Dame Kiri Te Kanawa on her Downton Abbey character Dame Nellie Melba
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- Опубліковано 10 січ 2014
- In a clip from the 2010 documentary 'What Makes A Great Soprano?', Dame Kiri Te Kanawa tells us about the Australian soprano Dame Nellie Melba, whom she later played in an episode of Downton Abbey.
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Dame Nellie Melba also featured on the Australian $100 Dollar banknote introduced in 1996 and still is today.
It's very sad that Julian Fellowes, usually so astute, treated Nellie Melba so shabbily in Downton Abbey. She was an international star from her debut at Covent Garden in 1888 on. I believe that by 1922 the entire Downton household would have heard her name, if for no other reason than the dishes created for her by Auguste Escoffier: Peach Melba and Melba toast. For the butler to refer to her as merely an "Australian singer" was demeaning. It's always risky for people with limited knowledge of a topic to attempt to incorporate it into popular entertainment.
I agree. I went back to search for her appearance. I was appalled. She deserved so much more. Her makeup was harsh and the hair - oh my. She never even was allowed to finish the 3 songs she was allotted and the most horrors of horrors was happening in the kitchen, which overshadowed her appearance. I love Downton but this was a tragedy.
He might have meant to denigrate her as she was a horrid person. In fact her records do not really explain how she got to be so famous IMO. Only her 1926 Covent Garden Farewell performances recorded live show any feelings.Perhaps studio recordings didnt suit her but even Dame Kiri refers often to her diva nature (aka pain-in-the- proverbial!)
The English treated all colonials as low class.
@@neilgerace355 still do
The records explain it for me. She was simply a cut above all of her contemporaries. That combination of powerful chest and silvery, focused upper register is rare, and the seamless transitions and utter control are unique.@@cmclean6475
Dame Nellie melba was my 4th great aunt its true
how's your voice?
How wonderful!
vry informal full i loved it
Wowzer!
In college grad school I was playing many records for all my lovers, one of the girls loved me for the early Freni recordings. The young man reminds one of Lucky Blue Smith, he loved the Milanov Tosca contrapuntal scene; he was from Casa Grande, but Melba was in a Quintet playing for my girlfriend who has 4 children; and she came in early on a heavy sounding note and I enjoyed that in my soul, heartily I laughed, but I loved it. It was an old record. I wooisht I could find it.
weird, dude
I'm surprised Mrs Kanawa didn't claim Melba was from New Zealand
No that's an Ausie thing, heck,even Peter, Fitzsimmons,said, Sir Ed Hillary should be shared with Australia, because its not fare, NZ had all these famous people,😅