Nina Bertini

Nina Bertini, also known professionally as Nina Bertini-Humphreys, was an Irish-born operatic soprano who performed in the United States during the 1880s and 1890s before relocating her career to Britain and Ireland after 1900. Born Nina Humphreys (also spelled Humphrys) in Ireland, she pursued vocal training in Italy under Francesco Lamperti and Teresa Brambilla. Her operatic debut took place in Italy, where she performed the role of Amina in La sonnambula. Early in her stage career she performed under the name Nina Bertini, later appending her family name to form the hyphenated stage name by which she became more widely known.

Bertini established herself as a prima donna soprano in the United States through affiliations with several prominent touring opera companies. During the 1880s she was a member of Emma Abbott's Company, and in the 1890s she performed with the Marie Tavary Grand English Opera Company, the Metropolitan Grand English Opera Company, and the Hinrichs Grand Opera Company. Her repertoire encompassed a range of leading soprano roles, including Michaela in Carmen, Gilda in Rigoletto, Marguerite in Faust, the title role in Mignon, and Juliette in Roméo et Juliette.

Her Broadway appearance came in 1887, when she performed in The Begum. That same period saw her name appear in commercial contexts as well; in 1888 she endorsed Dr. Greene's Nervura Nerve Tonic. A reviewer writing in 1893 described her voice as a high soprano of considerable purity, broad range, and exceptional flexibility, singling out her trill for particular brilliance. Sheet music for M. E. Nagle's composition The New Ireland Over the Ocean, recorded as sung by Bertini-Humphreys, was published in 1893 and is held in the Ward Irish Music Archives.