandAugustus Harris.[3][11]She then went to Paris to study with the leading teacherMathilde Marchesi,who instantly recognised the young singer's potential: she exclaimed, "J'ai enfin une étoile!"(" I have a star at last! "). Melba made such rapid progress that she was allowed to sing the" Mad Scene "fromAmbroise Thomas'sHamletat amatinée musicalein Marchesi's house in December the same year, in the presence of the composer.[3]

The young singer's talent was so evident that, after less than a year with Marchesi, the impresarioMaurice Strakoschgave her a ten-year contract at 1000 francs annually. After she had signed, she received a far better offer of 3000 francs per month from the Théâtre dela Monnaie,Brussels, but Strakosch would not release her and obtained an injunction preventing her from accepting it.[12]She was in despair when the matter was resolved by Strakosch's sudden death.[13]She made her operatic debut four days later as Gilda inRigolettoat La Monnaie on 12 October 1887.[3][12]The criticHerman Kleindescribed her Gilda as "an instant triumph of the most emphatic kind... followed... a few nights later with an equal success as Violetta inLa traviata."[3]It was at this time, on Marchesi's advice, that she adopted the stage name of "Melba", a contraction of the name of her home city.[14][n 4]

London, Paris and New York debuts

[edit]
Melba in costume forLucia di Lammermoor,1888 (photo byNadar)
"Del ciel clemente un riso"
from "Il dolce suono"(Mad Scene),Lucia di Lammermoor
Problems playing this file? Seemedia help.

Melba made herCovent Gardendébut in May 1888, in the title role inLucia di Lammermoor.She received a friendly but not excited reception.The Musical Timeswrote, "Madame Melba is a fluent vocalist, and a quite respectable representative of light soprano parts; but she lacks the personal charm necessary to a great figure on the lyric stage."[15]She was offended when Augustus Harris, then in charge at Covent Garden, offered her only the small role of the page Oscar inUn ballo in mascherafor the next season.[16]She left England vowing never to return. The following year, she performed at theOpérain Paris, in the role of Ophélie inHamlet;The Timesdescribed this as "a brilliant success", and said, "Madame Melba has a voice of great flexibility... her acting is expressive and striking."[17]

Melba had a strong supporter in London,Lady de Grey,whose views carried weight at Covent Garden. Melba was persuaded to return, and Harris cast her inRoméo et Juliette(June 1889) co-starring withJean de Reszke.She later recalled, "I date my success in London quite distinctly from the great night of 15 June 1889."[1]After this, she returned to Paris as Ophélie, Lucia inLucia di Lammermoor,Gilda inRigoletto,Marguerite inFaust,and Juliette.[4]In French operas her pronunciation was poor,[3]but the composerDelibessaid that he did not care whether she sang in French, Italian, German, English or Chinese, as long as she sang.[n 5]

Philippe, Duke of Orléans

In the early 1890s, Melba embarked on an affair withPrince Philippe, Duke of Orléans.They were seen frequently together in London, which excited some gossip, but far more suspicion arose when Melba travelled across Europe to St Petersburg to sing forTsar Nicholas II:the Duke followed closely behind her, and they were spotted together in Paris, Brussels, Vienna and St Petersburg. Armstrong filed divorce proceedings on the grounds of Melba's adultery, naming the Duke as co-respondent; he was eventually persuaded to drop the case, but the Duke decided that a two-year African safari (without Melba) would be appropriate. He and Melba did not resume their relationship.[1][19]In the first years of the decade, Melba appeared in the leading European opera houses, including Milan, Berlin and Vienna.[4]

Melba sang the role of Nedda inPagliacciat Covent Garden in 1893, soon after its Italian premiere. The composer was present and said that the role had never been so well played before.[20]In December of that year, Melba sang at theMetropolitan Operain New York for the first time. As at her Covent Garden debut, she appeared as Lucia di Lammermoor and, as at Covent Garden, it was less than a triumph.The New York Timespraised her performance – "one of the loveliest voices that ever issued from a human throat... simply delicious in its fullness, richness and purity" – but the work was out of fashion, and the performances were poorly attended.[21]Her performance inRoméo et Juliette,later in the season, was a triumph and established her as the leading prima donna of the time in succession toAdelina Patti.[4]She had at first been nonplussed by the impenetrable snobbery at the Metropolitan; the authorPeter Conradhas written, "In London she hobnobbed with royalty; in New York she was a singing menial." Assured of critical success, she set herself to achieve social recognition, and succeeded.[22]

"Air des bijoux"
FromFaust,1910
Problems playing this file? Seemedia help.
Melba as Marguerite inFaust

