She was born in
Manchester, England, as Phyllis Partington; her father was
John Herbert Evelyn Partington, a well-known painter, and her mother was Sarah Ann Partington (née Mottershead). Several of her siblings were in the arts, including her sisters
Blanche, a writer, and
Gertrude, an artist. The family emigrated to California when she was a child. In 1911 she was appearing in a comic opera in New York's
Globe Theatre when the star,
Marguerite Sylva, fell ill, and Peralta (who was still using her birth name at this time) was given the opportunity to sing the lead. She apparently did well enough for the manager to alternate the two sopranos in the lead role for the remainder of the run. In 1913 she returned to Europe and studied with
Salvatore Cottone and . By now she was using the name Phyllis Peralta. Peralta was diagnosed with cancer in early 1927, and only occasionally appeared at the Met thereafter. Her last stage appearance appears to have been at
Bryant Park in Manhattan on 13 September 1931. She died at her home on West 58th Street on 22 December 1933. == Footnotes ==