Francisco de Asís Mariano del Carmen Marco Padilla y Ramos; 18 July 1843 – 21 November 1906), known as Mariano Padilla y Ramos, was a Spanish

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...

tic

baritone A baritone is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the bass and the tenor voice-types. The term originates from the Greek (), meaning "heavy sounding". Composers typically write music for this voice in the r ...

who excelled in the title role of

Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his ra ...

's ''

Don Giovanni ''Don Giovanni'' (; K. 527; Vienna (1788) title: , literally ''The Rake Punished, or Don Giovanni'') is an opera in two acts with music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to an Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte. Its subject is a centuries-old Spanis ...

''.

Biography

Padilla was born in

Murcia Murcia (, , ) is a city in south-eastern Spain, the capital and most populous city of the autonomous community of the Region of Murcia, and the seventh largest city in the country. It has a population of 460,349 inhabitants in 2021 (about one ...

, the son of city attorney Antonio Marco Padilla and Manuela Ramos Alba from

Beniel Beniel () is a municipality in the autonomous Region of Murcia in southeastern Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (La ...

. He had five brothers. He studied under

Teodulo Mabellini Teodulo Mabellini (2 April 1817 – 10 March 1897) was an Italian composer. Life Early education in Pistoia and Firenze He was the son of Vincenzo, a strumentaio (maker of musical instruments) specialized in wind instruments.Francesco Bussi, ' ...

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...

and appeared in many European countries, including

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, where he sang in Giacomo Meyerbeer's ''

Dinorah ''Dinorah'', originally ''Le pardon de Ploërmel'' (''The Pardon of Ploërmel''), is an 1859 French opéra comique in three acts with music by Giacomo Meyerbeer and a libretto by Jules Barbier and Michel Carré. The story takes place near the rura ...

'' in 1881. He appeared at

Covent Garden Covent Garden is a district in London, on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit-and-vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist si ...

in 1887. He appeared in

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

that year in the centenary performance of ''Don Giovanni''. He is perhaps best remembered as the man whom the

Belgian Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct languag ...

soprano

Désirée Artôt Désirée Artôt (; 21 July 1835 – 3 April 1907) was a Belgian soprano (initially a mezzo-soprano), who was famed in German and Italian opera and sang mainly in Germany. In 1868 she was engaged, briefly, to Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, who may h ...

married, to the great surprise of her unofficial fiancé,

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky , group=n ( ; 7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Russian composer of the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music would make a lasting impression internationally. He wrote some of the most popu ...

. Artôt had been performing in

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

in 1868, where she met and fell in love with Tchaikovsky. Her feelings were reciprocated, and they discussed marriage, although they were never formally engaged. Nevertheless, there was an understanding of sorts between them. She had to continue on her touring schedule and left for

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

, but they planned to meet again at her estate near

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

in the summer of 1869. However, without any warning or communication with Tchaikovsky (as the social conventions of the time would have demanded), Artôt married Padilla y Ramos - they were members of the same opera company - although she had earlier ridiculed him to Tchaikovsky, and he was seven years her junior (Tchaikovsky himself was five years her junior). The marriage occurred on 15 September 1869, either in

Sèvres Sèvres (, ) is a commune in the southwestern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris, in the Hauts-de-Seine department, Île-de-France region. The commune, which had a population of 23,251 as of 2018, is known for i ...

or Warsaw. Alexander Poznansky, ''Tchaikovsky: The Quest for the Inner Man'' Their daughter, the soprano

Lola Artôt de Padilla Lola Artôt de Padilla (5 October 1876 or 1880 - 12 April 1933) was a French-Spanish soprano, renowned in Germany, where she mainly sang. Biography Lola Artôt de Padilla was born in Sèvres near Paris as Dolores de Padilla. Her year of birth i ...

, also became a noted opera singer. Mariano Padilla y Ramos died in Paris in November 1906, aged 63, just four months before Désirée Artôt died.

External links

References

1843 births 1906 deaths 19th-century Spanish male opera singers Operatic baritones Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Spanish emigrants to France People from Murcia {{Spain-opera-singer-stub