A Cyclopaedia of Female Biography/Ugalde, Delphine
UGALDE, DELPHINE,
Is a native of Larne, In the Valley of Montmorenci, near Paris, the date of her birth being 1829; her father De Beauce, is, or was, a music seller, and her mother was the daughter of De Porro, a musical composer and teacher. She first came into notice in 1840 at one of the sacred concerts got up by a distinguished amateur, the Prince of Moscow, son of Marshal Ney. Her voice at that time was a pure contralto, and she sung the compositions of Marcello and Handel with great effect. In 1846, she married Senor Uvalde, and went to Madrid, where she sung in the court concerts with great success. Assured by practice that her voice possessed every quality that could be desired for the execution of the most complex fioriture, she accepted in 1848 an engagement to perform at the Opera Comique in Paris, where she made her débût in Auber's "Domino Noir." In this, as in several other characters subsequently performed, she enchanted the Parisians, and created a prodigious furore. In 1851, she was in England as prima donna of Her Majesty's Theatre, and obtained an unanimous verdict of our musical critics in her favour. She is described as "rather under the middle height, easy and graceful in her deportment, and intelligent and energetic in her acting, with a face full of varied expression."