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Melba’s earliest performances as Ophélie in Ambroise Thomas’ Hamlet were at the Théâtre de la Monnaie in Brussels in April 1888 and her debut at the Paris Opéra in May 1889. Thomas described her as the ‘Ophélie of my dreams’.

Melba’s earliest performance as Violetta in La Traviata by Giuseppe Verdi was during her first season in Brussels in 1887. At the time, her inexperience in acting was noted but the role later became a staple in her repertoire.

It was as Violetta…

Silver gelatin print

Photo: 11.2 x 8.7 cm
Photo and board: 17.1 x 13.4 cm

The photograph depicts Nellie Melba tending to plants and shrubs placed on an elegant cane and wood table. She is standing in front of the entrance to Coombe Cottage,…

Henry Walter Barnett created this elegant, full-length portrait of Melba at the height of her fame. Among her many achievements in this period, Melba established a significant professional partnership with leading tenor, Enrico Caruso. They first…

German composer Karlheinz Stockhausen visited Australia for ten days in April 1970. He gave concert-lectures on electronic music around the country, including three programs in Wilson Hall, at the University of Melbourne. Delivered through a battery…

German composer Karlheinz Stockhausen (1928–2007), described as the ‘most controversial musical innovator of our time’, has influenced many musicians, inside and outside of the avant-garde music scene. Rock musicians including Frank Zappa, Peter…

Melba claimed to have encouraged Puccini to see the play on which his opera Madama Butterfly is based. She studied the title role with him, as well as that of Tosca, however she never performed either role.