MELBA [NELLIE

See also:

• PORTER
• PORTER, BENJAMIN CURTIS (1843– )
• PORTER, DAVID (1780-1843)
• PORTER, DAVID DIXON (1813-1891)
• PORTER, ENDYMION (1587–1649)
• PORTER, HENRY (ft. 1596-1599)
• PORTER, HORACE (1837– )
• PORTER, JANE (1776–1850)
• PORTER, MARY (d. 1765)
• PORTER, NOAH (1811–1892)

PORTER

See also:

• ARMSTRONG, ARCHIBALD (d. 1672)
• ARMSTRONG, JOHN (1709-1779)
• ARMSTRONG, JOHN (1758—1843)
• ARMSTRONG, SAMUEL CHAPMAN (1839—1893)
• ARMSTRONG, WILLIAM GEORGE ARMSTRONG, BARON (1810—1900)

ARMSTRONG] (1859— )  , British operatic soprano, nee Nellie Porter Mitchell, was 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 debut in opera at Brussels, taking the stage-name of Madame Melba from her connexion with Melbourne . In the next year she sang the part of Lucia, which remained one of her famous roles, at Covent Garden, London; and, though critics complained of her coldness as an actress, her liquid voice and brilliant execution hence-forth 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 . See the " authorized " biography by Agnes G . Murphy (1909) .