From the 1890s, Melba played a wide range of parts at Covent Garden, mostly in the lyric soprano repertoire, but with some heavier roles also. She sang the title roles inHerman Bemberg'sElaine[23]andArthur Goring Thomas'sEsmeralda.[24]Her Italian parts included Gilda inRigoletto,[25]the title role inAida,[26]Desdemona inOtello,[27]Luisa in Mascagni'sI Rantzau,[28]Nedda inPagliacci,[29]Rosina inThe Barber of Seville,[30]Violetta inLa traviata,[31]and Mimì inLa bohème.[32]In the French repertoire, she sang Juliette inRoméo et Juliette,[33]Marguerite inFaust,[34]Marguerite de Valois inLes Huguenots,[35]the title role inSaint-Saëns'sHélène,which was written for her,[4]and Micaëla inCarmen.[36]

Some writers expressed surprise at Melba's playing the last of these roles, since it was merely a supporting part in the opera. She played it on many occasions, saying in her memoirs, "Why on earth a prima donna should not sing secondaryrôlesI could not see then and am no nearer seeing to-day. I hate the artistic snobbery of it. "[16]She sang the role opposite the Carmens ofEmma Calvé,[3]Zélie de Lussan[36]andMaria Gay.[37]Marguerite de Valois, too, is not the leading female role inLes Huguenots,but Melba was willing to undertake it asseconda donnatoEmma Albani.[3]She was generous in support of singers who did not rival her in her favoured roles, but was, as her biographerJ. B. Steaneput it, "pathologically critical" of other lyric sopranos.[4]

Melba was not known as aWagnersinger, although she occasionally sang Elsa inLohengrin[38]and Elisabeth inTannhäuser.[39]She received a certain amount of praise in these roles, although Klein found her unsuited to them,[3]andBernard Shawthought she sang with great skill but played artificially and without sensibility.[40]In 1896 at the Metropolitan, she attempted the role of Brünnhilde inSiegfried,in which she was not a success.[4]Her most frequent role in that house was Marguerite inGounod'sFaust,which she had studied under the supervision of the composer.[4]She never essayed any ofMozart's operas, for which some thought her voice ideally suited.[18]Her repertoire across her entire career amounted to no more than 25 roles, of which,The Timesobituarist wrote, "only some 10 parts are those which will be remembered as her own."[18]

Melba's marriage to Armstrong was finally terminated when, having emigrated to the United States with their son, he divorced her in Texas in 1900.[9]

Twentieth century

[edit]
Melba in 1904

By now established as a leading star in Britain and America, Melba made her first return visit to Australia in 1902–03 for a concert tour, also touring in New Zealand.[1][n 6]The profits were unprecedented; she returned for four more tours during her career.[44]In Britain, Melba campaigned on behalf of Puccini'sLa bohème.She had first sung the part of Mimì in 1899, having studied it with the composer. She argued strongly for further productions of the work in the face of the distaste expressed by the Covent Garden management at this "new and plebeian opera".[4]She was vindicated by the public enthusiasm for the piece, which was bolstered in 1902 whenEnrico Carusojoined her in the first of many Covent Garden performances together.[3]She sang Mimì forOscar Hammerstein Iathis opera house in New York,in 1907, giving the enterprise a needed boost.[4]After her initial successes in Brussels and Paris in the 1880s, Melba sang infrequently on the European continent; only the English-speaking countries welcomed her wholeheartedly.[45]

She performed 26 times at theRoyal Albert Hallin London between 1898 and 1926.[46]Although she called Covent Garden "my artistic home", her appearances there became less frequent in the 20th century. One reason for this was that she did not get on well withSir Thomas Beecham,who was in control of the opera house for much of the period from 1910 until her retirement. She said, "I dislike Beecham and his methods",[47]and he thought that while she had "nearly all the attributes inseparable from great artistry... she was wanting in a genuine spiritual refinement."[48]Another factor in her reduced appearances at Covent Garden was the appearance on the scene ofLuisa Tetrazzini,a soprano ten years her junior, who became a great success in London and later in New York in roles previously associated with Melba.[1]A third reason was her decision to spend more time in Australia. In 1909 she undertook what she called a "sentimental tour" of Australia, covering 10,000 miles (16,000 km) and including many remote towns.[1]In 1911 in partnership with theJ. C. Williamsoncompany, she appeared in an operatic season.[44]Her attitude to her tour concerts and the audiences attending was summed up in the advice thatClara Buttsaid Melba gave her apropos of a planned Australian tour: "Sing 'em muck; it's all they can understand."[n 7]To another colleague and compatriot,Peter Dawson,she described his home city ofAdelaideas "that city of the three P's – Parsons, Pubs and Prostitutes."[50]

"Sempre libera"
FromLa traviata,1904
"Ah, fors e lui"
FromLa traviata,1907
Problems playing these files? Seemedia help.

