Nellie Melba

Nellie Melba (1861–1931) was an Australian operatic soprano whose international career made her one of the era’s best-known singers.

Lucia di Lammermoor: An opera by Gaetano Donizetti about a young woman driven to madness by a forced marriage. Melba’s celebrated Lucia displayed the agility and vocal control associated with her singing.
Mathilde Marchesi: A German-born singing teacher known for training prominent nineteenth-century sopranos in Paris. Marchesi trained Melba and helped develop the vocal technique behind her career.
Richmond, Victoria: An inner suburb of Melbourne, Australia, where Nellie Melba was born. Melba’s birthplace anchors her Australian origins.
Gramophone record: A disc-shaped medium that stores sound as grooves played by a stylus. Melba’s early recordings helped preserve her voice beyond live performances.
La Traviata: An opera by Giuseppe Verdi about the courtesan Violetta Valéry and her doomed love for Alfredo. Violetta was among Melba’s signature roles, especially at Covent Garden.
Charles Armstrong (musician): An Australian pianist and music teacher who was Nellie Melba’s first husband. Their marriage preceded Melba’s departure for Europe and her rise as a singer.
Melbourne: The capital city of the Australian state of Victoria. Melba studied and performed in Melbourne before pursuing a European career.
Melba toast: Thin, crisp toast named after Nellie Melba and associated with chef Auguste Escoffier. Escoffier named the food after the singer during her time in London.
Roméo et Juliette: An opera by Charles Gounod based on Shakespeare’s tragedy of two young lovers. Juliette was one of Melba’s acclaimed French-opera roles.
David Mitchell (builder): An Australian building contractor and businessman, and Nellie Melba’s father. Mitchell supported his daughter’s early musical ambitions and career.

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Joan SutherlandNarrower topic: Melba was an earlier Australian soprano whose international stature provides a national predecessor to Sutherland.