Adela Juana Maria Patti was born on February 19th 1843 in the Spanish city of Madrid.   She made her first appearance on the stage at the age of seven. In 1859, at the age of sixteen, she made her operatic debut as Donizetti's Lucia and her vocal range; bell like clarity and professionalism won her critical acclaim.  She sang leading soprano roles in operas by Bellini, Donizetti, Rossini, Verdi and others. Her sisters, Carlotta and Amalia, were also opera singers and her brother Carlo conducted opera in New Orleans, St Louis and New York. 
    In 1861, at the age of eighteen, Adelina was invited to Covent Garden in London to take the soprano role of Amina in Bellini's La Sonnambula and Vienna in subsequent years.
    By the 1890's Adelina Patti was one of the most famous women in the world and certainly one of the highest paid.