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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…

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…

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…

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,…

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…

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’.

The ill-fated Mimi in La Bohème was one of Melba’s most frequently performed roles. She had particular success in the opera singing opposite Enrico Caruso as Rodolfo. While impressing audiences with his sublime tenor voice, Caruso took great delight…

In 1889, prior to performing in Paris as Marguerite in Faust, Melba visited the famous French actress, Sarah Bernhardt, who declared: ‘You sing like an angel. I want to teach you to act like an angel too.’ Bernhardt proceeded to give Melba a lesson…

The title role of Gaetano Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor highlighted Melba’s vocal abilities, particularly in the ‘mad scene’ which showcased her remarkable trill. Her 1888 Covent Garden debut in the role received a lukewarm response from critics,…