Nellie Melba

On 22 December 1882, Melba married Charles Nesbitt Frederick Armstrong in Brisbane. The couple’s son, George, was born on 16 October 1883. The marriage was unsuccessful as Charles allegedly used to beat his wife. The couple separated after a year.

In the early 1890s, she had an affair with Prince Philippe, Duke of Orléans. When spotted together frequently, Charles filed for a divorce on the grounds of adultery, accusing the Duke as well. Although Charles eventually withdrew the case, the scandalised Duke left for a two-year African safari without Melba and their relationship faded out. Charles and Melba finally divorced in 1900 in Texas.

Towards the end of her life, she returned to Australia. She died of septicaemia on 23 February 1931, at St Vincent's Hospital, Sydney. She was given an elaborate funeral from Scots' Church, Melbourne and was buried in the cemetery at Lilydale, near Coldstream.

Nellie Melba was born on 19 May 1861, in Richmond, Victoria, to builder David Mitchell and his wife Isabella Ann née Dow Mitchell. Melba was the eldest surviving child of the family and had seven younger siblings.

Right from childhood, she received piano lessons. She studied singing with Mary Ellen Christian and Pietro Cecchi, and received her education at a local boarding school. Later, she studied at the Presbyterian Ladies' College. Her first public performance was at the age of six.

During her teen years, she performed in amateur concerts and as a church organist. She received encouragement in pursuing musical studies from her father but he strongly disapproved of it as a career. Meanwhile, at the age of 20, she lost her mother.

The family eventually shifted to Mackay, Queensland, where her father built a new sugar mill. Soon after, she became popular in the region for her musical skills.

After a short unsuccessful marriage to Charles Armstrong, she decided to pursue a singing career and debuted professionally in 1884. She was assisted in organising her concerts by flautist John Lemmone, who became a ‘lifelong friend and counsellor’.

Considering her success in Melbourne, she travelled to London in search of better opportunities. However, her debut at the Princes' Hall in 1886 failed to create an impression.

Nellie Melba then went to Paris to study with Mathilde Marchesi, who immediately recognised her talent. She made rapid progress and within a year, impresario Maurice Strakosch assigned her a ten year contract at 1000 francs annually.

Almost immediately, she received a better offer of 3000 francs per month from the Théâtre de la Monnaie, Brussels. However, Strakosch restrained her from accepting it. She finally regained her freedom when Strakosch suddenly expired.

She made her opera debut on 12 October 1887 at La Monnaie as Gilda in ‘Rigoletto’ and a few nights later as Violetta in ‘La Traviata’. It was around this time that she adopted the alias of ‘Melba’.

In May 1888, she debuted in London’s Covent Garden in the title role of ‘Lucia di Lammermoor’. Her performance received a luke-warm response. Snubbed on being offered a smaller role in the following season, she left England. In 1889, she performed in the role of Ophélie in Hamlet at the Opéra in Paris.

Her repertoire across her entire career is 25 roles, of which, only ten are closely associated with her. Her most frequent roles were Marguerite in Gounod's ‘Faust’ and Mimi in Puccini's ‘La bohème’, both of which she studied under the supervision of the composer.

Her autobiography ‘Melodies and Memories’ was published in 1925 and mostly ghost-written by her secretary Beverley Nichols.