Ángela Peralta, 1845-1883

Ángela Peralta was born in Mexico City, Mexico. Her musical talent was noticeable from a young age, performing solo cavatina from the opera Belisario when she was 8 years old. She continued to sharpen her operatic skills, and at 15, Peralta made her operatic debut at the Teatro Nacional – Mexico’s premier opera house. Soon, she became known for her expressive timbre voice and high pitch range.

After her successful show, Peralta traveled to Italy with her father to study singing, and in 1862, at the age of 17, she performed at the La Scala opera house in Milan. In the next two years, Peralta sang in the most prestigious opera houses in the world, including Rome, Lisbon, Madrid, St. Petersburg, and Cairo. During this tour, she became known as the Mexican Nightingale. In 1865, the 20 years old opera singer received a formal request from the Second Mexican Empire to return to her home country and sing in the National Imperial Theatre. In the following year, Peralta performed for Maximilian I of Mexico and Charlotte of Belgium and was named Chamber Singer of the Empire.

In that same year, Peralta returned to Europe, making stops along the way to perform in major cities, such as NYC and Havana. On her arrival in Madrid, she married her cousin, Eugenio Castera.

Peralta was also an accomplished pianist, harpist, and composer. After her wedding, she took some time off from singing and composed various songs and piano pieces, including waltzes, fantasies, and gallops. In 1871, at the age of 26, Peralta founded a touring opera company, where she often sang her most known roles of Lucia in Lucia di Lammermoor and Amina in La Sonnambula.

In 1877, her husband died, and she began a relationship with her manager Julián Montiel y Duarte. The affair caused a scandal in Mexico City’s social elite, who boycotted her performances and paid hecklers to interrupt her shows. Though she managed to recover her reputation, Peralta made a vow to never perform in Mexico City again.

In 1883, Peralta went on a tour in northern Mexico. When she arrived in Mazatlán, she and 76 of her company members contracted yellow fever. On her deathbed, she married her longtime lover, able only to nod to show her agreement. She died in her hotel room at the age of 38. In 1937, more than 50 years after she passed away, her remains were disinterred and moved from Mazatlán to the Panteón in Mexico City.

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