I was sitting here reading the chapter on Melba in Henry Pleasants's "The Great Singers," and thought how long it had been since I had heard any of her recordings. This was a magical way to hear her again (and see her!), and to appreciate what made her the great Melba. Thank you for sharing this.
hi kevinhanek. good to hear from you. in fact the very first record i ever heard was one of my grandmothers 78 recordings of Melba. not a bad beginning to the recording industry. later i bought a lot of thick one-sided Hanoverian records, with the angel on the other side and colour coded labels (with gilt writing) for singers on the other - Melba was lilac, Tetrazzini pink and so on. i first read Heatherington's biography - as a kid - so hard to judge it's value now. do you know it?
Stumbled across this while researching my mame "melba mithell" turns out her maiden name was mithell like mine and she named herself melba from her hometown of melbourne. My granny gave me that name after an old friend from the tennessee hills. Such an old fashioned name for someone only 38. But I'm proud of it! So proud I named my daughter melba.
Does anyone know anything of Lisbeth Greig apparently an understudy or stand by for Nellie sometime prior to 1915. I understand there is a picture of her in the Nellie Melba section at the National Film Archive in Canberra. Any information would be great, Terese
Quite a Scottish accent in "chariot"...but not so noticeable in her more formal talking. I am a Scot in Australia. Used to deal with family lime quarry business in Lilydale. Still going after 150 years!
hi ntsturrock - very interesting to hear that - i didn't hear the scottish accent though i've done a lot of work in linguistics! thanks for alerting us. curiously we kept our horses at lilydale when we were kids - at an old racign stable!
Thank you for posting the Melba material. I have been a fan of hers since I first heard her recordings about thirty years ago. Since then I've read everything written about her that I could get my hands. Melba was unique in that she had a brain for business as well as the voice described as almost superhumanly beautiful in her prime. Her faultless execution displayed her beautiful voice to its fullest. Probably one of the greatest pure vocalists ever.
hi meinfb - glad you like melba too - i first heard her on old 78 records my grandma had - and then read heatherington's bio - and it took off from there - i bought a whole lot of thick one-sided made-in-hanover gramaphone monarch records when they were available - in a crazy old fashion music shop - which is long defunct. the silvery quality of her voice and the seemingly effortless production is a delight!
Great video; how I wish I could have known her! She wrote the most intelligent and witty comments about singing I have ever read; even though soprano's voices were not caught as well as men's in her time, her personality comes shining through. Many thanks for sharing this.
hi billyguns2 - and apart from her singing she seems to have been a remarkable person - getting herself from a tiny outback farm, leaving her husband, getting to europe, having a great teacher accept her ... the strength of character - great to have this little bit of footage to get a sense of her off stage. there's a good biography by hetherington. glad you liked the post! nick
Very nice and rare footage of a true diva! Thank you so much for sharing this. One correction: the "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" selection was not recorded in 1904, but rather in 1926 or thereabout. It is one of Melba's last commercial recordings.
I was sitting here reading the chapter on Melba in Henry Pleasants's "The Great Singers," and thought how long it had been since I had heard any of her recordings. This was a magical way to hear her again (and see her!), and to appreciate what made her the great Melba. Thank you for sharing this.
kevinhanek 1 month ago
hi kevinhanek. good to hear from you. in fact the very first record i ever heard was one of my grandmothers 78 recordings of Melba. not a bad beginning to the recording industry. later i bought a lot of thick one-sided Hanoverian records, with the angel on the other side and colour coded labels (with gilt writing) for singers on the other - Melba was lilac, Tetrazzini pink and so on. i first read Heatherington's biography - as a kid - so hard to judge it's value now. do you know it?
nickwallacesmith 1 month ago
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MOLTO BELLO!!! Thank you my friend for sharing this Wonderful performance of Great Australian Soprano DAME NELLIE MELBA (1861-1931).
MrGer2295 1 month ago
This has been flagged as spam show
Stumbled across this while researching my mame "melba mithell" turns out her maiden name was mithell like mine and she named herself melba from her hometown of melbourne. My granny gave me that name after an old friend from the tennessee hills. Such an old fashioned name for someone only 38. But I'm proud of it! So proud I named my daughter melba.
melba1231 4 months ago
Does anyone know anything of Lisbeth Greig apparently an understudy or stand by for Nellie sometime prior to 1915. I understand there is a picture of her in the Nellie Melba section at the National Film Archive in Canberra. Any information would be great, Terese
carl4325 5 months ago
Quite a Scottish accent in "chariot"...but not so noticeable in her more formal talking. I am a Scot in Australia. Used to deal with family lime quarry business in Lilydale. Still going after 150 years!
ntsturrock 9 months ago
hi ntsturrock - very interesting to hear that - i didn't hear the scottish accent though i've done a lot of work in linguistics! thanks for alerting us. curiously we kept our horses at lilydale when we were kids - at an old racign stable!
nickwallacesmith 9 months ago
Thank you for posting the Melba material. I have been a fan of hers since I first heard her recordings about thirty years ago. Since then I've read everything written about her that I could get my hands. Melba was unique in that she had a brain for business as well as the voice described as almost superhumanly beautiful in her prime. Her faultless execution displayed her beautiful voice to its fullest. Probably one of the greatest pure vocalists ever.
meinfb 1 year ago
hi meinfb - glad you like melba too - i first heard her on old 78 records my grandma had - and then read heatherington's bio - and it took off from there - i bought a whole lot of thick one-sided made-in-hanover gramaphone monarch records when they were available - in a crazy old fashion music shop - which is long defunct. the silvery quality of her voice and the seemingly effortless production is a delight!
nickwallacesmith 1 year ago
Great video; how I wish I could have known her! She wrote the most intelligent and witty comments about singing I have ever read; even though soprano's voices were not caught as well as men's in her time, her personality comes shining through. Many thanks for sharing this.
billyguns2 1 year ago
hi billyguns2 - and apart from her singing she seems to have been a remarkable person - getting herself from a tiny outback farm, leaving her husband, getting to europe, having a great teacher accept her ... the strength of character - great to have this little bit of footage to get a sense of her off stage. there's a good biography by hetherington. glad you liked the post! nick
nickwallacesmith 1 year ago
hi pipzzz02
yes she was - and some of the images i used over the covent garden farewell speech after the 'swing low, sweet chariot' section confirm this.
and the fact that she was for a time having an affaire with the duc d'orleans
take care - and hope to hear again!
nickwallacesmith 2 years ago
Very nice and rare footage of a true diva! Thank you so much for sharing this. One correction: the "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" selection was not recorded in 1904, but rather in 1926 or thereabout. It is one of Melba's last commercial recordings.
meltzerboy 2 years ago
The first bit of footage shows a surprisingly attractive woman..
Another nice interesting vid.Thanks Nick!
PIPZZZ02 2 years ago