Dame Nellie Melba DBE 1861-1931

The company debuted at Her Majesty’s Theatre in Sydney on 2 September and later transferred to Her Majesty’s in Melbourne. George Tallis of J.C. Williamson’s was delighted: ‘The attendances have [been] better than anything ever recorded before for grand opera in Australia. It was encouraging to note the educative effect of the series. Men and women who came with the idea of seeing one or two frequently became so fond of opera that they never missed one afterwards.’

Melba returned to Australia in 1914 to see her ill father. When war broke out she immediately devoted herself to raising money for local war charities. Untiringly she gave dozens of patriotic concerts, singing without fee. She raised over £100,000 – a tremendous sum in those days. In reward she was created a Dame of the British Empire. From 1915, whenever she was in Melbourne, she encouraged, taught and inspired a new generation of Australian singers at the Conservatorium that bore her name.

There were more concerts during a 1921-22 visit and a ‘farewell’ Melba-Williamson opera season in 1924. For 28 weeks in Sydney and Melbourne another carefully selected international company presented a repertoire of 17 operas, including the Australian premiere of Giordano’s Andrea Chénier. Now 63, Melba sang only in La Bohème, Faust and Otello – she was content to leave the demanding bel canto roles to 30-year-old Toti Dal Monte, then at the beginning of a starry career. Other notable principals included tenor Dino Borgioli and baritone Apollo Granforte. ‘It was really wonderful to see how all classes were swept up in the wave of enthusiasm,’ she said. ‘People cheerfully waited in the streets for hours to obtain seats.’ The season concluded on October 13 with a gala charity matinee of La Bohème at Her Majesty’s in Melbourne. It was broadcast live to an estimated audience of 150,000.

Melba’s ‘Farewell Concert Tour’ in 1927 was another outback odyssey with concerts in unpretentious halls and frequent fundraising efforts for local charities. ‘I must sing,’ she said, or I will die.’ On 9 May she was in Canberra to sing the National Anthem and ‘Land of Hope and Glory’ at the opening of Federal Parliament.

The following year brought the third, the biggest, and in many ways the best of the illustrious Melba-Williamson seasons. In the adventurous repertoire of 26 operas were an Australian work, Fritz Hart’s Deirdre in Exile, and no fewer than six Australian premieres, including Puccini’s Turandot and Thaïs by Massenet. Melba was paid £3000 a week, though illness caused many of her performances to be cancelled. Several 1924 favourites returned, notably Toti Dal Monte and Apollo Granforte. The tour covered Melbourne, Sydney, Perth and Adelaide, where, on 2 October 1928, Melba sang for the last time on the operatic stage in Australia in a program consisting of three acts of La Bohème and a scene from Act 4 of Otello.