Melba, Dame Nellie, 1861–1931, Australian soprano, whose name originally was Helen Porter Mitchell. After study with Mathilde Marchesi in Paris, she made her operatic debut in Brussels in 1887. Famous for her lyric and coloratura roles, she sang regularly at Covent Garden in London from 1888 until 1926 and intermittently with the Metropolitan Opera Company in New York City from 1893 to 1910; in 1907 she performed at the Manhattan Opera House and also made appearances in Australia and many other parts of the world. She was made Dame of the British Empire in 1918.

Bibliography

See her autobiography, Melodies and Memories (1925).

Melba, Dame Nellie

orig. Helen Porter Mitchell

(born May 19, 1861, Richmond, near Melbourne, Austl.—died Feb. 23, 1931, Sydney) Australian soprano. After study with Mathilde Marchesi (1821–1913) in Paris, she debuted in Brussels in Rigoletto (1887), and in the next six years she sang in all the major opera houses of the world. One of the most celebrated coloraturas in the years preceding World War I, she sang mostly at Covent Garden after 1902. Concentrating on a few Italian and French operas, she possessed abundant technique and vocal beauty. Two foods, Melba toast and peach Melba, were named for her.