Adelina Patti: 19th Century's Diva and Queen of Voice July 15 2022
Dubbed by many as “one of the greatest sopranos of all time”, the opera singer Adelina Patti took the mid-19th century by storm with her unmatched coloratura singing and exquisite tone of voice.
A child prodigy at birth, she would then rise to fame and rank among some of the most well known sopranos there ever was with her near contemporaries Jenny Lind and Thérèse Tietjens. The composer Giuseppe Verdi, writing in 1877, described Patti as being perhaps the finest singer who had ever lived and a “stupendous artist”.
CHILDHOOD
February 10, 1843 in Madrid, Spain, saw the birth of one of classical opera’s biggest star - Adelina Juana Maria Patti. Having operatic parents surely helped nurture the young prodigy (and provided seeds for nature!) and shape her into the musician she was. From the earliest years of her training, Patti’s instructors had believed that she had the potential to to become one of the greatest coloratura singers of the 19th century. She first sang in public as a child in 1851, at the tender age of eight. Her Italian parents were working in Madrid at the time of her birth.
[CLICKABLE IMAGE] Adelina Patti as Rosina in Rossini's Il Barbiere di Siviglia
Born as the last child of tenor Salvatore Patti and soprano Caterina Barilli, young Adelina had no lack of musical exposure at home. Her vocal training was undertaken by her elder sister Amalia’s husband, Maurice Strakosch, who also managed her early career. A pianist himself, Strakosch, had played in the teaching studio of the great soprano Giuditta Pasta, Bellini’s original Norma. However, exactly what elements of bel canto Patti received from Strakosch is hard to know, but she clearly must have had an extraordinary musical aptitude and an innate vocal endowment.
FAMILY
Her sisters Amalia and Carlotta Patti were also singers. Her brother Carlo Patti was a violinist who married actress Effie Germon. In her childhood, the family moved to New York City. Patti grew up in the Wakefield section of the Bronx, where her family’s home is still standing till this day. Patti sang professionally from childhood, and developed into a coloratura soprano with vocal registers of impeccably equal colours and strength.
A YOUNG STAR IS BORN
After spending several years touring North and South America as well as the West Indies, Patti made her operatic debut in the role of Lucia at the age of 16 on November 24, 1859, in the title role of Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor at the Academy of Music, New York.
[CLICKABLE IMAGE] Adelina Patti as Marguerite in Gounod's opera.
A year later, Patti traveled to London, where she debuted as Amina in Vincenzo Bellini’s “La Sonnambula” which was marked as a sensational performance and accomplishment for Patti. She had such remarkable success at Covent Garden that season, she bought a house in Clapham and, using London as a base, went on to conquer the European continent, performing Amina in Paris and Vienna in subsequent years with equal success.
During an 1862 American tour, she sang John Howard Payne’s "Home, Sweet Home" at the White House for the President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln, and his wife, Mary Lincoln. The Lincolns were mourning their son Willie, who had died of typhoid. Moved to tears, the Lincolns requested an encore of the song. Henceforth, it would become associated with Adelina Patti, and she performed it many times as a bonus item at the end of recitals and concerts.
Adelina Patti recording of "Home, Sweet Home" (1905)
FAME AND RECOGNITION
No less an admirer than Giuseppe Verdi, recalled his first impressions of her in a letter some years later: “A born artist in every sense of the word. When I heard her for the first time in London … I was stunned, not only by the marvelous technique, but by several moments in the drama in which she showed that she was a great actress … an exceptional artist.” Verdi, who was not one to give idle compliments to singers, knew her well and referred to her as among the greatest singers of the day on numerous occasions.
Gioacchino Rossini had retired as an opera composer by Patti’s day but remained one of the musical world’s most revered figures from his home in Paris, where he maintained regular music salons frequented by many of the world’s greatest artists. Patti became a regular performer at these, though her first appearance at Rossini’s salon was the occasion of one of the composer’s famous barbed quips.
