A
singer without a peer, and a lyric tragedienne capable of exciting the
instinctive enthusiasm of the masses and the reasonable admiration of
connoisseurs. Pianist, composer, poet, she drew and painted with taste;
spoke fluently five languages; was expert in all feminine work, skilled
in sport and outdoor exercises, and possessed of a striking originality.
Such was Malibran in part, for the whole could never be expressed."
Her genius developed under the iron control of her father, Manuel del
Popolo Garcia, who compelled to submission her seemingly intractable
voice until it became sonorous, superb, a brilliant and fascinating
contralto, with a range of over three octaves, reaching E in alt. Her
own indomitable will and exceptional artistic intelligence were prime
factors in the training. In her heart-searching tones and passionate
acting her glowing soul was felt. When she was but seventeen, her
father, seeking an ideal climate, started with his family for Mexico. In
New York she contracted her unfortunate marriage with the French banker,
M.
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