Renault for a soprano

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If you were in Paris in 1909 you might have watched a performance of Rigoletto starring Dame Nellie Melba and Enrico Caruso and you might have seen Caruso leaving in his type AX Renault which impressed Melba so much she quickly paid Louis Renault a visit at his Paris villa, where he promised to deliver a new 4 cylinder 20HP Type BK Renault.

The first references to Dame Nellie's involvement with the ''horseless carriage'' were in 1892, when she would win first prize for the best-decorated car in the Battle of the Flowers Festival in Nice, an annual event she would attend after performances at the local opera. Her choice of 6-seater Roi de Belges coachwork allowed her to enjoy such passengers as Renoir, Ravel, Verdi, Caruso, Pavlova, Nijinski, Diagilef, Puccini and Toscanini and  her car formed part of wedding procession of George V and Mary on 22 March 1911.

Melba, who maintained homes in New York, London, Paris and Melbourne, also became one of the first female customers of Rolls-Royce, taking delivery in 1911 of a 40/50HP Silver Ghost limousine, a car she cherished and regularly shipped between Britain and Australia along with her chauffeur. 
Dame Nellie Melba was without doubt Australia's first international superstar and her exceptional car is offered for sale here.

Text Robin Batchelor.

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