Wednesday, February 21, 2018

My new drag name: Peaches Melba

I love food and I love opera, so of course after watching this Food Wishes video about five times (admit it--you do the same thing!) I looked for online recordings of Nellie Melba.




I already knew Dame Nellie Melba as one of the mostly highly paid and esteemed entertainment figures of her day.  As with most great singers of her time (and a few from our own time!) recordings don't flatter her, and as recording technology was improving she was aging.  But you can still hear what a wonderfully expressive singer she was.

Listen to this Caro nome from 1904:



And this Si, mi chiamano Mimi from 1907:




Considering this blog first arose out of efforts to keep the memories of great singers alive, I think it's a good thing.  Both the dessert and the historic recordings.