Melba (radio serial)
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Melba is a 1946 Australian radio drama about the life of Nellie Melba.[4] and first broadcast by stations 3DB and 3LK 1946–1947 in fifty 30-minute episodes. It was produced by Hector Crawford, who knew Melba.[5][6][7]
| Genre | drama serial |
|---|---|
| Running time | 30 mins[1] (7:30 pm – 8:00 pm)inc. adverts |
| Country of origin | Australia |
| Language(s) | English |
| Written by | John Ormiston Reid |
| Produced by | Hector Crawford Dorothy Crawford |
| Recording studio | 3DB Melbourne |
| Original release | 3 February 1946[2] – 25 January 1947[3] |
| No. of episodes | 50 |
The scripting involved months of research.[8]
Four actresses played Melba:[9]
- Eight-year-old Kareen Wilson spoke and sang the young Melba — "Comin' Thro' the Rye" and "See Me Dance the Polka" in the Richmond Town Hall. She was the daughter of baritone Ernest Wilson and soprano Freda Northcote.[2]
- Glenda Raymond, a coloratura soprano from Melbourne, sang all the arias of Melba in her emerging years, in the original key and hitting the same notes. She was a relative unknown, but had a subsequent career in opera, notably as Etain in Rutland Boughton's The Immortal Hour.[10]
- Stella Power — dubbed "the Little Melba" by Melba herself[11] — sang the mature Melba.
- Patricia Kennedy played the speaking "Nellie Mitchell that scarifies you with the rough side of her tongue"[9] Melba, "a remarkable success", said the Adelaide Advertiser,[12] For continuity, Kennedy played ever stage of Melba's life.[2]
and many real-life friends and colleagues played themselves.[9]
ABC Weekly said "The woven story is interesting and the music-dialogue balance nicely placed, with the story itself built on factual references to Melba’s career."[13]
The Advocate said it was "very pleasant listening."[14]
References
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