Soprano Adelina Patti, hailed as “one of the most successful—and wealthy—opera singers of all time,” also drew the most glowing superlatives from her peers. Her voice was compared to “a string of luminous pearls, perfectly matched, every jewel flawless, identical in form and colour,” according to the great mezzo-soprano, Emma Calvé. Another great Patti peer, soprano Luisa Tetrazzini “considered Patti “a majestic being more divine than human, so exalted that it was almost sacrilege to speak her name.”
Amazingly, from the age of 4, Patti was able to sing opera arias and ballads well. Later, she said that “scales, trills, ornaments and ‘fioriture’ [musical embellishment] came naturally to her, and although she practiced faithfully, never felt like hard work.” From around the age of 8, people began comparing her to a nightingale because of her technique came so naturally it appeared effortless.
