Signor Mario (1810-1883)

This daguerreotype depicts the Italian opera singer Giovanni Matteo de Candia, better known simply as 'Mario' (1810–83). Queen Victoria greatly admired Mario and he regularly performed at Buckingham Palace. On his death, she described him as:

the greatest Tenor that ever existed, & had a most heavenly, rich, full voice, without, excepting for some particular very high notes, any "voce di testa", & sang with such feeling. He was so handsome & acted so beautifully.

QUEEN VICTORIA'S JOURNAL, RA VIC/MAIN/QVJ (W) 15 December 1883 (PRINCESS BEATRICE'S COPIES)

The photograph has been hand-coloured through use of fine, coloured pigments. Whilst the work would have been taken in a studio, with a plain studio backdrop, the colourist has depicted a cloudy sky as a background.