Adelina Patti

“ Adelina, prima donna, born in Madrid, Spain, 19th February, 1843. Her maiden name was Adelina Juana Maria Clorinda Patti. Her father was Salvatore Patti, a Sicilian operatic tenor, who came to the United States in 1848, and died in Paris, France, in 1859. Her mother, known by her stage-name, Signora Barilli, was a native of Rome, Italy, and a well-known singer. She sang the title role in "Norma" on the night before the birth of Adelina. The mother was twice married, and her first husband was Sig. Barilli. The Patti family removed to the United States in 1844 and settled in New York City. ”

“ Her photographs are in the shop-windows of Neath and Swansea, and so are the photographs of the various luxurious rooms of her mountain palace; and she is praised for other virtues than those that proceed from her entrancing throat. People wonder how she can isolate herself here, [Pg 178] where collieries are not so remote that they cannot be seen. But that is Adelina Patti’s affair, and has nothing to do with us. She is queen of the Tawe valley, in one sense, as well as the world’s queen regnant of melody. ”

“ When the concert was over, Juliet and her uncle took a walk in the grounds. Juliet spoke with rapture of the concert, and the delight with which she had listened to Adelina Patti.
"Oh, uncle, I would give anything to be a public singer!" she exclaimed.
"Nonsense, my dear child!" he replied. "You do not know what that means."
"I do know," she responded excitedly. "It must be a splendid life. Think what it is to stand before such an audience and know that every eye is on you, everyone admiring you and listening spellbound to your voice. ”

“ Adelina Patti is to sing. Oh, I should so like to hear her!"
"Have you never heard her sing?"
"Never. I have never heard anyone. I never go anywhere," said Juliet plaintively. "Hannah and Salome always think it wrong to take any pleasure and I cannot go to places by myself."
"Poor child! You are hardly used," said her uncle, with a merry twinkle in his eyes; "but now let me hear more about this concert. How would it do if I were to take you?"
"Oh, uncle! Will you really? How lovely! There is nothing I should like so much. Oh, it is good of you. ”

“ Gifted with a brilliant soprano voice, Adelina Patti began her public career at the age of seven in the concert halls of New York, where in 1859 she also made her first appearance as Lucia in Donizetti’s opera, Lucia di Lammermoor. On the 14th of May 1861 she sang as Amina in Bellini’s opera La Sonnambula at Covent Garden, and from this time she became the leading operatic prima donna, her appearances in London, Paris and the other principal musical centres being a long succession of triumphs, and her roles covering all the great parts in Italian opera. ”

“ She has all the enthusiasms and none of the affectations of a young girl. When she speaks of herself it is with the most delicious frankness and lack of self-consciousness. She is perfectly natural.
MADAME PATTI IN 1869 AND IN 1877.
She promised to show me the programme of that Philadelphia performance before the Prince of Wales so long ago, and the next day she put it before me. It is a satin programme with gilt fringe, and its announcement is surmounted by the Prince of Wales’s feathers. At that Philadelphia performance Adelina Patti made her first appearance before royalty. ”

“ Adèle Juan Maria Patti, according to her own statement, which she related to the Queen Isabella of Spain, was born at Madrid, on February 19, 1843, and is the youngest daughter of two famous Italian singers, Signor Salvatore Patti and Signora Patti-Barili. The signor having placed her two sisters—Amalia, who subsequently married Maurice Strakosch, the well-known impresario, and Carlotta, also a vocalist of remarkable powers—in a boarding-school at Milan, went to New York with his wife and daughter, where they remained until Adelina reached sixteen. ”

“ Singers will continue to be born into this world who are able to cope with the floridity of this music, for they are born, not made. Amelita Galli-Curci will have her successors, just as Adelina Patti had hers. ”

“ The parents of Adelina went to America, and she was taken there as a child. Having shown great aptitude for music, Mlle. Patti received instruction in singing from Maurice Strakosch, who married her elder sister Amelia; she appeared in public in America at a very early age, and was well received ”

