Amy Castles emerged in Bendigo in the late 1890s.  She had a rich, sonorous voice but much to learn about how to use it. The success of Nellie Melba on the international stage provided a model for what might be possible for the ‘young convent girl’. Taken up by an entrepreneurial priest, Father George Robinson in 1898, Amy was touted as the singer most likely to supplant the reigning Australian and international queen of song, Melba, who was sometimes described as a ‘Protestant tart’.

Dressed in white, short skirts she emerged onto the concert platforms of eastern Australia, attracting large audiences and huge profits. After studying in Paris with Melba’s singing teacher, Mathilde Marchesi, Amy appeared briefly in Vienna at the Hofoper (the Court Opera, now the Staatsoper), attracting cool reviews. Concerts and a few opera appearances in Australia followed in the 1920s and 1930s.  Her Catholic following remained loyal, despite Amy’s evident shortcomings. She made some of the earliest microphone recordings for Columbia in Sydney as her star slowly faded.

In the 1980s, considerable effort was made to resurrect her reputation. It was argued that her Viennese career had been ‘glorious’, ‘wonderful’ and ‘unique’. None of this was true. Her most recent promoters argued that Melba, jealous of her ‘rival’, had scuttled Amy’s career… professional and Protestant malice, they said. With examples of Amy’s recorded performances and interesting archival and published evidence, this presentation will explore what really happened.