Early Years
Paoli (birth name: Antonio Emilio Paoli y Marcano ) was born in Ponce, Puerto Rico. He was the son of Amalia Marcano Intriago, from the island of Margarita, Venezuela and of Domingo Paoli Marcatentti, from Corsica. Paoli's maternal grandfather, a rich landlord, was opposed to the relationship, therefore the young couple escaped to the Dominican Republic without getting married and later returned to Puerto Rico. The couple established themselves in the city of Yauco, but later moved into a house, given to them by Amalia's aunt, Teresa Intriago, located at one of the main arteries in the city of Ponce's urban core, Calle Mayor (Mayor Street), House #14. Ponce at the time was the financial and cultural capital of the island, thereby the ideal place for the initial cultural development of Paoli.
When Paoli was young, his parents would often take him to operas at Ponce's La Perla Theater located a block away from Paoli's residence. There, on one occasion he saw a performance of Giuseppe Verdi's Il Trovatore by Italian tenor, Pietro Baccei, and at that moment knew what he wanted to do as an adult. His parents were very supportive of his ambition and guided him on this route during his youth, enrolling him in a school of "voice" directed by Ramon Marin. His sister Amalia was a soprano who performed at La Perla in Emilio Arrieta's opera, Marina. In 1883, when Paoli was only 12 years old, both his parents died and he went to live in Spain with his sister Amalia.
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