Desirée Artôt announces her marriage with Mariano Padilla y Ramos (1)

A short note written and signed by Desirée Artôt in which she announces her coming marriage with the Spanish baritone Mariano Padilla y Ramos

The text reads as follows*:

27 août 69
Wiesbaden

Cher Mr Naus,
Mon mariage est réel cette fois, j'épouse le 15 du mois de septembre, à Sèvres près Paris, Mr Mariano Padilla, jeune Espagnol, artiste comme moi - on dit qu'il a la plus belle voix de notre époque. Ce bruit m'est trop agréable pour ne pas en être charmée -
Mes noces étant si proche, vous comprendrez facilement que je n'ai plus que le temps d'aller tout préparer pour ce grand événement et que je dois cesser toute représentation - excusez moi donc si je ne puis accepter vos aimables offres pour Aix-la-chapelle. Une autre fois je serai plus mariée et moins occupée -
En toute hâte, compliments à votre femme, amitiés à vous,

Désirée Artôt

*Thanks to Laurent Fraison who was kind enough to decipher the text for me.




Désirée Artôt (1835-1907); Belgian mezzo-soprano/soprano.
Her real name was Marguerite Joséphine Désirée Montagney. She adopted the surname Artôt professionally, because both her father and her uncle -who were musicians- used Artôt already as a stage name. After her 1869 marriage to the Spanish baritone Mariano Padilla y Ramos (1842-1906) she was known as Désirée Artôt de Padilla or Désirée Artôt-Padilla.
She first studied with Marius Audran and continued with the famous Pauline Viardot-Garcia in Paris. In 1858 she was appointed at the Grand Opéra Paris on recommendation of the composer Giacomo Meyerbeer. Here she made her dazzling debut as Fidès in his opera "Le Prophète". In 1859 she went on tour in Italy and in Germany with the Lorini Italian Opera Company. Here most successful roles were Rosina in "Il Barbiere di Siviglia", Angelina in "La Cenerentola", Azucena in "Il Trovatore" and Maddalena in "Rigoletto". In 1859 she made guest appearances at the "Théâtre de la Monnaie" in Brussels. After further successful guest appearances in Germany and Russia as a mezzo-soprano she turned to soprano roles. In 1859/60 she gave concerts in London as a soprano.In 1863 she sang at "Her Majesty's Theatre"in London; as Marie in "La fille du Regiment", as Violetta in "La Traviata" and as Adalgisa in "Norma". In 1864/66 she performed with triumphant success at "Covent Garden". On a tour in Russia in 1868 she was briefly engaged with the composer Tschaikowsky, but it did not come to a marriage. In 1869 she married the Spanish baritone Mariano Padilla y Ramos. Together with her husband she undertook extensive and very successful tours of guest appearances in Germany, Austria, Italy, Hungary, Poland, Sweden, Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark, Russia, and Finland. She left the stage in 1884 and became a a much sought-after singing teacher.


Their daughter Lola Artôt de Padilla (1876-1933) was also a well known soprano, who was engaged at the Berliner Hofoper from 1909-1927.