Casa Paoli's

Amalia Paoli (1859-1942), pianist, mezzo-soprano, and vocal coach of great distinction, was probably the first singer born on Puerto Rican soil to achieve extraordinary success in Spain, Italy, Cuba, and Venezuela. She was supported by the Spanish royalty of her time and cherished by the representatives of her homeland's economic and political powers. She was responsible for initiating her brother Antonio—the famous tenor of kings and king of tenors—into his internationally renowned artistic career.

     Amalia abandoned her artistic life to dedicate herself to caring for her brother’s voice. Her vocation as a vocal coach and her love for Puerto Rico lead her to found, together with her brother Antonio, the Paoli Academy, or Paoli Conservatory, thus initiating the first major effort in Puerto Rico to educate the voices of hundreds of young people in bel canto.[1]

     If Amalia’s fame is not as great as Antonio’s, it is solely a consequence of her dedication and commitment to her siblings. Only rarely—accidently, one might say—does history highlight a heroine. But Amalia was one—and a grand one, at that—both in the world of music and in the smaller, but equally important, world of her family.

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     María Amalia de la Concepción Paoli y Marcano, known in the music world as Amalia Paoli, was born in Ponce in 1859. She was baptized on January 31, 1861,[2] and died in San Juan on August 30, 1942. Born to wealthy parents, by the age of six Amalia already had a piano at home and a dedicated teacher for the instrument—a Catalan named Forns—who quickly noticed the girl's unusual musical talents, especially for the piano.[3]

     In the third-to-last decade of the 19th century, however, chance put the Paoli Marcano family in a precarious situation. A sudden and severe drop in the price of sugar led to bankruptcy and brought about the depression and death, first of the father, and three years later, of the mother.[4] To make matters worse, her Catalan teacher fell ill and moved to Europe in search of treatment. By the age of 19, Amalia was orphaned, without a piano, and without a teacher.[5]

     During these misfortunes, and afterwards, the heroic and inspirational spirit of the young pianist truly stood out. At such a young age and with extreme maturity, her considerable and refined temperament became evident.[6]

     The older siblings migrated in different directions. At that time—as today—it was not at all difficult for a young woman of her age to marry and launch her own life; but Amalia became the head of the family, taking responsibility for her siblings (one of whom was older than her). She had little practical knowledge, but she used all of it, and above all the piano, which was her strength.[7]

     With the help of several of her friends and supporters, Amalia organized a concert at the Teatro La Perla, with the goal of using the proceeds to buy a piano to continue her studies.[8] Once she purchased the piano, she resumed her lessons with maestro Manuel G. Tavárez. At the same time, she began giving lessons herself, both at her own home and at students' homes. To do this, she would travel alone throughout Ponce—without the benefit of wheels, an engine, or air conditioning—whether under the blazing sun or in the sporadic rain, at a time when this sparked rumors of excessive freedom and even licentiousness.

     Antonio Otero y Arce,[9] who knew her personally, recounts that on one occasion Amalia took refuge from a biblical downpour in a music store called Bazar Otero, and when saying goodbye, she turned to the owner, Olimpio Otero, with a smile, saying: “Olimpio, will people criticize me?”

     For six years, she devoted herself fervently to teaching piano, without neglecting her own self-improvement studies.

     Three years after he departed for Europe, maestro Forns returned and continued giving lessons to Amalia. He then discovered her aptitude for singing and began giving her vocal training as well. He realized immediately that Amalia’s lyrical potential was so great that it could only be fully developed in Europe.

     Once she understood this possibility, the budding singer accepted that her future was on that continent, and she spent several years raising the funds and social connections for the long journey. She gave recitals all over the island, playing Meyerbeer pieces on the piano and singing others by Verdi and Donizetti, as well as the romanzas Cantar and Reír, specially written for her by Fernando Ormachea and Genaro Aranzamendi.

