orig. Helen Porter Mitchell
born May 19, 1861, Richmond, near Melbourne, Austl.
died Feb. 23, 1931, Sydney
Australian soprano.
After study with Mathilde Marchesi (1821–1913) in Paris, she debuted in Brussels in Rigoletto (1887), and in the next six years she sang in all the major opera houses of the world. One of the most celebrated coloraturas in the years preceding World War I, she sang mostly at Covent Garden after 1902. Concentrating on a few Italian and French operas, she possessed abundant technique and vocal beauty. Two foods, Melba toast and peach Melba, were named for her.