Original portrait photograph of the Victorian English operatic soprano, Florence Lancia (1840-1905). Detail from original carte-de-visite (CDV) produced by the studios of French photographer André-Adolphe-Eugène Disdéri (1818-89)
Portrait detail of an original carte-de-visite or CDV of the English operatic soprano, Florence Lancia (1840-1905). The image was shot and printed by the studios of pioneering 19th century French photographer, André-Adolphe-Eugène Disdéri (1818-89), who photographed Queen Victoria and other celebrities. He patented a system for producing low-cost CDVs by printing up to 10 photographs on a single sheet and he also patented the twin-lens reflex camera or TLR. Florence Lancia, an outstanding English operatic soprano of the Victorian era, was born Laura Florence Mary Agnes Morris on 20 March 1840 in Lambeth, London. After marrying Henry Weller Ladbroke Clarke in 1855, at the age of 14, she studied singing in Italy and made her operatic debut in Turin in 1858 as Rosina in 'Il barbiere di Siviglia'. In January 1859 she made her first professional appearance on the British stage in a series of Popular Concerts at St James's Hall in London and in the spring of 1859 she toured with the Pyne and Harrison English Opera Company, causing a stir in Dublin when she sang Violetta in 'La traviata' to 'ringing cheers'. Lancia sang Violetta again in London in October 1859 - and again created a sensation. She then moved to another opera company in Cork, Ireland, where she continued to receive favourable reviews for performances in 'La sonnambula' and 'Lucia di Lammermoor'. In 1860 Lancia was described as 'undoubtedly the country's most rising operatic prima donna and still not yet into her majority', when she sang a range of roles at The Eastern Opera House in London. However, in November that year she moved away from opera to concert performances. She died on 24 May 1905.
Size: 4209px × 6314px
Location: London, England, UK
Photo credit: © Terence Kerr / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No
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