“ It so happened that Nicolini, the husband of Adelina Patti, was ambitious to own a genuine Stradivarius, and had been looking for one for a long time, and, although he was but an indifferent player, he had, in default of skill to perform, the money to buy. The matter was easily adjusted by Flechter, and Nicolini drew his check for the sum specified, which, properly certified, was tendered to Bott. But Bott had never seen a certified check and was unaccustomed to the ways of business.
"If I part with my violin I must have real money—money that I can feel—money that I can count. ”

“ Such a galaxy of talent had never before been congregated together under one roof. The ladies consisted of Adelina Patti, Etelka Gerster, Christine Nilsson, Fursch-Madi, Sembrich, Trebelli, and Scalchi, whose rooms were all along the same corridor. ”

“ The Manager of the rival Opera-house had fired off all his guns the first night; and after a few evenings, as soon as the public had seen the interior of the new building, the receipts gradually began to decline. In the meanwhile, I was anxiously expecting notice of Adelina Patti's approaching arrival. I, therefore, arranged to charter sixteen large tug boats, covered with bunting, to meet the Diva; eight of them to steam up the bay on each side of the arriving steamer, and to toot off their steam whistles all the way along, accompanied by military bands. ”

“ I've got a new doll I want to show you!" A red fan which Sonntag had loosed from her girdle and placed in the hands of her baby-rival, is lost beyond hope of recovery, to Adelina's infinite regret, but she still hoards a number of other toys and trinkets with which her parents and teachers delighted to reward the efforts of their "Wunderkind."
Another of Patti's early recollections is the first visit of Mario and Grisi to New York, where they had been feverishly awaited for many months long before their début was actually announced on the affiches. ”

“ It may occur to you that there is something wrong when singers of a certain type can only find the proper means to exploit their voices in works of the past, operas which are dead. It is to be noted that Nellie Melba and Amelita Galli-Curci are absolutely unfitted to sing in music dramas even so early as those of Richard Wagner; Dukas, Strauss, and Stravinsky are utterly beyond them. Even Adelina Patti and Marcella Sembrich appeared in few, if any, new works of importance. ”

“ Professor Huxley's health, never of the very best, has latterly compelled him to withdraw entirely from the active duties of the many posts which he has held; but the magazine articles which he occasionally puts forth show all his early faculties as strong as ever.
For the above interesting early photograph we are indebted to the kindness of Professor and Mrs. Huxley.
ADELINA PATTI.
F ever an artist was "cradled in song," that artist was Adelina Patti. Before she could utter a word she could hum every air she had heard her mother rehearsing for the opera. ”

“ The younger sister, about eight at that time, was a perfect contrast to Eulodia: she had taken after her father, and in colour and appearance generally was a perfect little English girl of the usual angel type, with long shining golden hair, worn in curls, eyes of the purest turquoise blue, and a complexion like the petals of a wild rose. Adelina was her pretty name, and to us Adelina was the most beautiful human being in the world, especially when seen with her dusky little playmate Liberata, who was of the same age and height and was the child of one of the black servants. ”

“ Adelina was soon joined by Ralph, who looked radiantly happy. He evidently thought [46] that her propinquity was enough for the present, let the future bring what it might. He had so long been denied a sight of her, that it is to be doubted whether he even gave that future a thought. His buoyancy could not be otherwise than infectious; added to that were Adelina's strenuous efforts to shake off the unwelcome thoughts of the preceding night, to which she knew that she would succumb if left to herself—without the incentive of trying to appear cheerful before others. ”

“ She was never quite sure of her standing with Paul when Adelina was about. Adelina was so much stronger and braver and could do so many more things that boys could do. Too often had she endured silent agonies of jealousy and humiliation over Paul’s evident admiration of Adelina’s many masculine virtues. Today she was quite sure that Paul would never have flung himself headlong from his pinnacle of moral rectitude for Adelina’s sake. Her mother might be “mad at her,” might indeed punish her. In her present mood of exaltation she felt she would enjoy punishment. ”

