Melba, Nellie

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Melba, Nellie (1859–1931). Opera singer. Born of Scottish parents as Helen Porter Mitchell, near Melbourne (Australia), it was only after marriage to Charles Armstrong that her gifts were developed. She came to England largely by her own efforts, but her potential was not recognized and Sullivan refused her work. After study in Paris came a brilliant début in Brussels (1887) as ‘ Mme Melba’, clearly derived from her birthplace. World-wide acclaim followed. She eventually had many operas in her repertoire but was identified predominantly with early Verdi, Gounod, and Donizetti—The Times referred to ‘the exquisite voice and the perfect use of it’—and sensibly avoided Wagner. She studied roles with Verdi and (later) Puccini, subsequently making La Bohème her own. Immensely popular and honoured as ‘Dame’ because of her work for war charities, she bade farewell at Covent Garden in 1926, though her last charity concert appearance was 1929.

A. S. Hargreaves

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