Frances Alda (1879–1952) was one of the world's greatest sopranos. Born Fanny Jane Davis in Christchurch, New Zealand, she was raised in Melbourne, where she began singing operetta in 1897. In 1902 she went to Paris to study with Mathilde Marchesi, Nellie Melba's teacher, who gave her the name Alda. She made her European debut in 1904, and by 1908 she had appeared at the Monnaie, Brussels, Covent Garden and La Scala. That year she became a member of New York's Metropolitan Opera, staying with the company for 21 years. Noted especially for her lyrical roles, she enjoyed a successful recording career, making her debut with Enrico Caruso, who claimed that his voice and hers blended perfectly: 'I have never found that with any other woman singer.' Alda toured Australia and New Zealand in 1927, by which time she had reportedly come to 'disdain' Australia. Her colourful memoir, Men, Women and Tenors, was published in 1937. She died while on holiday in Venice, Italy.
This dramatic photo portrait of Alda was taken in New York in 1918 by the Metropolitan Opera's principal photographer, Herman Mishkin. From 1910 to 1932 Mishkin was the Met's photographer of choice, in the early years persuading operatic set painters to supply him with artful studio backdrops like this one.
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Roger Neill 2006
Roger Neill (3 portraits)
On one level The Companion talks about the most famous and frontline Australians, but on another it tells us about ourselves.
Roger Neill delves into the life of a lesser-known Australian diva, Frances Alda.
Spanning the 1880s to the 1930s, this collection display celebrates the innovations in art – and life – introduced by the generation of Australians who travelled to London and Paris for experience and inspiration in the decades either side of 1900.
