The tenor António de Andrade (1854–1942), a native of Lisbon and brother of the baritone Francisco de Andrade, showed an early vocation for theatre and music.¹ For several years, he performed as an actor with the Sociedade Taborda, and it was only at the age of twenty that he began studying music and operatic singing with Joaquim Casimiro, Manuel Carreira and Arturo Pontecchi, while also training in acting and declamation.
In August 1882, he travelled to Milan, joining his brother Francisco de Andrade, to study with Corrado Miraglia and later with Sebastiano Ronconi.² His debut took place on 30 September 1882 at the Teatro Sociale in Varese, in La favorita by Donizetti, followed by performances in several other cities in Italy and across Europe, where he developed a broad repertoire mainly within Italian opera.³
He was forced to abandon his career at its peak due to a hearing condition that had been worsening since childhood.⁴
