He studied the basics of acting and music with Manuel Carreira and Arturo Pontecchi, the principal conductor of the Teatro São Carlos, and gave his first public recital in 1879 at the Salão da Trindade in Lisbon.

They would appear together again in several other productions, most notably the 1888 world premiere of Alfredo Keil's Donna Bianca at the Teatro São Carlos with Francisco as Adaour and António as Aben-Afan.

During that time he sang a wide range of leading baritone roles with the company including Renato (Ballo in maschera), Figaro (Il barbiere di Siviglia), Escamillo (Carmen), Giorgio Germont (La traviata), Enrico Ashton (Lucia di Lammermoor), Telramund (Lohengrin), and the title roles in Rigoletto and Don Giovanni.

[1][b] Although he continued to tour Europe as a guest singer and recitalist, D'Andrade spent his later career primarily based in Germany, where in 1894, he received the Grand Gold Medal of Arts and Sciences from William II of Württemberg.

He was survived by his wife, the Austrian pianist and singer Irma Noethig, whom he had married in 1900, and their son Francisco António Luís de Andrade.

When D'Andrade died suddenly in 1921, Slevogt rushed to his house to paint him one last time, but was so overcome by the sight of his dead friend that he was unable do so.

[9][10] Five of the 1906 recordings were also released by the Symposium label in 2006 on the CD Major Vocal Rarities: "The Champagne Aria ("Finch' han dal vino") from Don Giovanni; "Largo al factotum" from Il barbiere di Siviglia; "Sois immobile" from Guillaume Tell; "O, du mein holder Abendstern" from Tannhäuser; and "Vien Leonora" from La favorita.