[CLICKABLE IMAGE] Adelina Patti Vintage Cabinet Photograph
As recounted second hand by composer Camille Saint-Saëns: “It is known that when she had performed the aria from (Rossini’s opera) Il Barbiere, he said to her, after many compliments: ‘By whom is this aria that you have just let us hear?’ I saw him a few days later - he still had not calmed down. “I know perfectly well,” he told me, “that my arias must be embroidered; they were made for that. But not to leave a note of what I composed, even in the recitatives—really, that is too much!”.
Another story related that when Patti’s mentor (and brother-in-law), Strakosch, presented her to Rossini at one of his fashionable receptions during the 1860s, she was prevailed upon to sing “Una voce poco fa”, from Rossini’s The Barber of Seville—with embellishments added by Strakosch to show off the soprano’s voice. “What composition was that?”, asked the prickly Rossini. “Why, maestro, your own” replied Strakosch. “Oh no, that is not my composition, that is Strakoschonnerie”, Rossini retorted. (‘Cochonnerie’ is a strong French idiom indicating “garbage” and literally meaning “that which is characteristic of or fit for pigs.”).
RECORDINGS
The first recordings of Patti’s voice were made in about 1890 on phonograph cylinders for Thomas Marshall in New York. Neither the recorded title, nor their number are known. The recordings are unfortunately lost in time. Patti cut more than 30 disc gramophone recordings of songs and operatic arias at her Welsh home in 1905 and 1906 for the Gramophone & Typewriter Company. By then she was aged in her 60s, with her voice well past its prime after a busy operatic career stretching all the way back to 1859.
[CLICKABLE IMAGE] Adelina Patti Autograph Letter Signed (1892)
Despite her age, the sublime purity of her tone and the smoothness of her legato line remained uniquely impressive, compensating to some extent for the weakening of her breath control. The records also display a lively singing personality as well as a surprisingly strong chest voice and a mellow timbre. Her trill remains wonderfully fluent and accurate and her diction is excellent. Overall her discs have a charm and musicality that give us a hint of why, at her peak, she commanded $5,000 a night.
Patti’s recorded legacy included a number of songs and arias from the following operas: Le Nozze di Figaro, Don Giovanni, Faust, Martha, Norma, Mignon and La sonnambula. The records were produced by the Gramophone & Typewriter Company (the forerunner of EMI Records) and were issued in the United States by the Victor Talking Machine Company.
Patti’s piano accompanist, Landon Ronald, wrote of his first recording session with the diva, “When the little (gramophone) trumpet gave forth the beautiful tones, she went into ecstasies! She threw kisses into the trumpet and kept on saying, ‘Ah! Mon Dieu! Maintenant je comprends pourquoi je suis Patti! Oh oui! Quelle voix! Quelle artiste! Je comprends tout!’ (Ah! My Lord! Now I understand why I am Patti! Oh yes! What a voice! What an artist! I understand everything!) Her enthusiasm was so naïve and genuine that the fact that she was praising her own voice seemed to us all to be right and proper.”
CAREER
Patti was a Covent Garden regular, where the English audiences went head over heels for this operatic virtuoso. Ever since Verdi declared her the greatest singer he had ever heard, Patti’s fame rose to unfathomable heights, and audiences ranging from musicians to royalty couldn’t get enough of her.
[CLICKABLE IMAGE] Adelina Patti Grand Italian Opera Program 1890
When the Met Opera’s first performance of Rossini’s Semiramide took place on tour in Boston on March 22, 1892, Patti took on the title role. It was the only performance Patti that sang of Semiramide with the company, and the only season she appeared with the Metropolitan. But Patti’s significance in Met history went far beyond the small number of performances that she sang as part of the official troupe, for her unsurpassed fame and extraordinary talent were such that she was the yardstick by which all other prima donnas were measured for many years.
The Met’s longtime archivist Robert Tuggle observed in his book ‘The Golden Age of Opera’ that she was probably the highest paid singer in the history of the art form, with a fee of $5,000 per evening that she insisted on having delivered to her dressing room in gold before she would sing (about $143,000 in 2020). Her contracts stipulated that her name be top-billed and printed larger than any other name in the cast. Her contracts also insisted that while she was “free to attend all rehearsals, she was not obligated to attend any”.
