ABSTRACT
Spanish soprano, born in Madrid as Adela Juana Maria Patti. She was the daughter of two Italian singers, who took her to New York as a child. She began singing in recitals there in 1851, and made a formal debut as Lucia in 1859. A juvenile sensation, she was acclaimed in Covent Garden and Paris. In 1877 she sang Violetta at La Scala, and in 1892 was heard at the Metropolitan Opera. She retired in 1895, to Craig Y Nos, a Welsh castle, but returned to sing a farewell concert in 1906 and a Red Cross benefit in 1914. She died in Brecknock, Wales.