In 1909, Melba bought property atColdstream,a small town near Melbourne, and in 1912 she had a home built there (extending an existing cottage) that she named Coombe Cottage after a house she had rented near London.[51]She also set up a music school in Richmond, which she later merged into theMelbourne Conservatorium.She was in Australia when theFirst World Warbroke out, and she threw herself into fund-raising for war charities, raising £100,000.[4][n 8]In recognition of this, she was created aDame Commander of the Order of the British Empire(DBE) in March 1918, "for services in organising patriotic work".[n 9]

After the war, Melba made a triumphant return to the Royal Opera House, in a performance ofLa bohèmeconducted by Beecham, which re-opened the house after four years of closure.The Timeswrote, "Probably no season at Covent Garden has ever started with quite the thrill of enthusiasm which passed through the house."[54]In her many concerts, however, her repertoire was regarded as trite and predictable. After one of themThe Musical Timeswrote:

The real musical interest of the afternoon, however, was supposed to centre in the "Jewel Song" fromFaust,Puccini's "Addio",Lieurance's "By the waters of Minnetonka", andTosti's "Good-bye", and in the encores, thoughtfully announced beforehand – "Home, sweet Home" and "Annie Laurie." Look again at the last batch of head-lines. "The Diva to go home." By all means. Why not? As the Diva has melodiously declared (only too often), there's no place like it. "And teach 100 girls herself." If the Dame can give those hundred girls her own beautiful voice, well and good, but for heaven's sake let a musician be called in to attend to their repertoire. We cannot lightly face the prospect of a hundred débutantes let loose on us a year hence full to the epiglottis with "Minnetonkas", "Jewel Songs", and "Home, sweet Homes".[55]

Melba in 1913

In 1922, Melba returned to Australia, where she sang at the immensely successful "Concerts for the People" in Melbourne and Sydney, with low ticket prices, attracting 70,000 people.[1]In 1924 for another Williamson opera season, she caused resentment among local singers by importing an entire chorus from Naples.[56]In 1926 she made her farewell appearance at Covent Garden, singing in scenes fromRoméo et Juliette,Otello,andLa bohème.[4]She is well remembered in Australia for her seemingly endless series of "farewell" appearances, including stage performances in the mid-1920s and concerts in Sydney on 7 August 1928, Melbourne on 27 September 1928 andGeelongin November 1928.[1]From this, she is remembered in the vernacular Australian expression "more farewells than Dame Nellie Melba".[1]

In 1929 she returned for the last time to Europe and then visited Egypt, where she contracted a fever that she never entirely shook off.[1]Her last performance was in London at a charity concert on 10 June 1930.[57]She returned to Australia but died inSt Vincent's Hospital, Sydney,in 1931, aged 69, ofsepticaemiawhich had developed after facial surgery in Europe some time before.[1]She was given an elaborate funeral fromScots' Church, Melbourne,which her father had built and where as a teenager she had sung in the choir.[1][58]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". Part of the event was filmed for posterity. Melba was buried in the cemetery atLilydale,near Coldstream. Her headstone, designed bySir Edwin Lutyens,[59]bears the farewell words of Mimì inLa bohème:"Addio, senza rancor"(Farewell, without bitterness).[60]

Melba with theMetropolitan Opera

Teacher and patron

[edit]

Despite the antipathy Melba inspired in some of her peers, she helped the careers of younger singers. She taught for many years at the Conservatorium in Melbourne and looked for a "new Melba". She published a book about her methods, which were based on those of Marchesi. The book opens:

It is easy to sing well, and very difficult to sing badly! How many students are really prepared to accept that statement? Few, if any. They smile, and say: "It may be easy for you, but not for me." And they seem to think that there the matter ends. But if they only knew it, on their understanding and acceptance of that axiom depends half their success. Let me say the same in other words: In order to sing well, it is necessary to sing easily.[61]

"O soave fanciulla"
from Puccini'sLa bohème,sung byEnrico Carusoand Melba in 1906
Problems playing this file? Seemedia help.