     Having accumulated 4,000 duros (a small fortune at that time), Amalia set off for Spain in June 1885[10] (at the age of 24), taking her siblings Carlos, Manuel, Antonio, and Rosarito with her. Additionally, at that same time, she compiled in an album the thoughts and poems dedicated to her by the most illustrious children of the country. It was the right time for her to move to Madrid, as that very year Spain was recovering from its last cholera epidemic, one of the reasons for the low number of theatrical premieres. Five months after her arrival in Spain, the regency of María Cristina began.

     Musical culture in Europe is part of a transnational language. The last decade of the 19th century seems to have constituted the peak of social passion for music, which at that time became the expression of a collective identity. Interest in musical events was common across all levels of society. The resurgence of interest in musical creation at the end of this century must also be sought in a broader European movement, which in a way reflected the search for unity.

     During the years that coincided with Amalia's aspirations to travel to Spain, Italian-style theaters were built throughout Europe, where both spoken theater performances and works from the lyrical repertoire were offered, as well as halls more specifically adapted to the latter and to choreographic shows. The creation of opera houses was one of the markers of national identity for some European countries.

     Once in Madrid, Carlos took a position as a militia lieutenant; Manuel began working in a bookstore, and Antonio was given a scholarship to complete his studies at the Royal Academy of the Augustinian Fathers in the Royal Monastery of El Escorial. Rosario, for her part, enrolled in the Girls' School of Leganés, where she passed away in 1886.[11]

     From the very first examinations she underwent at the Madrid Conservatory, Amalia won hearts with her voice, her sensitivity, and her musicality. In 1885, at Romera Hall in Madrid, she auditioned vocally before the professors of the Conservatory of Music.[12]

     Later, the great tenor Gayarre [13] had the opportunity to hear her, congratulating her and predicting a most beautiful future in the musical arts.

     When the famous baritone and vocal coach Napoleón Verger arrived in Madrid, Miss Paoli sought his evaluation and fair judgment. According to the newspaper Puerto Rico Ilustrado (1888), Amalia sang an aria from La Favorita, receiving a “bravo!” from Verger, along with the following words: “You will be able to sing in any master theater and alongside the leading artists....”[14] From that moment, he became her teacher.

     According to Otero y Arce, in 1887 Amalia, advised by Verger, prepared for her trip to Italy, the cradle and university of modern singing, to continue her vocal studies and to learn Italian. In order to achieve this goal, she gave a final concert attended by none other than the famous composer and pianist Isaac Albéniz, as well as the royal family and all of Madrid's aristocracy. She had already gathered the means for the long journey and was beginning to become known and recognized as a lyrical vocalist.[15]

     She debuted in Castelfranco. During her stay in that city, she was hired to sing during the 1889 season of Carnival (Fallas de Valencia) in Valencia, Spain, and according to what she told Otero y Arce, there she achieved one of the greatest successes of her career with the opera Mephistopheles by Arrigo Boito, which was staged for eighteen consecutive nights. She also sang the opera Lohengrin by Wagner. Finally, she gave a recital, after which she was showered with applause, flowers, and gifts; it was a night of pleasant memories for the artist. That same year, she was hired to sing in Valladolid, and from there she was invited to the Teatro Real in Madrid. From Italy, she went on to sing at the Teatro Principal in Barcelona on January 25, 1888. In December 1888, she made her debut at the Teatro Principal in Valencia. In early 1889, Amalia sang the role of Elsa in Wagner's opera Lohengrin in Valencia. The review in the newspaper El Mercantil Valenciano expressed the following:

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"When we judged Miss Paoli for the first time, we said that she was made from the same material from which great artists are born, and we were not wrong; in fifteen days, without abandoning the excessive work she usually shoulders, she studied the extremely difficult and thankless role of Elsa, performing it with considerable accuracy....[17]

     February 23, 1890, was a memorable day for the Puerto Rican diva: she made her debut at the Teatro Real in Madrid. Singing in this important theater was both a privilege and a challenge, as the audience was knowledgeable and demanding. Amalia conquered them all.

