Amalie Marie Friederike Auguste (10 August 1794 – 18 September 1870), Princess of Saxony, full name Maria Amalia Friederike Augusta Karolina Ludovica Josepha Aloysia Anna Nepomucena Philippina Vincentia Franziska de Paula Franziska de Chantal, was a German composer writing under the pen name

Pen name

A pen name, nom de plume, or literary double, is a pseudonym adopted by an author. A pen name may be used to make the author's name more distinctive, to disguise his or her gender, to distance an author from some or all of his or her works, to protect the author from retribution for his or her...

 A. Serena, and a dramatist under the name Amalie Heiter. She was the daughter of Prince Maximilian of Saxony and Princess Caroline of Parma

Princess Caroline of Parma

Carolina of Parma was a Princess of Parma by birth, and Princess of Saxony by marriage to Prince Maximilian of Saxony. Carolina was the eldest child of Ferdinand, Duke of Parma and his wife Archduchess Maria Amalia of Austria.-Family:Her full baptismal name was Carolina Maria Teresa Giuseppa...

. She was the granddaughter of Frederick Christian, Elector of Saxony

Frederick Christian, Elector of Saxony

Frederick Christian, Elector of Saxony was the Prince-Elector of Saxony for less than three months in 1763...

; niece of Frederick Augustus I, King of Saxony and Anthony, King of Saxony; sister of Frederick Augustus II, King of Saxony and John, King of Saxony; and aunt of Albert, King of Saxony and George, King of Saxony.

Life

Princess Amalie lived her entire life in Pillnitz Castle

Pillnitz Castle

Pillnitz Castle is a restored Baroque castle at the eastern end of the city of Dresden in the German state of Saxony. It is located on the bank of the River Elbe in the former village of Pillnitz...

 near Dresden, Germany. She was a well-educated and intellectually curious woman who composed chamber music, opera, and sacred music, sang, wrote comedies, and played the harpsichord.

Amalie was a young girl during the time of the Napoleonic wars

Napoleonic Wars

The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...

 and had to flee from her castle several times. She and her family were forced to sleep on straw wherever they could find shelter. She met Napoleon several times and held a negative opinion of him. When Napoleon told her he was going to invade Austria, she shot back a clever retort.

Musical career

Amalie began writing music in 1811 and composed numerous operas, popular among the Dresden elite. She published her works under the pseudonyms Amalie Heiter and A. Serena. Her best compositions were her comedic operas. She was able to portray her characters with innovation and color.

Amalie studied with Joseph Schuster

Joseph Schuster

Joseph Schuster is a cellist born in Constantinople of Russian descent.-Biography:On a trip through Russia, the famous Russian composer Alexander Glazunov heard young Schuster and was impressed with his talent. With Glazunov's help, Schuster entered the St. Petersburg Conservatory of Music at the...

, Vincenzo Rastrelli, Johann Miksch, Franz Anton Schubert and Carl Maria von Weber

Carl Maria von Weber

Carl Maria Friedrich Ernst von Weber was a German composer, conductor, pianist, guitarist and critic, one of the first significant composers of the Romantic school....

. Weber found her "highly talented."

Musical works

• Una donna (1816)
• Le nozze funeste (1816)
• Le tre cinture (1817)
• Il prigioniere (1820)
• L'americana (1820)
• Elvira (1821)
• Elisa ed Ernesto (1823)
• La fedeltà alla prova (1826)
• Vecchiezza e gioventù (1828)
• Il figlio pentito (1831)
• Il marchesino (1833)
• Die Siegesfahne (operetta, 1834)
• La casa disabitata (1835)

Ancestry