Others also benefited from Melba's praise and interest. She passed her owncadenzason to a youngGertrude Johnson,a valuable professional asset. In 1924, Melba brought the new starToti Dal Monte,fresh from triumphs in Milan and Paris but still unheard in England or the United States, to Australia as a principal of the Melba-Williamson Grand Opera Company. After sharing the Covent Garden stage in a 1923 night of operatic extracts with another Australian soprano,Florence Austral(who, as adramatic soprano,posed no threat to Melba, a lyric soprano), Melba was effusive with her praise, describing the younger woman as "one of the wonder-voices of the world".[62]She similarly described the AmericancontraltoLouise Homeras possessing "the world's most beautiful voice". She gave financial assistance to the Australian painterHugh Ramsay,living in poverty in Paris[63]and also helped him to forge connections in the artistic world.[60]The AustralianbaritoneJohn BrownleeandtenorBrowning Mummerywere both protégés: both sang with her in her 1926 Covent Garden farewell (recorded by HMV), and Brownlee sang with her on two of her last commercial recordings later that year (a session arranged by her in part to promote Brownlee).

Recordings and broadcasts

[edit]
Newspaper advertisement

Melba's first recordings were made around 1895, recorded on cylinders at theBettiniPhonograph Lab in New York. A reporter from Phonoscope magazine was impressed: "The next cylinder was labelled 'Melba' and was truly wonderful, the phonograph reproducing her wonderful voice in a marvellous manner, especially the high notes which soared away above the staff and were rich and clear." Melba was less impressed: "'Never again,' I said to myself as I listened to the scratching, screeching result. 'Don't tell me I sing like that, or I shall go away and live on a desert island.'" The recordings never reached the general public – destroyed on Melba's orders, it is suspected – and Melba would not venture into a recording studio for another eight years.[64]Melba can be heard singing on severalMapleson Cylinders,early attempts at live recording, made by the Metropolitan Opera House librarian Lionel Mapleson in the auditorium there during performances. These cylinders are often poor in quality, but they preserve something of the quality of the young Melba's voice and performance that is sometimes lacking from her commercial recordings.[n 10]

Melba made numerousgramophone(phonograph) records of her voice in England and America between 1904 (when she was in her 40s) and 1926 for theGramophone & Typewriter Company[66]and theVictor Talking Machine Company.Most of these recordings, consisting of operatic arias, duets and ensemble pieces and songs, have been re-released on CD.[67]The poor audio fidelity of the Melba recordings reflects the limitations of the early days of commercial sound recording. Melba'sacoustical recordings(especially those made after her initial 1904 session) fail to capture vital overtones to the voice, leaving it without the body and warmth it possessed – albeit to a limited degree – in life. Despite this, they still reveal Melba to have had an almost seamlessly purelyric sopranovoice with effortless coloratura, a smooth legato and accurate intonation.[67]Melba had perfect pitch; the critic Michael Aspinall says of her complete London recordings issued on LP, that there are only two lapses from pitch in the entire set.[68]Like Patti, and unlike the more vibrant-voiced Tetrazzini, Melba's exceptional purity of tone was probably one of the principal reasons why British audiences, with their strong choral and sacred music traditions, idolised her.[69]

HMVadvertisement for Melba recordings (1904)

Melba's farewell to Covent Garden on 8 June 1926 was recorded by HMV, as well as broadcast. The programme included Act 2 ofRoméo et Juliette(not recorded because the tenor Charles Hackett was not under contract to HMV), followed by the opening of Act 4 ofOtello(Desdemona's "Willow Song" and "Ave Maria" ) and Acts 3 and 4 ofLa bohème(with Aurora Rettore, Browning Mummery, John Brownlee and others). The conductor was Vincenzo Bellezza. At the conclusionLord Stanley of Alderleymade a formal address and Melba gave an emotional farewell speech. In a pioneering venture, eleven sides (78rpm) were recorded via a landline to Gloucester House (London), though in the event only three of these were published. The full series (including both speeches) was included in a 1976 HMV reissue.[68]

As was the case in many of her performances, most of Melba's recordings were made at "French Pitch" (A=435 Hz), rather than the British early 20th century standard of A=452 Hz, or the modern standard of A=440 Hz. This, and the technical inadequacies of the early recording process (discs were frequently recorded faster or slower than the supposed standard of 78rpm, whilst the conditions of the cramped recording studios – kept very warm to keep the wax at the necessary softness when cutting – would wreak havoc with instrumental tuning during recording sessions), means that playing her recordings back in the speed and pitch she made them at is not always a simple matter.