     The 1890s marked a consolidation of theatrical initiatives in Madrid. It was the ideal environment for Amalia’s presentation in one of the most important theaters of the time. These were the central years of the musical activity of Ruperto Chappí, Isaac Albéniz, Miguel Nieto, Jerónimo Giménez, and Tomás Bretón, among others, always navigating between grand zarzuela, Spanish opera, and género chico.[18]

     Queen María Cristina was a true music lover, which helped with the promotion of opera and Amalia’s fame.

     Around that time, Mario Braschi Rodríguez, the owner and editor of the newspaper La Razón in Mayagüez and Amalia's brother-in-law, received copies of more than ten newspapers in regular circulation in Madrid. All of them reported on the extraordinary success achieved by our compatriot on the night of her debut at the Teatro Real in Madrid.

     Braschi Rodríguez commented that Madrid's high society had gathered to hear the illustrious Puerto Rican diva, who, after having achieved great success in Italy and other theaters of Spain, had come to face the ultimate test.[19]

     She received advantageous job offers from Lisbon, Seville, and Milan. The company of the Teatro Real gave her their approval, which meant granting her the moral authority to achieve the greatest triumphs.

     In 1891, on her way to Cuba and Mexico, accompanied by her brother Manuel, she stopped in Puerto Rico. Taking the opportunity to give recitals in Arecibo, Yauco, San Germán, Humacao, Guayama, Vega Baja, Manatí, Mayagüez, Ponce, Carolina, Caguas, and San Juan, she then headed to Havana, Mexico, and the United States.[20]

     In October of that year, she participated in a concert at the Teatro Principal in Havana along with her brother Manuel and the distinguished musicologist Julio Carlos de Arteaga. The reviews of the singer were very favorable.[21]

     In 1894, Amalia distinguished herself by singing again in Italy, and the following year she toured with an opera company performing at the theater in Reus, receiving great applause. That same year, on her return from France, she stopped in Madrid and sang in Zaragoza, also making a stop in Puerto Rico.[22]

     A San Juan newspaper noted that, in Madrid, people commented that Amalia and her brother Antonio had toured the main provinces of Spain and Portugal, receiving a great amount of applause.[23]

     In 1896, Amalia took part in a concert at the Teatro de la Comedia for the benefit of her former teacher, Napoleón Verger. Later, she did the same in Puerto Rico for a beggars' asylum.[24]

     That same year, she obtained an audition for her brother Antonio with Infanta Doña Isabel. According to Jesús M. López, the official historian of Antonio Paoli, the Infanta advised him to prepare that summer to perform a recital for Queen María Cristina in San Sebastián. Amalia would accompany him on the piano. The plans changed, and Antonio sang for the Queen Mother, her court, and King Alfonso XIII, accompanied on the piano by the Spanish composer José Serrano, and the Queen granted him a new scholarship for his studies. The recital was an extraordinary success.
     On November 13, 1897, Amalia sang at the Teatro Principal in Valencia, performing Lohengrin and the prison scene from the opera Mephistopheles. On November 27 of that same year, Antonio made his highly successful debut in Valencia, in the role of Edgardo in Donizetti's opera Lucia di Lammermoor. On December 18, he performed with his sister in three performances of Lucia.[25]

     As time passed, Amalia realized the greatness of her brother Antonio's voice. Her maternal instinct, and the great love and admiration she felt for him, motivated her to become more involved in Antonio's career than in her own, which was already full of achievements. Although she continued singing, she spent many hours accompanying him throughout his long musical career. López points out that in 1903, Amalia became his “mentor, his teacher, and his guardian.”[26]

     By 1904, the diva had already become a teacher of great singers, not only of her brother, but also of figures like Lucila Maldonado, the renowned Mexican soprano.

