page_title: Casa Paoli
section_title: Antonio Paoli
hierarchical_section_title: Casa Paoli / Antonio Paoli
caption_attribution_description: English: Casa Paoli, at 14 Mayor Street, in Ponce, Puerto Rico. Photo is interior, showing wooden ceiling and above-window and above-doorway detail work, taken on July 22, 2009 by Juan Llanes Santos of the Puerto Rico State Historic Preservation Office. Please acknowledge author name and agency in any use. This is an image of a place or building that is listed on the National Register of Historic Places in the United States of America. Its reference number is 09000769
context_page_description: Casa Paoli is a historic house and biographical museum in barrio Cuarto, Ponce, Puerto Rico, in the Ponce Historic Zone. The house is significant as the birthplace of Antonio Paoli, a tenor who was the "first Puerto Rican to reach international recognition in the performing arts" and "one of the most outstanding opera singers of all times". The house was the childhood home of the artist and he was introduced to art and opera at this house during his formative years. In 1987, the house was turned into a museum to honor the career of Antonio Paoli. The building was listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places in 2009.
context_section_description: Antonio Paoli was born in this house on April 14, 1871. From a young age, he would accompany his parents to opera performances at the Teatro La Perla, located some six blocks from this house. An inspiring performance there by the Italian tenor Pietro Baccei helped him decide what he wanted to be "when he grew up". His parents nurtured his ambition by enrolling him in a voice training school. However, when Antonio was just 12 years old his parents died. Paoli moved to Spain to live with his sister, Amalia, who was also a singer. Amalia also encouraged her younger brother to pursue his dream of becoming an opera singer.
  After studying at the Royal Monastery of El Escorial in Madrid, Spain, and the Academia de Canto La Scala in Milan, Italy, Paoli made his debut in Paris. He went on to earn numerous honors and awards around the world and came to be affectionately known as both "The King of Tenors" and as "The Tenor of the Kings". He returned to Puerto Rico in 1917. Antonio and Amalia established a voice training school in San Juan. They also helped in theater productions at San Juan's Municipal Theater. In 1934, the San Juan Municipal Theater was renamed The Antonio Paoli Theater in his honor.
  Paoli died on August 24, 1946, and was buried in the Puerto Rico Memorial Cemetery in Isla Verde. On April 13, 2005, his remains were exhumed and transferred to Ponce's Roman Baldorioty de Castro National Pantheon. Antonio Paoli is considered to be the first Puerto Rican to achieve international fame in the musical arts. The museum at Casa Paoli gives visitors insight into the fascinating life story and achievements of Puerto Rico's "Tenor of the Kings".
caption: Interior gallery
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