In his memoirs, the famous opera promoter “Colonel” Mapleson recalled Patti’s stubborn personality and sharp business sense. She reportedly had a parrot whom she had trained to shriek, “CASH! CASH!” whenever Mapleson walked in the room.
Patti enjoyed the trappings of fame and wealth but she was not profligate with her earnings, especially after losing a large proportion of her assets as a result of the break-up of her first marriage (see below). She invested wisely large sums of money and unlike some of her extravagant former colleagues, such as the star tenor Giovanni Mario, who died in poverty, she saw out her days amid luxurious surroundings.
[CLICKABLE IMAGE] Adelina Patti Signed Photograph 1899
By most accounts of Patti’s singing during her prime, the sheer quality of her vocal timbre was astoundingly beautiful. Lilli Lehmann, herself perhaps the greatest Wagnerian soprano of the age and later a noted pedagogue, wrote: “Adelina Patti was the greatest Italian singer of our time. Everything about her singing was absolutely beautiful, impeccable and pure; her voice resonated like a bell and left the impression of continued ringing long after its final vibrations.”
Though she sometimes sang heavier repertory, Patti’s basic vocal category was that of a lyric coloratura soprano, and her greatest successes were in either the bel canto showpieces of Rossini, Bellini, and Donizetti, or the lyrical roles of Verdi and Gounod. Her vocal method was so secure that her career lasted for a half century or so, with multiple highly profitable farewell tours.
CRITICS
As famous as she was around the world, Patti was not without her critics. Drawing from the applause and admiration of her audience, Patti's focus seemingly shifted from embodying the roles she performed to basking in her status as the leading lady. Notably, Patti was recognized for her penchant for displaying her personal collection of exquisite jewelry while performing, regardless of its suitability for the character she was portraying at the time.
This practice did not escape the critical gaze of George Bernard Shaw, a known detractor of her preferred opera style. He once humorously observed her self-importance, remarking, "Even amidst the throes of a stage death, Patti will rise and acknowledge your applause if you were to merely drop your walking stick unintentionally."
PERSONAL LIFE
Patti is thought by some to have had an affair with the tenor Giovanni Mario, who is said to have bragged at Patti’s first wedding that he had already “made love to her many times”.
Engaged as a minor to Henri de Lossy, Baron of Ville, Patti wed three times: first, in 1868, to Henri de Roger de Cahusac, Marquess of Caux (1826-1889). The marriage soon collapsed; both had affairs and de Caux was granted a legal separation in 1877 and divorced in 1885. The union was dissolved with bitterness and cost her half her fortune.
[CLICKABLE IMAGE] Ernesto Nicolini -Patti's Second Husband
She then lived with the French tenor Ernesto Nicolini for many years until, following her divorce from Caux, she was able to marry him in 1886. That marriage lasted until his death and was seemingly happy, but Nicolini cut Patti out of his will, suggesting some tension in the last years.
Patti’s last marriage, in 1899, was to Baron Rolf Cederström (1870-1947), a priggish, but handsome, Swedish aristocrat many years her junior. The Baron severely curtailed Patti’s social life. He cut down her domestic staff from 40 to 18, but gave her the devotion and flattery that she needed, becoming her sole legatee. After her death, he married a much younger woman. Their only daughter, Brita Yvonne Cederström (born 1924), ended up as Patti’s sole heir.
Patti had no children, but was close to her nieces and nephews. The two-time Tony Award-winning Broadway actress and singer Patti LuPone is a great-grand niece and namesake. Drummer Scott Devours is her 3rd great nephew. The Welsh opera singer Lisa Lee Dark is her 4th great-grand niece through her marriage to the French tenor Ernesto Nicolini.
