Description

ADELINA PATTI (MADRID, SPAIN, 10 FEBRUARY, 1843 – CRAIG-Y-NOS CASTLE, WALES, 27 SEPTEMBER, 1919)

 

 

 

 

Adelina Juana Maria Patti, born in Madrid, was the youngest child of tenor Salvatore Patti (1800–1869) and soprano Caterina Barilli (d. 1870). Her mother reportedly performed in Norma the night before Adelina’s birth. Her siblings were also prominent musicians: sisters Amelia (1831-1915) and Carlotta Patti (1835-1889) became famous singers, while her brother Carlo (1842-1873) was a notable violinist and conductor. Adelina moved to North America as a child, where her father directed the Italian Opera in New York, and her musical training was guided primarily by her mother, stepbrothers, and her brother-in-law, Moritz Strakosch.

At just eight years old, she sang opera arias in concert, and at 16, she debuted at New York’s Academy of Music as Lucia in Lucia di Lammermoor, garnering sensational success. After a North American tour, where she was celebrated at the New Orleans Opera in roles such as Martha and Leonora in Il Trovatore, she traveled to Europe in 1861. Her London debut at Covent Garden as Amina in Bellini’s La Sonnambula led to widespread acclaim. She performed extensively across Europe, becoming a star in cities such as Paris, Milan, St. Petersburg, Moscow, Berlin, Vienna, Madrid, and Lisbon.

Adelina Patti’s association with Covent Garden spanned 23 seasons, during which she sang leading roles in operas by Rossini, Bellini, Donizetti, Gounod, Meyerbeer, and Verdi. She notably premiered Aida there in 1876 and created the title role in Charles Lenepveu’s Velléda in 1882. Verdi was an admirer of her talent, first hearing her in Rigoletto in 1861. In 1867, she starred as Juliette in Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette, a role she reprised in 1888 in Paris with Jean and Édouard de Reszke. That same year, she was celebrated at Buenos Aires’s Teatro Politeama.

Patti returned to La Scala in the 1877-1878 and 1893 seasons, performing iconic roles such as Marguerite in Faust, Rosina in Il barbiere di Siviglia, Leonora in Il Trovatore, Violetta in La Traviata, and Amina in La Sonnambula. She appeared in New York from 1883 to 1885, and in 1889, she sang at the opening of Chicago’s new opera house in the presence of President Benjamin Harrison. After guest performances at the Metropolitan Opera in 1887 and 1890, she joined the company for the 1892-1893 season.

Renowned as the highest-paid singer of her time, Patti earned 200 Guineas per performance in London and $5,000 in New York. Honors were lavished upon her, and admirers such as the Russian Tsar and the English Crown Prince gifted her valuable jewels. She married three times: first to Marquis Henri de Caux in 1868, then to Austrian tenor Ernest Nicolini in 1886, and lastly to Swedish baron Rolf Cederström in 1899. After Nicolini’s death, she settled at Craig y Nos Castle in Wales, which she had built and where she continued performing in her private theater.

Despite frequent retirement announcements, audiences repeatedly brought her back to the stage. Her farewell tour took place in the 1906-1907 season, and her final performance was a charity concert at London’s Albert Hall in 1914. Adelina Patti passed away at Craig y Nos Castle and was interred at Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris, fulfilling her last wish. Her legacy is documented in numerous biographies, including works by H. Klein, G. M. Dalmazzo, and J. F. Cone.

 

 

TRACKLIST

 

 

HMV/G&T, Craig y Nos 1905-12-02/12

Nozze di Figaro (Mozart): Voi che sapete 03051 537f

Arminio (Lotti): Pur dicesti 03052 538f

Clari (Bishop): Home, sweet home 03053 539f

Old folks at home (Foster) 03054 540f

Don Giovanni (Mozart): Batti, batti 03055 541f

Faust (Gounod): Air des bijoux 03056 543f

Il bacio (Arditi) unpubl 544f

Kathleen Mavourneen (Crouch) 03057 545f

The last rose of summer (Moore) HMB78 546f

Ave Maria (Bach-Gounod) HMB78 547f

La serenata (Tosti) 03058 548f

Robin Adair (trad) 03059 549f

Clari (Bishop): Home, sweet home unpubl 550f

Si vous n’aviez rien à me dire (Rothschild) 03060 551f

Comin’ thro’ the rye (trad) 03061 552f

The last rose of summer (Moore) 03062 553f

The banks of Allan Water (trad) unpubl 555f

On parting (Patti) 03063 556f

‘T was within a mile o’ Edinboro’ Town (Hook) 03064 557f

Private message to Baron Cederström unpubl no mx number

 

HMV/G&T, Craig y Nos 1906-06-19/25

Kathleen Mavourneen (Crouch) 03078 676c

La serenata (Tosti) 03079 677c

‘T was within a mile o’ Edinboro’ Town (Hook) 03080 678c

Norma (Bellini): Casta diva 03082 681c

Mignon (Thomas): Connais-tu le pays? 03083 682c

Sonnambula (Bellini): Ah non credea mirarti 03084 683c

La Calasera (Yradier) 03085 684½c