    In 1905, after achieving great success in Puerto Rico with the premiere of Francisco (Paco) Cortés' work Nuit de Noel, she embarked on a tour of theaters in Caracas. At the Palace of Miraflores, she gave a concert in honor of the President of Venezuela, General Cipriano Castro.[27]

     In May 1906, she participated in an evening at the Ateneo de La Habana, performing La Traviata. The following year, she made herself known in New York, singing "O mio Fernando" from Donizetti's opera La Favorita and Gounod’s Serenata at the Carnegie Lyceum, where Venezuelan pianist Narciso Salicrup and Madame Berger—a virtuoso of the zither—also performed. Together with Mr. Veiga, she sang one of the duets from the Spanish zarzuela Jugar con fuego and Chateau Margaux, in the role of Angelina. On that occasion, the New York Weekly gave her the following praise:

 

“...she captivated the audience with the quality of her voice, rich and pleasant in tone, breadth, and training, and enchanted them with the delicate grace that the talented artist infused into the songs with which she delighted the audience. It is to be hoped that the very warm and well-deserved ovation given to Miss Paoli is a precursor of greater triumphs on other stages in New York.”

 

     On January 21, 1908, the empresario Conried invited her to audition to assess her merits and, once she was categorized within the high standards required of artists at the Metropolitan Opera House, where the tenor Caruso was performing at that time, he offered her a lucrative contract for that year's season.

     In 1924, she permanently settled in Puerto Rico. Our artist rented a house on Dos Hermanos Street in Santurce, where she set up her singing academy, also called the Paoli Conservatory. In this way, she continued supporting and educating the Puerto Rican musical arts community.[28]

     Together with many of her students, Amalia organized several concerts with Antonio Paoli as the leading performer, at the Teatro Olimpo in Santurce, and in Mayagüez.

     Antonio gave a recital in Utuado and from there left for Philadelphia and New York. The mezzo-soprano continued her arduous work on the island of training new voices that would continue enriching bel canto in Puerto Rico. For his part, he stayed in Brooklyn where he had several disciples, including José Mojica.

     In 1927, Antonio moved permanently to Puerto Rico with his sister and his companion Adelaida (Adina) Bonini, a beautiful young woman Paoli met in Milan, joining forces with Amalia to create a music conservatory in San Juan. They continued giving recitals in Puerto Rico. She performed as the leading actress in the play Los galeotes, alongside Emilio S. Belaval and they successfully staged the opera Cavalleria rusticana with the students of the Paoli Conservatory.[29]

     In 1929, they organized perhaps the greatest event among their recent artistic activities, a Grand Artistic Festival. Their students participated, and it took place at the Teatro Municipal of San Juan (today Tapia).

     Amalia not only dedicated her life to supporting her family and her commitment to her town, but also devoted herself to the most important Puerto Rican artists of her era. She cultivated the most inspiring expressions of the creative work of Monsita Ferrer, Julián Andino, Rafael Balseiro, Francisco Verar, Juan N. Ríos, Domingo Cruz (Cocolía), Luis Lloréns Torres, Julio Carlos de Arteaga, Manuel Tizol, Oriol Pasarell, and Eugenio Astol, through their performances or compositions.

     She sang alongside renowned artists such as Arístides Chavier y Arévalo, Manuel I. Martínez Plée, Juan Morel Campos, and Jaime Pericás Díaz. With the latter two, she performed danzas and romanzas. Likewise, she performed compositions under the direction of the composers themselves, who maintained orchestras or music bands.

     Amalia died on August 30, 1942, in San Juan. Her remains lie in the Puerto Rico Memorial Cemetery in Isla Verde, San Juan.

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NOTES

* Translation of “Amalia Paoli y Marcano (1859-1942): Maestra de canto, pianista y mezzosoprano puertorriqueña,” by Néstor Murray-Irizarry.

1. This historic accomplishment is the founding basis of what is today the Puerto Rico Conservatory of Music, without forgetting the great contribution of private promoters to the arts, those who have dedicated themselves throughout the country to creating a favorable environment for the musical education of our youth during the 19th and 20th centuries.

2. Catedral de Ponce. Archivo Parroquial.

3. “Señorita doña…,” 1888, pp. 2, 4.