On 15 June 1920, Melba was heard in a pioneering radio broadcast fromGuglielmo Marconi'sNew Street Worksfactory inChelmsford,singing two arias and her famous trill. She was the first artist of international renown to participate in direct radio broadcasts. Radio enthusiasts across the country heard her, and the broadcast was reportedly heard from as far away as New York. People listening on the radio barely heard a few scratches of the trill and two arias she sang. Further radio broadcasts would include her Covent Garden farewell performance, and a 1927 "Empire Broadcast" (broadcast throughout the British Empire, by radio stations AWA and 2FC, Sydney, on Monday 5 September 1927; it was relayed by the BBC London on Sunday 4 September).[70][71]

Honours, memorials and legacy

[edit]
Statue of Melba at Waterfront City,Melbourne Docklands

Melba was appointedDame Commander of the Order of the British Empirein the1918 New Year Honours,along withMay Whittythe first stage performer to receive this order, for her charity work during World War I, and was elevated toDame Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empirein 1927.[1]She was the first Australian to appear on the cover ofTimemagazine, in April 1927.[72]A stained-glass window commemorating Melba was erected in 1962 in the Musicians' Memorial Chapel of the church ofSt Sepulchre-without-Newgate,London.[73]She is one of only two singers – the other beingAdelina Patti– with a marble bust on the grand staircase of theRoyal Opera House,Covent Garden.[74]

Ablue plaquecommemorates Melba at Coombe House, Devey Close inCoombe, Kingston upon Thames,where she lived in 1906.[75]She was inducted onto theVictorian Honour Roll of Womenin 2001.[76]Melba was closely associated with theMelbourne Conservatorium,and this institution was renamed theMelba Memorial Conservatorium of Musicin her honour in 1956. The music hall at theUniversity of Melbourneis known as Melba Hall. The Canberra suburb ofMelbais named after her.

TheAustralian $100 notefeatures the image of her face,[77][78]and her likeness has also appeared on an Australian stamp.[5]Sydney Town Hallhas a marble relief bearing the inscription "Remember Melba", unveiled during a World War II charity concert in memory of Melba and herFirst World Warcharity work and patriotic concerts.[79]A tunnel on Melbourne'sEastLinkfreeway is named in her honour.[80]Streets named after her include Melba Avenue inSan Francisco[81]and Avenue Nellie Melba / Nellie Melbalaan in theBrusselsmunicipality ofAnderlecht.[82]

Melba's home inMarian, Queensland,during her brief cohabitation with her husband was relocated from the Marian Mill (where it was due to be demolished) to a riverbank setting along the main Eungella Road in Edward Lloyd Park, where, under the name Melba House, it was restored and now operates as a Melba museum and the Pioneer Valley Visitor Information Centre.[83]Her home Coombe Cottage inColdstream, Victoria,passed to her granddaughter Pamela, Lady Vestey (1918–2011). It is now owned by Lady Vestey's sons,Sam (3rd Baron Vestey)and Mark, who reside in the United Kingdom.[51]The house was designed byJohn Harry Grainger,father of the composerPercy Grainger,and a close friend of Melba's father David Mitchell.[84]

Melba's name is associated with four foods, all of which were created in her honour by the French chefAuguste Escoffier:

  • Peach Melba,a dessert made of peaches, raspberry sauce, and vanilla ice cream[85]
  • Melba sauce, a sweet purée of raspberries and red currant
  • Melba toast,a crisp dry toast
  • Melba Garniture, chicken, truffles and mushrooms stuffed into tomatoes withvelouté sauce.[86]

Melba planted a variety of poplar tree known asPopulus × canadensis "Aurea",or golden poplar, on the Central Lawn inMelbourne Botanic Gardenson 11 April 1903, which has become known as "Melba's poplar".[87]On 19 May 2011,Googlecelebrated her 150th birthday with aGoogle Doodle.[88]

Coat of arms of Nellie Melba
Notes
Centre portion of Melba's arms. Arms granted in 1920 (College of Arms, MS Grants 87, p. 200)[89]
Escutcheon
Azure on a Plate between in chief two Mascles and in base a Nightingale Or, with a Cross Gules at centre.

Books, films and television

[edit]

Melba's autobiography,Melodies and Memories,was published in 1925, largely ghost-written by her secretaryBeverley Nichols.[4]Nichols later complained that Melba did not cooperate in the process of writing or by reviewing what he wrote.[90]Full-length biographies devoted to her include those byAgnes G. Murphy(1909), John Hetherington (1967),Thérèse Radic(1986) and Ann Blainey (2009).

