Ryman Healthcare launches opera scholarship

May 24, 2018

The company enters into partnership with the Melba Opera Trust

Ryman Healthcare has announced the endowment of a scholarship to the Melba Opera Trust, which will see the company’s long-running support for the arts extend across the Tasman.

The first Ryman Healthcare Opera Scholarship will be awarded next year when the Melba Opera Trust reveals which budding Australian opera stars have been chosen to enter its development programme.

Ryman entered into the partnership with the Melba Opera Trust after naming its newest Melbourne retirement village after Australian opera superstar Dame Nellie Melba.

Dame Nellie, who died in 1931, bequeathed a large sum of money for the development of young opera singers, and the Melba Opera Trust is the caretaker of her legacy.

“I think it speaks volumes to Ryman’s integrity that they have chosen to align themselves with our programme and it shows they are genuinely motivated to make a meaningful impact on the development of a young opera singer,” said the trust’s general manager, Amy Black.

“The other happy benefit of this scholarship is that each year the residents of the Dame Nellie Melba village – and Ryman residents more broadly – will be able to enjoy performances from their scholar and share in the journey as their career progresses.”

Ms Black said Ryman has a “wonderful track record” in honouring the namesakes of their other opera-related villages, Kiri Te Kanawa in Gisborne, and Malvina Major in Wellington.

“By establishing the perpetual Ryman Healthcare Opera Scholarship, they are creating their own history and legacy, much as Melba did herself when she endowed our very first scholarship in 1931.”

Ryman’s chief sales and marketing officer Debbie McClure said the company was thrilled to have such an iconic Australian’s name attached to the village.

“Dame Nellie was a remarkable woman, and we’re excited to be supporting the Melba Opera Trust’s mission to keep her legacy alive.”

The Dame Nellie Melba retirement village, in Brandon Park, will welcome its first residents in July.

About Ryman: Ryman Healthcare was founded in Christchurch in 1984 and owns and operates 32 retirement villages in New Zealand and Victoria, Australia. Ryman villages are home to over 10,600 residents, and the company employs over 4,700 staff.

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