| Biography | Irene Ainsley was a contralto singer. Her first teacher was Lilian Tree, who had earlier been the first Brünnhilde in English at Covent Garden. She was heard in Auckland by Melba in 1903 and moved to London, where she became a pupil of both Minna Fischer from South Australia and Melba herself.
Melba arranged for her to audition for Marchesi in Paris, and supported her financially during the time she was at the École. At her London debut at the Bechstein Hall in 1906, she was accompanied by Melba, who had brought together in the audience the Prince and Princess of Wales (later George V and Queen Mary) while Madame Marchesi travelled from Paris specially for the occasion.
Ainsley performed with a number of different opera companies, such as the Joseph O'Mara Opera Company and the Castellano Opera Company. After the First World War she returned home, touring Australasia with Melbas company in 1924. She went on to teach for many years in New Zealand, her most prominent pupil being Sister Mary Leo, the teacher of Kiri Te Kanawa and others. |