On Thursday 7th December 2006, the Melba Foundation was officially launched in France by Her Excellency the Australian Ambassador to France, Penelope Wensley AO and Melba Recordings conductor and Honorary Melba Foundation Patron, Richard Bonynge AO CBE. Also present was soprano Elizabeth Whitehouse, whose recording, Believe in Love (MR 301104) is due for release in France in January 2007. The launch party was held at the Residence of the Ambassador, at the top of the magnificent Australian Embassy building. Here, guests could enjoy the breathtaking view of the Eiffel Tower and Trocadero, while tasting Australian wine and food.  |  | Anthony Romaniuk, Richard Bonynge AO CBE, Elizabeth Whitehouse, Penelope Wensley AO and Nicolas Calleux
| Dr Athanase Andriopoulos and
Elizabeth Whitehouse with Eiffel Tower in background | After speeches delivered by the Ambassador, Nicolas Calleux (Melba Recordings' Marketing Manager for Europe), and a toast to Melba by Richard Bonynge, the guests discovered the outstanding quality of Melba Recordings SACDs. This session concluded with much applause from the audience. Melba artists were also presented live: Elizabeth Whitehouse, accompanied by Anthony Romaniuk, gave a breathtaking performance of three of Wagner's Wesendonck Lieder and a Strauss Lied.  |  | Elizabeth Whitehouse in recital
with Anthony Romaniuk
| Elizabeth Whitehouse and Penelope Wensley AO
| Many distinguished guests were present at the event, including representatives from the Association pour le Rayonnement de l'Opera de Paris, the charity organisation Care, The French Wagner Circle, The Academie du Disque Lyrique, officials from French orchestras, music publishers and French and Australian journalists. The most important musical magazines were represented, as well as Radio France, the daily press and the audiophile press.  |  | Room with a View: The location of the Melba Paris launch,
atop the magnificent Australian Embassy building | Anthony Romaniuk and Penelope Wensley AO
| The recordings presented during the listening session were two new SACD releases from Richard Bonynge, Massenet: Amoureuse (MR 301106 - out soon) and Believe in Love, the first two volumes of the Melba Ring, and the Australian Youth Orchestra's account of Shostakovich's Symphony N°10 (MR 301105). On the same day, Melba's Rheingold was given its first French press award, an opus d'or from the French audiophile online magazine Opus. |