Patti developed a love for billiards and became a reputable player, making guest appearances at many major billiard events for exhibition matches and fancy shot displays. In her retirement, Patti, now officially Baroness Cederström, settled in the Swansea Valley in south Wales, where she purchased Craig-y-nos Castle. There she had a $2000 billiard table installed, and her own private theatre, a miniature version of the one at Bayreuth, and made her gramophone recordings.
Patti also funded the substantial station building at Craig-y-nos/Penwyllt on the Neath and Brecon Railway. In 1918, she presented the Winter Garden building from her Craig-y-nos estate to the city of Swansea. It was re-erected and renamed the Patti Pavilion.
[CLICKABLE IMAGE] An album page signed by Adelina Patti & Ernesto Nicolini (1891) and Mathilde Bauermeister (1896)
PATTI'S UNMATCHED VOICE
Adelina Patti had a warm, crystalline, and very agile high soprano voice. Her vocal emission was of perfect equality and her vocal range was wide, from low C to high F (C4 – F6). Regarding her technique, critic Rodolfo Celletti said, “Her voice was a technical marvel. The staccatos were marvels of accuracy, even in the trickiest intervals, her legato was impressively smooth and pure; she connects the voice from note to note, phrase to phrase, lifting and gliding with an exceptional virtuosity. Her chromatic scale was deliciously sweet, and her trill was wonderful and solid.”
Patti’s career was one of success after success. She sang not only in England and the United States, but also as far afield in mainland Europe as Russia, and in South America as well, inspiring audience frenzy and critical superlatives wherever she went. Her girlish good looks gave her an appealing stage presence, which added to her celebrity status.
During the 1860s, Patti possessed a sweet, high-lying voice of birdlike purity and remarkable flexibility which was ideal for such parts as Zerlina, Lucia and Amina; but, as Verdi noted in 1878, her lower notes gained fullness and beauty when she grew older, enabling her to excel in weightier fare. Patti, however, turned into a conservative singer in the final phase of her operatic and concert career. She knew what suited her ageing voice to perfection and she stuck to it.
Typically, her recital programs during the 1890s featured an array of familiar, often sentimental, not-too-demanding popular tunes of the day, which were sure to appeal to her adoring fans.
[CLICKABLE IMAGE] Adelina Patty Academy of Music Playbill for a performance of Rossini's "Semiramide" (1884)
But during her mature prime in the 1870s and ’80s, Patti had been a more enterprising singer, proving to be an effective actress in those lyric roles that required the summoning forth of deep emotions, such as Gilda in Rigoletto, Leonora in Il trovatore, the title part in Semiramide, Zerlina in Don Giovanni and Violetta in La Traviata.
She also had been prepared to tackle quite dramatic parts in operas like L’Africaine, Les Huguenots and even Aida. She never attempted to sing any verismo parts, however, because these became popular only in the twilight of her career, during the final decade of the 19th century.
DEATH AND LEGACY
Adelina Patti passed away on September 27, 1919 at a country house, in her Welsh castle known as Craig-y-nos (Rock of the Night) Castle in Swansea Valley, South Wales, aged 76. The estate is a Victorian-Gothic country house in Powys, Wales built on parkland beside the River Tawe in the upper Swansea Valley, located on the southern edge of Forest Fawr. A portion of the former estate of Patti now serves as a boutique hotel, catering, conferencing and entertainment venue.
The castle grounds are surrounded by a designated country park, which is now part of the Brecon Beacons National Park. Patti is buried in Pere Lachaise cemetery, division 4 in Paris, France. Her burial ground isn’t far from her dear friend, the great Italian composer Gioachino Rossini (1792-1868).
Source: Adelina Patti - Queen of Hearts by John Frederick Cone
SEE ALSO:
- Adelina Patti: Various Vintage Photographs
- Adelina Patti: Signed Cabinet Photograph 1899
- Adelina Patti Academy of Music Playbill - Semiramide 1884
- Adelina Patti Set of 5 Grand Italian Opera programs (1890)
- Adelina Patti & Ernesto Nicolini Signed Album Page (1891)
- Adelina Patti Autograph Letter Signed 1892
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