Melba Collection

Dame Nellie Melba’s collection brings to life the legacy of one of opera’s greatest voices. It includes sheet music connected to her performances, letters to friends and colleagues, and unique items from her remarkable career. These pieces offer an intimate view of her journey from a young Australian talent to an internationally acclaimed soprano, capturing the essence of her artistry, her profound connections with others, and her lasting influence on the world of opera.

Cover of the program with Dame Nellie Melba's portrait wearing a tiara

Rachel & Verlaine Pitt-Rivers, Chanson d'automne, W.H. Paling & Co, 1922, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-168708778

Key items in the collection

Highlights from this collection demonstrate its historical significance and variety.

The Library holds 59 volumes of sheet music from Melba's personal collection, most of which are vocal scores for operas and oratorios. These include works by composers like Bach, Bizet, Donizetti, Gounod, Mozart, Rossini, Verdi, and Wagner. Some scores have Melba’s annotations and other transcriptions. A few also feature notes from composers such as Edgar Tinel, Raoul Pugno, and Camille Saint-Saens.

One highlight is a manuscript with two cadenzas for soprano and violin written by Joseph Joachim, likely for Melba's performance of Mozart’s Il Re Pastore.

Additionally, the collection contains many songs dedicated to Melba, including Chanson d’automne, with lyrics by Paul Verlaine and music by Rachel Pitt-Rivers, which features an image of Melba on the cover. More materials from the Melba Conservatorium of Music are expected to be added in 2009.

In 1959, the Library contacted George Armstrong, Melba’s son, about her personal papers, but it seemed that no archive had been preserved. However, many of her friends had kept letters and photos, some of which have since been sold or donated to libraries in Australia, Britain, and the United States. The National Library holds a number of Melba’s letters, either individually or as part of collections from her friends and colleagues. Some of the notable collections include:

Letters from Melba to Henry Russell, undated.
Papers of the Marchesi Family, including letters from Melba to Mathilde and Blanche Marchesi, photographs, programs, a scrapbook (1887-89), an address by Melba to students at the Guildhall School of Music (1911), books, and a typescript by Leopold Podhragy, ‘Melba and the Marchesis’.
Papers of Fritz Hart, composer and director of the Albert Street Conservatorium, including many letters from Melba (c.1915-27).
Papers of John Lemmone, business manager of Melba, including letters and cards from Melba, financial statements, photographs and newspaper cuttings (1911-28).
Two cutting books covering the 1924 J.C.Williamson-Dame Nellie Melba opera season in Sydney and Melbourne.
Papers of Dame Nellie Melba, circa 1908-1970, including letters (1908-17), in a particularly lively style, from Melba to her friend Lady Susan Fitzclarence, together with menus autographed by Melba and fellow diners (1917), programs, cuttings, and a typescript by Ailwyn Best on his meeting with Melba.
Papers of Dame Nellie Melba 1895-1923, including letters (1895-1923) from Melba to her sister Isabella Patterson (‘Tib’), portrait photographs, postcards, and two commemorative programs printed on cloth.

The papers of Isabella Patterson include a silk evening bag that belonged to Melba. The music manuscripts acquired from the Melba Conservatorium were accompanied by Melba’s silk fan inscribed with the signatures of 25 artists.

The Library holds a portrait of Melba, painted in oils by Mary Livingston around 1880. Livingston, a former pupil of Louis Buvelot, taught art at the Presbyterian Ladies’ College. The collection also includes many photographs of Melba throughout her adult life, such as studio portraits, images of her in operatic roles, and photos from family and social events. Additionally, there are photos of Coombe Cottage and an album documenting Melba’s return to her family home in Lilydale in 1902.

The Library holds two scrapbooks that document opera in Australia from 1924 to 1932, focusing on the 1924 and 1928 J.C. Williamson-Dame Nellie Melba opera seasons. Related papers are also available in the J.C. Williamson Collection within the PROMPT Collection.

There are many books about Melba’s life and career. Here are some key titles:

Ann Blainey, I am Melba: a biography, 2008
Percy Colson, Melba: an unconventional biography, 1932
John Hetherington, Melba, a biography, 1967
Roger McDonald, Melba, 1988
Barbara and Findlay Mackenzie, Findlay, Singers of Australia: from Melba to Sutherland, 1967
Nellie Melba, Melodies and memories, 1925
William R. Moran, Nellie Melba, a contemporary review, 1985
Agnes G. Murphy, Melba: a biography, 1909
Therese Radic, Melba, the voice of Australia, 1986
Pamela Vestey, Melba: a family memoir, 1996
Joseph Wechsberg, Red plush and black velvet: the story of Dame Nellie Melba and her times, 1961

About Dame Nellie Melba

Early life and education

Dame Nellie Melba (1861–1931) was born in Melbourne to David Mitchell, a building constructor with musical interests. Known as Helen Porter Mitchell, she was educated at a boarding school in Richmond and the Presbyterian Ladies' College, where she studied singing and the piano.

