Carlotta Patti was a nineteenth century operatic soprano

Soprano

A soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody...

 and sister to famed soprano Adelina Patti

Adelina Patti

Adelina Patti was a highly acclaimed 19th-century opera singer, earning huge fees at the height of her career in the music capitals of Europe and America. She first sang in public as a child in 1851 and gave her last performance before an audience in 1914...

. Various sources list her birth year as 1835, 1840, and 1842. Born into a musical family, Patti studied the piano

Piano

The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...

 in her youth before following her younger sister's inclination toward singing. As a child, Carlotta developed a handicap which caused a noticeable limp in her walk. Due to this condition she mostly avoided opera

Opera

Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...

tic performances and preferred to sing on the concert

Concert

A concert is a live performance before an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, a choir, or a musical band...

 stage. While not able to achieve her sister's level of acclaim, Carlotta nonetheless received top billing in concerts in the United States of America, Great Britain

Great Britain

Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...

, and Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

. She was known for her extensive vocal range

Vocal range

Vocal range is the measure of the breadth of pitches that a human voice can phonate. Although the study of vocal range has little practical application in terms of speech, it is a topic of study within linguistics, phonetics, and speech and language pathology, particularly in relation to the study...

, reportedly being able to reach a G sharp in altissimo

Altissimo

Altissimo refers to the uppermost register on woodwind instruments. For clarinets, which overblow on odd harmonics, the altissimo notes are those based on the fifth, seventh, and higher harmonics. For other woodwinds, the altissimo notes are those based on the third, fourth, and higher harmonics...

. She often sang songs such as Der Hölle Rache kocht in meinem Herzen

Der Hölle Rache kocht in meinem Herzen

"Der Hölle Rache kocht in meinem Herzen" is the second aria sung by a coloratura soprano role Queen of the Night in Mozart's opera The Magic Flute .-The aria:...

that highlighted this extensive range. Carlotta Patti died of cancer in Paris on 27 June 1889.