It was largely owing to the
Swedish singer's generosity and aid and that of local benefactors that Phillipps's father was enabled to take her abroad. They arrived in
London in March 1852, and Phillipps became the pupil of
Manuel García who re-trained her voice from that of
soprano to
contralto. In 1853 she went with her father, who was a well known falconer at the time, to
Italy to continue her studies, and made her début the same year at
Brescia, as Arsace in
Semiramide. She sang also in
Milan and other cities. Her stage name in Europe was Signorina Fillippi. In 1855 she returned to the United States. She made an engagement to appear in Italian opera in
Philadelphia and
New York City under
Max Maretzek, and later went with him to
Havana, Cuba. In 1860 she made her first appearance in oratorio with the
Handel and Haydn Society, Boston, in the
Messiah. The following year Phillipps went abroad again, and appeared in
Paris as Azucena in
Il Trovatore. After a professional tour in Europe she returned to the United States. In 1864 she went again to Havana, and from that time until her death she appeared in opera, oratorio, and concerts in most of the states of the Union. The Adelaide Phillipps Opera Company was organized in 1876, and on its being wound up in 1879 she joined the Ideal Opera Company, remaining with the company until 1881 and for whom she played Little Buttercup in a very successful production of
Gilbert and Sullivan's
H.M.S. Pinafore. She went on to play
Fatinitza, Ruth in
The Pirates of Penzance, Germaine in
Les cloches de Corneville, the Queen in
The Bohemian Girl, Lady Sangazure in
The Sorcerer, and the title-role in
Boccaccio. She made her last appearance on the stage in
Cincinnati, Ohio in 1882. Failing health compelled her to rest, and she went to Europe in the hope of recovery, but died suddenly at
Carlsbad,
Germany in October 1882. Her body was brought back to the United States on the steamship
Werra. She was buried at the
Winslow Cemetery in
Marshfield, Massachusetts beside her brother, Frederick, who had died in 1879. Phillipps' voice was a
contralto, with a compass of two and one half octaves. The characters in which she excelled were Rosina, Leonora, and Azucena. ==References==