Spanish-born Adelina Patti (1843–1919) had a singing career that started when she was a child prodigy and ended in 1903. Over those sixty years, she made her name internationally for her purity of tone and the flexibility of her voice.
Adelina Patti, Marquise de Caux (Gallica, ark:/12148/btv1b8423415c)
Her fame, and sometimes her infamy, comes the fact that she was THE leading soprano for the second half of the 19th century. She made her debut in 1859 at the age of 16 in the title role of Lucia di Lammermoor and made her London debut at age 18, singing Amina in Bellini’s La sonnambula.
As can be heard in this modern recording with Edita Gruberová, this is an aria of delicacy and in her final aria, sung while sleepwalking over a dangerous mill bridge, the audience is held in suspense not only by the situation but also the voice.
Vincenzo Bellini: La sonnambula, Act II – Ah, non credea mirarti (Edita Gruberová, soprano; Munich Radio Orchestra; Lamberto Gardelli, cond.)
The first lines of this aria, ‘Ah, non credea mirarti | si presto estinto, o fiore!’ (Ah, I didn’t believe I’d see you | Wither so quickly, oh flower!) are transcribed, with music, on Bellini’s tomb.
Ah! non credea mirarti / Sì presto estinto, o fiore on Bellini’s tomb in Catania
Following her London debut, she used London as a base for singing around the British Isles, and then for tours to Europe, appearing in Berlin, Brussels, Amsterdam, and The Hague.
Her Paris début at the Théâtre Italien was the start of a number of visits to Paris. This caricature done of Adelina and her older sister Carlotta laments that they are too quick to visit and leave again.
Adelina Patti de retour au Théâtre des Italiens (Gallica. ark:/12148/btv1b8423441v)
Another caricature celebrates her return – the Nightingale is back, enchanting all the neighbourhood birds.
André Gill: Adelina et Carlotta Patti, 1866
She was noted for her acting abilities and skill in handling comic parts, such as the role of Rosina in Il barbiere di Siviglia.
It was in London, however, that she really found her base. 1885 marked her 25th consecutive season at Covent Garden. For her farewell performances in 1895, she sang two performances each of three operas: as Violetta in La traviata, Zerlina in Don Giovanni, and Rosina. She continued to debut new parts even in her last years. In 1897, she created the title role in André Pollonais’ Dolores.
She did make some mistakes – her 1885 Carmen for London was not suited to her voice, but by and large she was careful with her voice, as evidenced by the recordings she made in 1906 at her home in Wales.
Adelina Patti Sings Mozart’s Voi Che Sapete
The 63-year-old soprano can handle changes of timbre, volume, and maintain the delicacy of tone needed.
In her recording of the Jewel Song from Gounod’s Faust, she continues to surprise with the lightness of her runs.
Adelina Patti Sings the Jewel Song (‘Faust’ – Gounod) (1905)
Adelina Patti Sings Bellini’s Casta Diva
There have been other sopranos who have been as famous (from Rosa Ponselle to Maria Callas to Lucia Popp and Joan Sutherland) but none with a career as extensive and influential as Patti’s.
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