ANGELA PERALTA BIOGRAPHY

Baptized like Maria de Los Angeles Manuela Tranquiliza Cirila Efrena Peralta Castera, that outside well-known as "the Mexican Ruiseñor" were born in the city of Mexico the 16 of June of 1845. Although from humble origin, always it received good education and from small it had artistic inclinations, revealing itself like possessing of an extraordinary voice. To the 8 years the Cavatina sang "", of Donizetti and to the 15, when it finished his musical studies in the National Conservatory of Music, the trovador appeared for the first time in public and with great success, interpreting "", in the National Theater.

Old Continent woke up

It was never pensioned by the government. When he traveled to Europe in 1861, their father their father and a called man Santiago of the Fertile valley covered the expenses. He was in Europe where they called "the Mexican ruiseñor for the first time". Its inaugural triumph in the Old Continent arrived the night from the 13 of May of 1862, when it interpreted "Lucia de Lammermoor" in the Scala of Milan.

Finished the season in that theater, it crossed the main coliseos of Milan, Turin, Lisbon, Alexandria, Genoa, Naples, Saint Petersburg, Madrid and Barcelona. Its artistic tour from return finished to America, where it acted before the public of New York and Havana. It returned to Mexico in 1865. To his 20 years of age already it had conquered the main European scenes with his privileged voice.

On January 29th of 1866 sang for emperors Maximiliano and Carlota. In exchange for such condescendencia him one named Singsong "of camera of the empire". This fact caused repulses it of Ignacio Manuel Altamirano, that wild in its indignation commented: "all the freshness of the laurels that had brought of Europe, is marchitan shamefully, before the acceptance of that appointment of one it cuts to joke and oprobiosa". A year later, the Ruiseñor sang in the port of Veracruz "I Puritani" of Bellini, to benefit of the promotion of the war against the invader. These two events, apparently contradictory, still ignite a controversy about their patriotic franqueza.

The declivity

Ángela Peralta contracted marriage with its prime brother Eugene Castera., to who they indicate culprit of the infelicidad in the intimate life of the singer, because of the badly mental one that began to suffer Castera to the year of its marriage. While she was wife, Peralta was dedicated to compose a series of brief works of extraordinary simplicity. In 1876, the disease of Castera prevented him to make its projected tours and had to shut in it in a parisiense hospital, in which it died in March of that year.

In 1879, Ángela Peralta saw how it declined his success to maintain to loving relations with his industralist the Julian Montiel and Duarte. The Mexican ruiseñor began to undergo the indifference of the public and its season was a true failure, becoming ill of pain and exhaustion.

Next year she tried to reconquer to her public, but everything was in vain. Even the prodigious interpretation that towards of "Aída", woke up interest. It rested three years, tapeworm that to recover of the moral, artistic and economic blows that had mined their health and its spirit. A ruiseñor the Mazatlán. The decline In 1883, Ángela Peralta resumed its tours. It did it by the interior of the republic, followed by a group of Italian finches of doubtful category

Coming from Guaymas (Sonora) and La Paz (Baja California), in whose theater improvised in a patio, she sang for the last time the opera Maria de Rohan, arrived at Mazatlán the 22 from August from 1883. Her company was integrated by 80 artists, in its majority Italian.

"... that city council, to the knowledge that Ángela Peralta would visit the city, approved the expenses that were necessary to receive with dignity to" the Mexican ruiseñor ". It rented the Rubio theater to offer it to the diva. The wharf got elegant from the eve and to 9 a.m. that arrived at, Angela Peralta, receiving it with the national anthem. When arriving at the vehicle, which occupied, a group of admirers cleared the horses and threw of him, taking to the diva until the Iturbide hotel, followed by music and the multitude. She left to the balcony and greeted the town, that grouped itself to the front of the building... " On the following day, the 23 of August, the company made its presentation with the opera of Verdi "the trovador", making debut the force tenor the Faustus Belloti before little public, because alarming rumors on the propagation of the yellow fever ran.

A mazatleco journalist, become fond of to the opera, took a newspaper, like was custom of the time. In the page of the 22 of August he wrote today "... I went to the forum of the Blond theater to be present at the tests of the company of Italian opera and to admire close by Mrs. Antonieri and was called on me of luck to see and to listen the owner of the company, Mrs. Peralta..." (...)"Is a woman of pleasant presence, something obese and of very alive bulging eyes but, it has a wonderful voice that emits with amazing facility the acute and high notes, until the serious one; he did variations reaching so fine notes, as golgear of a finch... "

In the first days of the week, the disease, that in the city was well-known with "the nickel" name, was developed of an alarming way. So it is thus, that it would be possible to be assured that the night of Thursday 23 of August, rare was the house where there was not at least affecting. The company suspended its functions because of to have sickened a great part of the people who composed it, among them Mrs. Peralta.

The 24 of August, Ángela Peralta directed the test for the representation of "Aída", it builds with which would have to make his debut to the fallen salary ill the director of scene, Mr. Belloti, and masterful director Chávez Aparicio. The function had to verify that same night, but it was posponed because when growing dark already the artists affected by the devastating disease were several. To the dawn of day 25, the gentlemen Belloti and Aparicio and several artists had passed away. Badly one showed no mercy with the members of the company to such degree, that of the 80 that integrated only six they were, among them the Zopilli soprano and contralto, Mrs. Saborini.

Ángela Peralta passed away the 30 of August of 1883, marrying in I articulate mortis with its lover, Don Julian Montiel and Duarte. A witness, Mr. Jiménez, narrated the details of the impressive married ceremony: "One of the artists, Lemus last name, maintained to Doña Ángela by the back and at the moment at which the judge did the sacramental question" Accepts to this man by husband ", Lemus moved the head of the patient in affirmative signal.

The singer, was practically already dead and I have the security which she did not find out the importance of the act... " The corpse got dressed in clothes some the personages whom in life the Mexican diva had interpreted and, according to was said then, also were placed its better jewels to him.

The 11 of April of 1937 their rest was exhumados to be transferred to the civil pantheon of the City of Mexico. Between the Earth and pieces of wood one was neither a single jewel, nor a simple one I said. Only chinelas and rest of brown hair. “Dust, dust, nothing. Angelica di voce di nome!

Bibliografía:

De María y campos, "Angela Peralta", Ediciones Xochitl, 1944 Manuel Toussaint, "Su Proyección en la Historia del Arte Mexicano", UNAM, 1992 Raquel Díaz de León, "Evocación a Angela Peralta", Periódico Noroeste Mazatlán, 16/jun/1991.