Feb 04 2009
Nellie Melba - the not so sweet peach
Nellie Melba, whose real name was Helen Porter Mitchell was born in 1861 in Australia. She was the first Australian who became world famous as a soprano. A free spirit, she resented an early motherhood and marriage in rural Australia and headed for Europe. Fame and fortune didn’t come easy, but eventually her superb voice revailed and she turned into the epitome of a ‘diva’.
She changed her name to Nellie Melba, reminiscent of her birthplace near Melbourne. Despite her angelic voice, Melba’s nature was not so sweet. She had a need to dominate the stage and often deliberately upstages her co-perfomers. She particularly incited the rage of Enrico Caruso, whom she considered vulgar and coarse. He called payback time with the following incident: when singing in La Bohme with her and reaching the words: ‘what a cold little hand, let me warm it’, he pressed a hot little sausage into her hand which he had hidden in his costume. However, to do her justice, she also furthered the careers of young singers and gave many benefit performances.
The famous French chef Escoffier invented a dessert especially for her, known the world over as Peach Melba, a concoction of vanilla ice cream, a peach, rasberry and cranberry sauce, almonds and whipped cream.
Melba died in 1931. Rumour has it, that she caught a sepsis which developed after a face lift.
