Nellie Melba was born on this day in 1861, and became the most famous soprano in the world in her day. She was the first Australian to establish world wide fame in classical music; her start was (perhaps unsurprisingly) not in the United States, but rather in Australia and especially Europe. Her stage name "Melba" was a tip of the hat to her native Melbourne (her Christian name was Helen Porter Mitchell).
Today she is best known for the desert created for her by the greatest chef of the day, Auguste Escoffier. Peach Melba involves peaches and vanilla ice cream, covered with a raspberry coulis. Interestingly, Escoffier created several other dishes for her.
Her fame was perhaps due to the fact that she had perfect pitch. She became wildly successful and quite wealthy, recording a large number of the new fangled gramophone records. Her reputation was such that at this farewell performance, King George V and Queen Mary attended.
1 comment:
Well, not my cup of tea. Even with Melba toast.
But always intrigued by things like this. Melba toast? Peach Melba? Didn't know that.
Always learning chez Borepatch, thanks for the post.
Melba Post?
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