Delfina Perpétua do Espírito Santo (20 April 1818 – 22 September 1881), known on the stage simply as Delphina, was a Portuguese actress who specialised in comedy roles.

Early life

Delphina Perpetua do Espirito Santo was born in the Portuguese capital of

Lisbon Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...

on 20 April 1818. Her parents were employed by the

Teatro Nacional de São Carlos The ''Teatro Nacional de São Carlos'' () (''National Theatre of Saint Charles'') is an opera house in Lisbon, Portugal. It was opened on June 30, 1793 by Queen Maria I as a replacement for the Tejo Opera House, which was destroyed in the 1755 Li ...

in Lisbon but apparently rejected their illegitimate daughter. She was given her name by the lady who raised her, also an employee of the theatre. As a young child she became very popular at the theatre and at the age of 7 or 8 was chosen to play

Cupid In classical mythology, Cupid (Latin Cupīdō , meaning "passionate desire") is the god of desire, lust, erotic love, attraction and affection. He is often portrayed as the son of the love goddess Venus (mythology), Venus and the god of war Mar ...

in a performance, partly on the strength of her beautiful blond hair. Later, the rich owner of the theatre, the Count of Farrobo gave her a small role in the comedy, ''Woman, Husband and Lover'', performed at the Thalia Theatre on his Laranjeiras estate on the outskirts of Lisbon. The positive reception of her performance encouraged her to seek a theatrical career and in 1841 she started to perform at the '' Teatro do Salitre'' in Lisbon, beginning to establish herself as one of the funniest actresses in Lisbon. She first performed in ''Peão Fidalgo'', a translation and adaptation of

Molière Jean-Baptiste Poquelin (, ; 15 January 1622 (baptised) – 17 February 1673), known by his stage name Molière (, , ), was a French playwright, actor, and poet, widely regarded as one of the greatest writers in the French language and world ...

's ''

Le Bourgeois gentilhomme ''Le Bourgeois gentilhomme'' (, translated as ''The Bourgeois Gentleman'', ''The Middle-Class Aristocrat'', or ''The Would-Be Noble'') is a five-act ''comédie-ballet'' – a Play (theatre), play intermingled with music, dance and singing – wri ...

''.

Career

In 1843, Delphina moved to the ''

Teatro da Rua dos Condes The ''Teatro da Rua dos Condes'', or simply ''Condes'', was a theatre in the Portuguese capital of Lisbon. It was opened in 1738 and rebuilt in 1755 after an earthquake. Never considered comfortable, it was demolished and rebuilt in 1888 and event ...

'' as a result of the recommendation of the poet and playwright Almeida Garrett. She stayed there until 1846 when she moved to the '' D. Maria II National Theatre'', where she was classified as "First Comic Actress". Staying in the same theatre, in 1853 she joined a new theatre company of

Francisco Palha Francisco is the Spanish and Portuguese form of the masculine given name ''Franciscus''. Nicknames In Spanish, people with the name Francisco are sometimes nicknamed "Paco". San Francisco de Asís was known as ''Pater Comunitatis'' (father of ...

and played the starring roles in its performances. She followed Palha when he took his company to the ''Teatro Rua dos Condes'' while waiting for the new ''

Teatro da Trindade The ''Teatro da Trindade'' is a theatre in the Chiado neighbourhood of Lisbon, Portugal, built in the 19th century. It is one of the oldest theatres in Lisbon still in operation. Construction and opening In 1866, Francisco Pereira Palha de Fari ...

'', which Palha had financed, to be completed. The first performance at the ''Trindade'' was in November 1867, and Delphina was part of the permanent cast. She continued to star even after Palha introduced a new form of theatre for Lisbon, known as Burlesque Opera, which she adapted to with considerable acclaim. She stayed at the ''Trindade'' until, already very ill, she decided to retire, giving her final performance on 1 July 1880. However, she evidently had a change of heart as she returned for three days in September of the same year, but from her performances it was clear that she had memory problems. Delphina Perpetua do Espirito Santo died on 22 September 1881. Prior to her death she had given away most of her money to charities. Her funeral attracted large crowds.

References

Notes

{{authority control 1818 births 1881 deaths Portuguese stage actresses Actresses from Lisbon 19th-century Portuguese actresses