Hariclea Darclée (née Haricli; later Hartulari; 10 June 1860 – 12 January 1939) was a celebrated Romanian operatic spinto soprano who had a three-decade-long career. Darclée's repertoire ranged from coloratura soprano roles to heavier Verdi roles, including many in the Franco-Italian lyric repertory. Throughout her career she participated in several world premieres, creating the title roles in Giacomo Puccini's Tosca, Pietro Mascagni's Iris, and Alfredo Catalani's La Wally. Puccini reportedly considered her to have been "the most beautiful and exquisite Manon". Enciclopedia dello Spettacolo, regarded as the most comprehensive international performing arts encyclopedia, named Darclée "world's greatest singer for 25 years". Darclée was considered the equivalent, in the opera world, of Sarah Bernhardt. Early years Darclée was born Hariclea Haricli in Brăila to a family with Greek roots. Her father, Ion Haricli, was a landlord in Teleorman County. Her mother, Maria Aslan, was a relative of the noble Mavrocordatos family. The family lived for a while in the town of Turnu Măgurele in southern Romania. She began her studies at Conservatoire of music in Iași, making her professional appearances as a concert performer in 1884. Career She continued her studies in Paris under Jean-Baptiste Faure. She married a young officer, Iorgu Hartulari, and became known for a while as Hariclea Hartulari-Darclée, Darclée being the nom de théâtre she adopted when she made her debut at the Paris Opéra in 1888 as Marguerite in Charles Gounod's Faust. In 1889, she replaced Adelina Patti as Juliette in Gounod's Roméo et Juliette, to increasing acclaim. In 1890, Darclée scored a great success in her La Scala debut as Chimène in Jules Massenet’s Le Cid, and was immediately engaged by all the leading Italian theatres. Highlights of her later career in Italy from 1890 on included the world-premières of the part of Odalea in Antônio Carlos Gomes' Condor at La Scala in Milan in 1891, the title-role in Alfredo Catalani's La Wally at the same theater in 1892, Luisa in Pietro Mascagni's I Rantzau at the Teatro della Pergola in Florence in 1892, and the title roles in Pietro Mascagni's Iris and Giacomo Puccini's Tosca, both at Teatro Costanzi in Rome in 1899 and 1900, respectively. Between 1893 and 1910 she appeared frequently in Moscow, Saint Petersburg, Lisbon, Barcelona, Madrid, and Buenos Aires. She was very popular in Spain and South America, where she participated in many local premières of new operas by Puccini,