4. Ramos 1985, pp. 125-141; Seda 1996, p. 17.

5. Otero 1942, p. 1; “Señorita doña…,” op. cit., p. 2.

6. López 1997, p. xxxi.

7. Otero, op. cit., p. 1; “Señorita doña…,” op. cit., p. 2.

8. López, op. cit., p. 41; “Señorita doña…,” ibid., p. 2; Otero, ibid., p. 1.

9. Otero, ibid.; “Señorita doña…,” ibid.

10. Jesús M. López signals 1883 as the year that Amalia departed for Madrid with Manuel, Carlos, Antonio, and Rosarito. López, op. cit., p. 44. Nevertheless, the article in Puerto Rico Ilustrado mentions that in 1885 our artist only took with her “…dos hermanos pequeños, una niña y un varón, para educarlos a su lado.” [“…two younger siblings, a girl and a boy, in order to raise them by her side.”]. “Señorita doña…,” op. cit., p. 2. Antonio Otero y Arce offers the same year of 1885 and comments, “…ansiosa de comenzar sus estudios superiores, pero sin abandonar sus deberes de familia, pues llevaba bajo su protección dos seres queridos….” [“…eager to begin her higher education, but without neglecting her family duties, as she was caring for two loved ones under her protection.”]. Otero, op. cit., p. 1. There are two newspapers that place Amalia in Puerto Rico in 1884: “La señorita…,” (October 24, 1884), p. 3 and “La señorita...,” (November 30, 1884), p. 3.

11. “Señorita doña…,” op. cit., p. 2. It is very curious that as early as April 1884, it was announced in El Buscapié that “Profesores Conservatorio acaban de oír entusiasmados Amalia Paoli asegurándole unánimemente brillante porvenir.” ["Conservatory professors have just enthusiastically heard Amalia Paoli, unanimously assuring her of a brilliant future." Amalia Paoli 1884, p. 3. However, another newspaper in 1885 comments on the same event: Amalia Paoli (August 15, 1885), p. 3 and Amalia Paoli (June 7, 1885), p. 3.

12. Otero, op. cit., p. 1. Jesús M. López indicates that Amalia sang in the opera Aida. He does not specify a date or place.

13. Sebastián Julián Gayarre Garjón (1843-1890).

14. López, op. cit., p. 44.

15. Otero, op. cit., p. 1. Jesús M. López indictates that the concert took place at the Teatro Real in Madrid. Otero y Arce does not mention the location of the event. López, op. cit., p. 45.

16. Otero, op. cit., p. 1. Jesús M. López indicates that Amalia sang in the opera Aida. He does not specify a date or place.

17. “La señorita…,” (February 8, 1889), p. 39. “La señorita…,” (May 10, 1889), p. 3.

18. Bilbao 1936; Fernández-CID 1991; Garrido 1986; González 1991; Turina 1997.

19. “Debut de…,” 1890, pp. 2-3, “Debuto” 1890, p. 87, Amalia Paoli 1891, pp. 2, 3.

20. “Leemos…,” 1891, p. 2; “Dicen…,” 1891, p. 2.

21. “Con la cooperación…,” 1891, p. 2; “Despedida…,” 1891, p. 2. “Anoche…,” 1891, p. 2.

22. “Noticias…,” 1895, p. 2.

23. “Desde,” 1895, p. 2.

24. López, op. cit., p. 51.

25. Ibid., p. 56.

26. Ibid., p. 108.

27. José Cipriano Castro Ruiz (Táchira, Venezuela, 1858 – San Juan, Puerto Rico, 1924), President of Venezuela from 1899 to 1908.

28. López, op. cit., p. 651.

29. Ibid., p. 654.

 

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“Anoche como estaba anunciado...,” La Correspondencia de Puerto Rico (June 17, 1891), p. 2.

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“Con la cooperación...,” La Correspondencia de Puerto Rico (June 6, 1891), p. 2.

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“Leemos en La Democracia,” La Correspondencia de Puerto Rico (May 29, 1891), p. 2.

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“Noticias: La simpática contralto...,” La Correspondencia de Puerto Rico (June 4, 1895), pp. 2.

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