Regina Isabel Luisa Pacini Quintero (January 6, 1871 – September 18, 1965) was a Portuguese

lyric soprano A lyric soprano is a type of operatic soprano voice that has a warm quality with a bright, full timbre that can be heard over an orchestra. The lyric soprano voice generally has a higher tessitura than a soubrette and usually plays ingenues and ot ...

, and

First Lady of Argentina First Lady or First Gentleman of Argentina (), also known as First Lady or First Gentleman of the Argentine Nation (), is a title typically held by the spouse of the president of Argentina, concurrent with the president's term in office. Although ...

as the wife of Marcelo Torcuato de Alvear.

Biography

Pacini was born on January 6, 1871, in Lisbon, Portugal. Her father was the Italian

baritone A baritone is a type of classical music, classical male singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the bass (voice type), bass and the tenor voice type, voice-types. It is the most common male voice. The term originates from the ...

Pietro Andrea Giorgi-Pacini; her mother was Felisa Quintero. As soprano, Pacini was a major exponent of

bel canto , )—with several similar constructions (, , , pronounced in English as )—is a term with several meanings that relate to Italian singing, and whose definitions have often been misunderstood. ''Bel canto'' was not only seen as a vocal technique ...

. She studied in Paris with Mathilde Marchesi. Her debut performance was in 1888, when she performed as Amina in Bellini's ''La Sonnambula'' at the Lisbon Theatre. Pacini continued to sing at the Lisbon Theatre until 1904. During 1889, Pacini performed internationally, singing in

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

Palermo Palermo ( ; ; , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan province. The ...

and London. In 1890, she first appeared at the Teatro Real to perform ''La Sonnambula.'' She performed at the Teatro Real regularly until 1905. In 1899, Pacini performed at the Teatro Solis, Montevideo, and the Politeama Theatre, Buenos Aires. It was at the Politeama Theatre that she met Marcelo Torcuato de Alvear, the future president of Argentina (1922-1928). Alvear proposed to Pacini and followed her around the world for a number of years until she accepted his proposal. The new century brought performances for Pacini in different Italian theaters, including San Carlo, Naples, and

La Scala La Scala (, , ; officially , ) is a historic opera house in Milan, Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as (, which previously was Santa Maria della Scala, Milan, a church). The premiere performa ...

, Milan. In 1907, Pacini married Alvear and retired from performing. During

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, the couple lived in Paris. In 1938, Alvear founded the Casa del Teatro in Buenos Aires. In honour of Pacini, he named the Regina Theatre in her honor. Pacini died in Buenos Aires on September 18, 1965.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pacini, Regina 1871 births 1965 deaths Recipients of the Legion of Honour 19th-century Portuguese women opera singers Portuguese operatic sopranos Burials at La Recoleta Cemetery First ladies and gentlemen of Argentina 20th-century Portuguese women opera singers Portuguese emigrants to Argentina Portuguese people of Italian descent Portuguese people of Spanish descent Singers from Lisbon