[Nellie Porter Armstrong]. British operatic soprano, née Nellie Porter Mitchell, born at Burnley, near Melbourne, Australia, her father being a contractor, of Scottish blood. She sang at a local concert when six years old, and was given a good musical education. In 1882 she married Captain Charles Armstrong, and in 1886 went to study singing in Paris under the famous teacher, Madame Mathilde Marchesi, whose daughter, Madame Blanche Marchesi, also a famous singer, was associated with her. In 1887 she made her début in opera at Brussels, taking the stage-name of Madame Melba from her connection with Melbourne. In the next year she sang the part of Lucia, which remained one of her famous rôles, at Covent Garden, London; and, though critics complained of her coldness as an actress, her liquid voice and brilliant execution henceforth made her famous as the greatest successor to Patti, in pure vocalization, on the operatic stage. She maintained this position for over twenty years, her triumphs being celebrated in every country. She was the organizer of many charitable efforts during the World War, and collected considerable sums for war charities. In 1918 she was created D.B.E.
See the “authorized” biography by Agnes G. Murphy (1909).