“ Added to her desire of performing some good office for Ralph, there was in this case a wish to gratify herself. The former cause would have been sufficient to make Adelina form her opinion about remaining. The ability of doing good, or even the attempt to do so, without ulterior motives—unless the knowledge of well-performed duty be called a motive—was enough to secure Adelina's partisanship in any undertaking of mercy.
"So I am to stay," cried she, after the discussion had ended to her satisfaction.
"You generally do manage to have your way," smilingly replied Mary. ”

“ That night was a restless night for Adelina. There were mysteries she could not unravel. She could not reconcile Ralph's lapse of memory with the perfect self-poise subsequently evinced. She knew that a single instance of forgetfulness would not have been perceived by her with such readiness had it not been for antecedent knowledge of mental derangement. ”

“ Since I wrote to you last, Adelina's manner to me has totally changed; I scarcely ever see her when I come to the villa. I can't tell what to attribute this to, unless she thinks I have said too much and too little. The matter shan't rest long in doubt;—her father goes to Catania to-morrow, and I will take that opportunity for a complete explanation. I cannot tell you how much I dread the crisis of my fate so near at hand! No folly of my own shall deprive me of a wife possessed of every charm, and every virtue, that can sweeten or adorn life. ”

“ Patsy hoped that she had taken some such action, but he had good reason to know that station houses are a considerable distance apart in that section of the Bronx, and policemen not as numerous as they might be.
That being so, assistance might easily fail to arrive in time to save them from more or less ignominious defeat, if nothing worse.
Patsy was not so much preoccupied, though, that he neglected to offer up a brief prayer—or something very like one—that Adelina might not feel called upon to take a hand herself. ”

“ She glanced at Ralph, for it never occurred to her that Adelina's suggestion might prove fallacious. Her implicit confidence in another's word gave evidence of the training received; that the child was not accustomed to being deceived in trifles was obvious. When it was found that Ralph could produce the desired sweetmeats, Adelina asked, teasingly:
"Have you never overcome your boyish weakness?" ”

“ Adelina was grieved to witness the agitation which [11] marred the usual serenity of Mary's countenance.
"Ada, dear, play something restful." Adelina immediately conceded to her request, and selected from her large repertoire the compositions most liable to drive away unwelcome thoughts.
"How well you play," said her auditor. "How do you manage to make those fingers perform their office so well?"
"Look at your own, and behold the answer," laughingly replied Adelina. Miss Tracy blushed with pleasure, she, too, had performed on the piano wonderfully well. ”

“ Those imbued with such altruism have some recompense even in this world, where reward so seldom seems to come for right doing—that of submerging their own woes in the happiness or reverses of others.
It was later in the morning that Adelina had further cause for sorrow. She had gone to her room for a volume of poems in order to find a quotation which Ralph had laughingly insisted she had misquoted. Adelina, in turn, asserted that he would regret that she had gone only to prove him wrong. Sad he certainly did look when she returned. ”

“ Superior virtue often does have a depressing effect, particularly when coupled, as it was in Adelina's case, with an invincible, though restrained, consciousness of the same. Situations you can explain are never quite so hard to bear as those you suffer in an atmosphere of delicately-tempered, but subtly reproachful silence.
Adelina had no faults and revealed no lapses—except the grammatical ones before alluded to, which, of course, had no humbling virtue, since she wasn't aware of them. ”

“ It all happened so naturally, with such an evident desire for her happiness and comfort that each time Adelina felt the inability to frustrate the plans of Harold and Mary. How her friends could feel that her pleasure was so much involved was more than she could determine.
"Why should I, who am always well, need change, when you two never go away?" Adelina asked, then added, without leaving time for an answer, "it is not quiet for me now."
"It is strange how lively one curate can make a place. He is really the only addition to the place that I can think of," rejoined Mr. ”