Early career and rise to fame

In 1882, while living in Mackay, Queensland, she married Charles Armstrong, but the marriage was unhappy, and she returned to Melbourne in 1884. She made her debut as a soprano at a Liedertafel concert in Melbourne Town Hall on 17 May 1884 and received glowing reviews. In 1886, she accompanied her father to London and later studied with Mathilde Marchesi in Paris. She adopted the stage name ‘Melba’ as a tribute to her birthplace and was introduced to composers, particularly Gounod, who coached her in opera roles. Her opera debut occurred in Brussels in 1887, followed by Covent Garden in 1888 and Paris in 1889.

International acclaim

For the next twenty years, Melba became one of the most famous opera singers worldwide, performing in London, Paris, Monte Carlo, Milan, Vienna, Stockholm, Berlin, St Petersburg, New York, and Chicago. She sang before royalty and high-ranking officials, becoming a celebrated figure in European society. London was her home, and she was the star of Covent Garden. In 1902, she made a triumphant return to Australia, with her journey across the country treated as a royal visit. She returned again in 1909 and purchased property near Lilydale in Victoria, where she built Coombe Cottage.

Later life and legacy

During World War I, Melba primarily lived in Melbourne, though she made three concert tours of North America and raised significant funds for the war effort and charities. She sought to establish a school of bel canto in Australia and taught at the Albert Street Conservatorium, which would later bear her name. In 1918, she was appointed a Dame of the British Empire. While her voice began to age, she continued to perform, though less frequently, and gave her farewell performance at Covent Garden in 1926. Her last Australian concert was in Geelong in 1928.

Background to the collection

Since 1952, the Library has acquired small groups of letters and photographs of Nellie Melba, mostly from rare book dealers and auctions in England. In 1960, Melba’s son, George Armstrong, lent three photographs for copying. Notable acquisitions include papers of John Lemmone purchased in 1994, Melba’s letters to Lady Susan Fitzclarence bought at a 1998 Christie’s auction, and photographs and letters from Melba to her sister Isabelle, purchased in 2001.

In 1969, the Library acquired the papers of Mathilde Marchesi from her grandson, Baron Leopold Podhragy. Fritz Hart’s papers were donated by his wife, Marvell Hart, in 1970. In 2007, music scores and manuscripts that belonged to Melba were bought from the Melba Conservatorium of Music in Melbourne.

An oil painting of Melba by M.H. Livingston was purchased from the Joseph Brown Gallery in Melbourne in 1987.

The Manuscripts Collection includes music scores, manuscripts, and personal papers. The music scores are listed individually, while the personal papers are grouped by collection. Some photographs are stored with the letters and papers, while others are in the Pictures Collection, including a portrait by Mary Livingston.

Additional music scores related to Melba are in the Music Collection, stored in different places. The books are in the Australian Collection, and the ephemera can be found in the PROMPT Collection.

Other collections of letters and photographs of Nellie Melba are held in the La Trobe Library (State Library of Victoria) and the Mitchell Library (State Library of New South Wales). The La Trobe Library also holds the papers of John Hetherington, Melba’s biographer. The Museum of Lilydale has many of Melba’s photos and personal items.

The National Gallery of Victoria has a full-length portrait of Melba painted by Rupert Bunny in 1902. The National Portrait Gallery in Canberra holds a sketch of Melba painted by Hugh Ramsay in 1902. The National Film and Sound Archive in Canberra has many recordings of Melba from 1901 to 1926.

This guide was prepared using these references:

Jim Davidson, Melba, Dame Nellie (1861-1931), Australian Dictionary of Biography online
Royston Gustavson, Melba, Dame Nellie, in Oxford Companion to Australian Music, edited by Warren Bebbington, Melbourne, Oxford University Press, 1997, pp. 366-67
Richard Stone, 'Dearest Tib': letters from Nellie Melba, National Library of Australia News, vol. 13 (2), Nov. 2002, pp. 8-10