A novelEvensongby Nichols (1932) was based on aspects of Melba's life, drawing an unflattering portrait.[4]The1934 motion picture adaptationofEvensong,starringEvelyn Layeas the character based on Melba, was for a time banned in Australia.[91]Melba appears in the 1946 novelLucinda BrayfordbyMartin Boyd.She is depicted as singing at a garden party thrown by the mother of the eponymous heroine, when she is described as having the "loveliest voice in the world".[92]

In 1946–1947 Crawford Productions produceda radio series on MelbastarringGlenda Raymond,who became one of the foundation singers of the Australian Opera (laterOpera Australia) in 1956.[93]In 1953 abiopictitledMelbawas released byHorizon Picturesand directed byLewis Milestone.Melba was played by the sopranoPatrice Munsel.[94]In 1987 theAustralian Broadcasting Corporationproduced a mini-series,Melba,starringLinda Croppermiming to the singing voice ofYvonne Kenny.Melba was portrayed byKiri Te Kanawainepisode 3 of season 4of the British ITV television showDownton Abbey(2013), performing at the abbey as a guest of Lord and Lady Grantham.Rupert Christiansen,writing inThe Telegraph,bemoaned the casting and the fact checking.[95]

Melba appears in a pivotal scene in the 2014 novelTellbyFrances Itani.[96]

Notes and references

[edit]

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^TheOxford Dictionary of National Biographyincorrectly gives Melba's mother the maiden name of Dorn. "Dow" is confirmed inBlainey 2008,p. 5, andHetherington 1967,p. 17
  2. ^In her memoirs, Melba gives her age at her debut as six, but her statements about her age were not always accurate.[3]
  3. ^Melba travelled to London with her father, and her husband moved to Europe for a time and was in periodic, though often unwelcome, contact with his wife and child.[1][5]
  4. ^A similar course was followed by some other Australian singers: Florence Mary Wilson took the stage nameFlorence Austral,andElsie Mary Fischerrenamed herselfElsa Stralia– both after Australia; June Mary Gough adopted the nameJune BronhillafterBroken Hill,New South Wales.
  5. ^"Qu'elle chanteLakméen français, en italien, en allemande, en anglais ou en chinois, cela m'est égal, mais qu'elle la chante. "[18]
  6. ^Melba visited New Zealand in February 1903 after her tour of Australia. She arrived in Invercargill from Hobart and was welcomed bySir Joseph Ward(who was later thePrime Minister of New Zealand) and Lady Ward.[41]After giving one concert in Dunedin she travelled to Christchurch[42]and gave a concert in Wellington.[43]
  7. ^Melba later denied giving this advice and was horrified when Butt printed it in her memoirs.[49]
  8. ^Equivalent in 2008 values to £3,630,000 using the UK retail price index or £17,900,000 using average UK earnings. See Williamson, Samuel H."Five Ways to Compute the Relative Value of a UK Pound Amount, 1830 to Present",MeasuringWorth, 2008
  9. ^The appointment was announced on 5 March 1918, butThe London Gazettestated, "The appointments to date from the 1st January, 1918". It is therefore correctly stated that Melba was, withMay Whitty,the first stage performer to be made a DBE, although Whitty had received the honour in January.[52][53]
  10. ^The cylinder Melba is most renowned for, Queen Marguerite's cabaletta fromLes Huguenots,may not in fact feature her, but rather her contemporary Suzanne Adams: the sonics of the recording do not match others of the same year, and the paper evidence points to Adams; but the singersoundsmore like the Melba rather than the Adams both known from their commercial recordings[65]

