Melba Recordings

A rediscovered opera written for Dame Nellie Melba, and recorded in Melbourne a century later, will be revived in Prague next February.

Hélène, written by French composer Camille Saint-Saëns and based on the Helen of Troy story, was considered old fashioned in its day and languished.
 
The executive director of the Melba Foundation, Maria Vandamme, discovered the score at the Monte Carlo Opera library while researching Melba.

Four other opera houses have since expressed interest in the South Melbourne Town Hall recording, and Ms Vandamme hopes there will be an Australian performance in the future.

"To hear a masterpiece for the first time is a most wonderful gift and everyone was buzzing because we are the first people to hear this for 100 years," she said.

Four soloists from Vienna, New Zealand and Australia, a French composer, an English engineer and a large orchestra and chorus worked on the massive recording project.
 
The recording is expected to be released before June next year.
 
Lorna Edwards