Adelina Patti (b. Madrid, Spain, 1843 – d. 1919, Brecon, Wales) was an Italian opera singer, performing at the height of her career in the music capitals of Europe and America. Her Italian parents were working in Spain at the time of her birth. Because her father came from Sicily, Patti was born a subject of the King of the Two Sicilies. She later carried a French passport, as her first two husbands were French. She sang not only in England and the United States, but also as far afield in mainland Europe as Russia. She also sang in South America, attracting large audiences and lots of press. In her old age, she restricted herself to the occasional concert or to private performances at a little theater she built in her impressive residence, Craig-y-Nos Castle, in Wales. She last sang in public on 24 October 1914, taking part in a Red Cross concert at London’s Royal Albert Hall that had been organized to aid victims of World War I.