References

[edit]
  1. ^abcdefghijklmnoDavidson, Jim."Melba, Dame Nellie (1861–1931)",Australian Dictionary of Biography,accessed 11 December 2012
  2. ^Campbell, Joan."David Mitchell (1829–1916)",Australian Dictionary of Biography,Vol. 5, 1974
  3. ^abcdefghijKlein, Herman."Melba: An Appreciation",The Musical Times,April 1931, pp. 305–308(subscription required)
  4. ^abcdefghijklmnoSteane, J. B."Melba, Dame Nellie (1861–1931)",Oxford Dictionary of National Biography,Oxford University Press, 2004; online edition, January 2011, accessed 24 May 2011.(subscription orUK public library membershiprequired)
  5. ^abcdeSadauskas, Andrew."Melba Bashed by Cowardly Husband",Archived7 July 2011 at theWayback MachineAustralian Stamps Professional,accessed 23 May 2011
  6. ^"Family Notices".The Argus.Melbourne: National Library of Australia. 22 October 1881. p. 1.Retrieved21 February2014.
  7. ^O'Brien, Sheilagh."The Dame in the tropics: Nellie Melba".Queensland Historical Atlas.
  8. ^"Family Notices".The Argus.Melbourne: National Library of Australia. 29 December 1882. p. 1.Retrieved21 February2014.
  9. ^ab"Divorce of Madame Melba",The Morning Bulletin,14 April 1900, p. 5
  10. ^Skinner, Graeme."Lemmone, John",Dictionary of Sydney,2008, accessed 19 January 2015
  11. ^Scott, 1977, p. 28[incomplete short citation]
  12. ^abGubler 2012,p. 192
  13. ^"Melodies and Memories",The Times Literary Supplement,5 November 1925, p. 738
  14. ^"Melba – The Voice of Silver".The Australian Women's Weekly.National Library of Australia. 24 February 1971. p. 12.Retrieved25 September2014.
  15. ^"Royal Italian Opera",The Musical Times,July 1888, p. 411(subscription required)
  16. ^ab"A Prima Donna – Madame Melba's Memories",The Times,23 October 1925, p. 8.
  17. ^"France",The Times,10 May 1889, p. 5.
  18. ^abc"Obituary – Dame Nellie Melba – A great prima donna",The Times,24 February 1931, p. 9.
  19. ^The Times,5 November 1891, p. 5; 6 November 1891, p. 9; 20 February 1892, p. 5; 17 February 1892, p. 13; 12 March 1892, p. 16; 14 March 1892, p. 3; and 24 March 1892, p. 3.
  20. ^"A week's musical topics",The New York Times,4 June 1893.
  21. ^"'Lucia' at the Opera ",The New York Times,5 December 1893.
  22. ^Conrad 1987,p. 249.
  23. ^"The Opera",The Times,6 July 1892, p. 9.
  24. ^"Royal Opera",The Times,4 January 1908, p. 7.
  25. ^"Royal Italian Opera",The Times,10 June 1889, p. 8.
  26. ^"Covent Garden Opera",The Times,7 November 1892, p. 12.
  27. ^"Royal Opera – Otello",The Times,2 July 1908, p. 13.
  28. ^"The Opera",The Times,10 July 1893, p. 8.
  29. ^"The Opera",The Times,20 May 1893, p. 8.
  30. ^"Royal Opera",The Times,9 July 1898, p. 10.
  31. ^"Royal Opera",The Times,26 July 1898, p. 8.
  32. ^"Royal Opera",The Times,3 July 1899, p. 10.
  33. ^"Royal Italian Opera",The Times,4 June 1890, p. 8.
  34. ^"Royal Opera",The Times,4 June 1894, p. 11.
  35. ^"Royal Opera",The Times,1 July 1895, p. 8.
  36. ^ab"Royal Italian Opera",The Times,6 July 1891, p. 8.
  37. ^"Royal Opera",The Times,26 November 1906, p. 10.
  38. ^"Cloak worn by Nellie Melba as Elsa in Lohengrin, c.1891".omeka.cloud.unimelb.edu.au.Grainger Museum Online.Retrieved28 August2023.
  39. ^"Nellie Melba as Elizabeth from Tannhäuser, 1894".omeka.cloud.unimelb.edu.au.Grainger Museum Online.Retrieved28 August2023.
  40. ^Shaw 1981,p. 95.
  41. ^Otago Daily Times,17 February 1903, p. 6
  42. ^"The Melba Concert",The Press,20 February, p. 5
  43. ^Evening Post,24 February 1903, p. 5
  44. ^abShawe-Taylor, Desmond."Melba, Dame Nellie",Grove Music Online.Oxford Music Online, accessed 25 May 2011(subscription required)
  45. ^Jefferson 1979,p. 143.
  46. ^Search results: Nellie Melba,Performance archive, Royal Albert Hall, accessed 29 March 2016
  47. ^Lucas 2008,p. 153.
  48. ^Beecham 1959,pp. 170–171.
  49. ^"Dame Nellie Melba Indignant",The Manchester Guardian,6 August 1928, p. 7
  50. ^Gaisberg, Fred. "Peter Dawson",Gramophone,January 1949, p. 3
  51. ^ab"Our Story: Nellie Melba",Coombe Yarra Valley, accessed 4 February 2016
  52. ^Supplement to theLondon Gazette,5 March 1918
  53. ^"War Honours",The Times,8 January 1918, p. 7
  54. ^"First Night of the Opera – The King and Queen Present",The Times,13 May 1919, p. 14
  55. ^"Feste"."Ad Libitum",The Musical Times,June 1921, pp. 409–411(subscription required)
