Performing arts | National Library of Australia (NLA)

Performing arts

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Collection guide
Lyle Collection

50 oral history recordings with 149 interviewees containing reminiscences, stories and music relating to Scottish oral traditions in Australia.

Collection guide
Four men posing in dress suits holding musical instruments.

Benvenuti Family (l to r - Victorio Guiseppi, Luigi Antonio, Italo Angelo and Antonio Giovanni), 1890, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-143662956

Benvenuti Collection

Memorabilia of musical, theatrical, social events in Queensland collected by the Benvenuti family musicians.

Collection guide
Collection guide
O'Connor Collection

Recordings of Australian folk songs, some British folk songs, Greek and Turkish music, African songs, dance music, recitations, poetry, jokes, children’s rhymes, yarns, and recollections recorded in Victoria 1953-1969.

Collection guide
Collection guide
Peter Ellis Collection

80 oral history interviews with musicians, dancers and others, and recordings of songs and performances, as well as sheet music, imprints and personal papers.

Collection guide
Collection guide
Rummery Collection

40 recordings of folk music, folklore and reminiscences from people in rural New South Wales recorded from 1983 to 1988.

Collection guide
Collection guide
Schuster Collection

Recordings of folk songs and dance music from Queensland and also stories, legends and recollections of customs and immigrant settlement, particularly German and Scandinavian in rural Queensland.

Collection guide
Collection guide
Scott Collection

Recordings of folk music, dance music, folklore and oral history from New South Wales and Queensland recorded during the period 1955 to 1990.

Collection guide
A page of sheet music.

 Larry Sitsky, Arch (Fantasia no. 4) ,1980, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-233784206

Sitsky Collection

A comprehensive collection of manuscript pencil scores, drafts of compositions, and fair copies of Sitsky's music dating from 1958 onwards.

Collection guide
Cover of the program with Dame Nellie Melba's portrait wearing a tiara

Rachel & Verlaine Pitt-Rivers, Chanson d'automne, W.H. Paling & Co, 1922, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-168708778

Melba Collection

Discover the legacy of Dame Nellie Melba, one of opera’s greatest voices, through her unique collection. Featuring sheet music, personal letters, and rare items from her iconic career, this collection offers an intimate glimpse into her rise from Australian talent to international soprano. Explore her artistry, personal connections, and lasting impact on the world of opera.

Collection guide
Hand drawn picture of a smartly dressed middle aged man with a moustache

Phillip-Stephan Photo-Litho. and Typographic Process Company, Portrait of Mr. Frederic H Cowen, musical conductor at the Centennial Exhibition, 188?, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-137138084

Brady Collection

Overseas and Australian sheet music, including some manuscripts, with the main strengths popular songs and piano music of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

Collection guide
Ballerina Justine Summers strikes a pose for the camera. She is standing en point wearing a black tutu. She is standing infront of a textured curtain. She is staring directly at the camera.

Jim McFarlane, Justine Summers in "Divergence", the Australian Ballet, 1994, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-136367403

On stage

Module

This resource is aligned to the Australian Curriculum: The Arts for years 5 & 6 students.

Digital Classroom
Michael Raditya standing in the Main Reading Room and smiling

2025 Asia Study Grant recipient, Mr Michael Haryo Bagus Raditya

Indonesian dangdut music: Evolution, connections, perception

Learn about how 2025 Asia Study Grant recipient Michael Raditya used the Library's collection grow his research on the Indonesian music genre dangdut.

Blog

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