The Waterbury Democrat., 1931-02-23
Brilliant Opera
 Star Is Dead
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Saint-Saens, Sambroise. Thomas and Massenet. Among the celebrated singers with whom she was associated were En- rico Caruso and Jean and Edouard De Reszke. Sarah Bernhardt, Eleanora Duse and Ellen Terry were her coaches in acting.
 Dame Nellie Melba was christened Helen Porter Mitchell. She was born daughter of David Mitchell, d wealthy Scotch farmer. Her mother was of spanish descent.
 She spent her early years on her fathers large estate at Cave Hill III the Gippsland district of Victoria. Strenuous outdoor life was mixed with the study of piano, organ, vio- lin and singing. She also learned painting and delighted in sketching the broad Australian landscapes.
 At the age of six she made her first appearance on the stage, singing in a charity concert. Then she con- centrated on piano work. Her staunch Presbyterian father objected to a stage career.
 | In 1882 she married Charles Nes- bitt Frederick Armstrong, a Queens land sugar planter. A few years later they went to Europe in order that Mrs Armstrong might perfect her voice. | Her first attempts to win fame were unsuccessful. Sir Arthur Sul- livan heard her sing in London and said he might find minor part for her in his new comic opera, The Mikado." But Melba had no inten- tions of singing in comic opera. l Madame Marchesi, one of the most famous Paris singing instructors, heard Melba sing one song, then rushed out of the room and cried to her husband:
 Salvatore, Salvatore, I have found a new star"
 It was on the night of October 1887, that she appeared at the Thea tre De La Monnaie in Brussels in the part of Gilda, achieving only moderate success.
 | A year later she made her first appearance at Covent Garden, Lon- don in the title role of Lucia Di Lammermoor." The London critics treated her condescendingly.
 The following year in "Romeo and Juliet" she achieved a success such as few artists had ever before known. She soon was offered con- | II, D Petersburg, Vienna and Berlin.
 Melba made her first American tour in 1893, visiting most of the principal cities. Her greatest suc- cess in the United States was prob- ably achieved in 1904-05 when she travelled 26,000, miles in 12O days: visiting 45 cities. In 1913-14 she made another successful tour, jour- neying from New York to California. It was during one of these tours that she decided to copyright the name "Melba' which she had as- sumed lst before her Brussels debut in honor of her native city of Mel bourne. She had become so famous that her name was being used in connection with all kinds of patented products.
 | Melba was the only singer who appeared for 20 consecutive Seasons at Covent Garden. In the early years of the twentieth century she was known as the autocrat of Covent Garden, for her word was considered law. It was she who persuaded the directors of the London Opera House to give Caruso trial in 1902. She practically forced them to present Puccinis La Boheme" and insisted on singing the part of Mimi until the opera became a great Success.
 When Melba gave her farewell concert at Covent Garden in 1926. King Mary and Queen Mary and the foremost musicians of Europe were in the audience.
 | She last sang in London on June Il, 1880, for the benefit of the Ma tional Children Adoption association. It was while returning to Australia after this concert that she was taken seriously i'll.