  56. ^"Grand Opera – Italian Male Chorus – Engagement Resented, Hint of Strike",The Argus,5 January 1924, p. 19
  57. ^"Court Circular",The Times11 June 1930, p. 17
  58. ^"Church History"Archived23 August 2010 at theWayback Machine,Scots' Church website, accessed 7 June 2010
  59. ^"Memorials and Monuments to Individuals","Ten Years on Exhibition", Lutyens Trust, accessed 14 September 2018
  60. ^abBassett, Peter."Melba andLa bohème– Addio, senza rancore ".Peterbassett, accessed 19 May 2011
  61. ^Quotedin"Book review",The Musical Times,May 1926, p. 427(subscription required)
  62. ^"Florence Austral"Archived20 February 2011 at theWayback Machine,Bikwill, accessed 27 May 2011
  63. ^Clark, Christine."Ramsay, Hugh."Grove Art Online. Oxford Art Online, accessed 27 May 2011(subscription required)
  64. ^"Nellie Melba's First Recordings",Historic Masters,accessed 27 May 2011
  65. ^"Still More on the Mapleson Cylinder",The Opera Quarterly,Volume 5, Issue 4, pp. 37–45(subscription required)
  66. ^"Chant Vénitien",National Film and Sound Archive, australianscreen online, accessed 27 May 2011
  67. ^abSteane, John. "Nellie Melba",Gramophone,May 2003, p. 17
  68. ^abAspinall, Michael. "Nellie Melba: The London Recordings 1904–1926", Insert booklet to HMV LP set RLS, EMI, London, 1976
  69. ^Riding, Alan."Recordings: From a Vault in Paris, Sounds of Opera 1907",The New York Times,16 February 2009
  70. ^Given, Jock. "Another Kind of Empire: The Voice of Australia, 1931–1939",Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television2009, vol. 29, issue 1, p. 42
  71. ^First Empire Broadcast, held by theNational Library of Australia
  72. ^Cover – Nellie Melba,Time18 April 1927
  73. ^"Memorial Window to Melba",The Times,12 March 1962, p. 7.
  74. ^"Things to do in London on a rainy day",Royal Opera House, accessed 11 December 2012
  75. ^"Melba, Dame Nellie",English Heritage, accessed 4 August 2012
  76. ^"Victorian Honour Roll of Women"(PDF).
  77. ^"The Australian $100 Banknote".The Reserve Bank of Australia.Retrieved27 May2011.Archived10 June 2011 at theWayback Machine,
  78. ^"A Complete Series of Polymer Banknotes: 1992–1996".Reserve Bank of Australia Museum.Reserve Bank of Australia. Archived fromthe originalon 15 February 2016.Retrieved31 December2015.
  79. ^"Music and drama | Melba Memorial Plaque".The Mercury.Hobart. 19 May 1941. p. 4.Retrieved11 December2012.
  80. ^Pilcher, Georgie."East Link Twin Tunnels named as Melba and Mullum Mullum",Herald Sun,24 March 2008
  81. ^The Chronicle,San Francisco, 12 April 1987, p. 6
  82. ^"L'avenue Nellie Melba - 1070 Anderlecht".eBru.be.
  83. ^"Melba House".Mackay Regional Council.Archived fromthe originalon 23 February 2014.Retrieved21 February2014.
  84. ^Dreyfus, Kay."Grainger, George Percy (1882–1961)",Australian Dictionary of Biography,vol. 9 (1983). Retrieved 4 February 2016
  85. ^Avey, Tori."Opera, Escoffier, and Peaches: The Story Behind the Peach Melba",22 August 2012, accessed 9 April 2015
  86. ^Drummond-Hay, Lily."Famous Foodies: Nellie Melba",The Observer,13 July 2003
  87. ^"Golden Poplar".National Trust (Australia).Retrieved31 May2019.
  88. ^"Nellie Melba's 150th Birthday".Google.19 May 2011.
  89. ^"The Order of the British Empire".The College of Arms.Retrieved3 March2023.
  90. ^Falk, Bernard.Bouquets for Fleet Street,London, Hutchinson & Co (1951), p. 125
  91. ^"Banned Film",The Mercury,5 December 1934
  92. ^Boyd, p. 96
  93. ^The Melba Story,RadioEchoes, accessed 1 March 2019
  94. ^MelbaatIMDb
  95. ^Christiansen, Rupert."How Downton Abbey got Nellie Melba all wrong",The Daily Telegraph,7 October 2013
  96. ^"Music that inspired the Scotiabank Giller Prize finalists",CBC Books, 7 November 2014, accessed 19 July 2015

Sources

[edit]

Further reading

[edit]
  • Melba, Nellie (1926).Melba Method.London & Sydney: Chappell.OCLC5309485.
  • Melba, Nellie (1925).Melodies and Memories.London: Butterworth.OCLC556835777.
  • Murphy, Agnes (1909).Melba: A Biography.London: Chatto & Windus.OCLC563034777.
  • Radic, Thérèse (1986).Melba: The Voice of Australia.Basingstoke: Macmillan.ISBN0-333-41478-0.
  • Wainwright, Robert (2021).Nellie – The Life and Loves of Dame Nellie Melba.Allen & Unwin.ISBN9781760878252.
[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related toNellie Melba.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Nellie_Melba&oldid=1243979890"