Mathilde Mallinger
Encyclopedia
Mathilde Mallinger was a famous Croatia
n lyric soprano
opera singer.
, the daughter of composer and teacher Vatroslav Lichtenegger
, she studied singing with Giovanni Battista Gordigiani at the Prague Conservatory
and with Richard Loewy in Vienna. While in Vienna she met Richard Wagner
, who, after hearing her sing, recommended her to the Munich Hofoper
. The opera house engaged her upon his recommendation and she made her professional opera debut there in 1866 in the title role of Vincenzo Bellini
's Norma
. She spent the next three years performing at that house, singing primarily Wagner roles like Elsa in Lohengrin
and Elisabeth in Tannhäuser
. She created the role of Eva in the world premiere of Richard Wagner
's Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg
on 21 June 1868.
Mallinger left Munich to join the roster of principal artists at the Berlin State Opera
in 1869. She sang at that house through 1882. She notably sang in the Berlin premieres of Lohengrin
(Elsa, 1869), Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg (1870) and Guiseppe Verdi's Aida
(Aida, 1874). She also portrayed Ingeborg in the world premiere of Bernard Hopffner's Frithjof (11 April 1871) and sang in the premiere of Wilhelm Taubert
's Cesario oder Was ihr wollt (13 November 1874). Other roles she sang in Berlin included Leonore in Fidelio
, Agathe in Der Freischütz
, Sieglinde in Die Walküre
, Valentine in Les Huguenots
and several Mozart heroines, including Pamina, Donna Anna and Countess Almaviva.
Mallinger had a notorious rivalry with soprano Pauline Lucca
while at the Berlin State Opera. The conflict between the two extended among their fans as well, with supporters of Mallinger and supporters of Lucca heckling one another. The tension came to a climax on 27 January 1872 in a performance of Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro in which Mallinger sang the Countess and Lucca portrayed Cherubino. During the performance supporters of Mallinger booed Lucca so severely that she was prevented from singing her aria. So upset by this event, Lucca broke her contract with the opera house and left the German capital to perform elsewhere.
Outside of Berlin, Mallinger made a number of guest appearances at the Vienna State Opera
and the Mariinsky Theatre
in St Petersburg. Although she retired from the opera stage in 1882, she continued to perform as a concert singer up through 1895. She was married to Baron Otto Schimmelpfenig Oye (1838–1912), who, under the name Otto Düringsfeld, appeared as an actor and later ran the Berlin Palace Theater. Their daughter Marie Mallinger (1878–1959) was an opera singer who performed at the Theater of Elberfeld and at various Berlin theaters. Marie married Martin Zickel (1877–1932), a German actor and theater director active in Berlin.
From 1890-1895, Mallinger worked as a celebrated singing teacher in Prague and then taught at the Eichelberg'schen Konservatorium in Berlin up until her death. Among her pupils were Lotte Lehmann
, Johannes Bischoff, Emmy Neiendorff, Henny Trundt and Florence Wickham. She died in Berlin at the age of 73.
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
n lyric soprano
Lyric soprano
A lyric soprano is a type of operatic soprano that has a warm quality with a bright, full timbre which can be heard over an orchestra. The lyric soprano voice generally has a higher tessitura than a soubrette and usually plays ingenues and other sympathetic characters in opera. Lyric sopranos have...
opera singer.
Biography
Born as Mathilde Lichtenegger in ZagrebZagreb
Zagreb is the capital and the largest city of the Republic of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb lies at an elevation of approximately above sea level. According to the last official census, Zagreb's city...
, the daughter of composer and teacher Vatroslav Lichtenegger
Vatroslav Lichtenegger
Vatroslav Lichtenegger was a Croatian poet who claimed to have scored and harmonized the song Lijepa naša domovino in 1891. He is buried in the Mirogoj cemetery in Zagreb. His daughter was famous opera singer Mathilde Mallinger.-References:...
, she studied singing with Giovanni Battista Gordigiani at the Prague Conservatory
Prague Conservatory
Prague Conservatory, sometimes also Prague Conservatoire, in Czech Pražská konzervatoř, is a Czech secondary school in Prague dedicated to teaching the arts of music and theater acting.- Instruction :...
and with Richard Loewy in Vienna. While in Vienna she met Richard Wagner
Richard Wagner
Wilhelm Richard Wagner was a German composer, conductor, theatre director, philosopher, music theorist, poet, essayist and writer primarily known for his operas...
, who, after hearing her sing, recommended her to the Munich Hofoper
Bavarian State Opera
The Bavarian State Opera is an opera company based in Munich, Germany.Its orchestra is the Bavarian State Orchestra.- History:The opera company which was founded under Princess Henriette Adelaide of Savoy has been in existence since 1653...
. The opera house engaged her upon his recommendation and she made her professional opera debut there in 1866 in the title role of Vincenzo Bellini
Vincenzo Bellini
Vincenzo Salvatore Carmelo Francesco Bellini was an Italian opera composer. His greatest works are I Capuleti ed i Montecchi , La sonnambula , Norma , Beatrice di Tenda , and I puritani...
's Norma
Norma (opera)
Norma is a tragedia lirica or opera in two acts by Vincenzo Bellini with libretto by Felice Romani after Norma, ossia L'infanticidio by Alexandre Soumet. First produced at La Scala on December 26, 1831, it is generally regarded as an example of the supreme height of the bel canto tradition...
. She spent the next three years performing at that house, singing primarily Wagner roles like Elsa in Lohengrin
Lohengrin (opera)
Lohengrin is a romantic opera in three acts composed and written by Richard Wagner, first performed in 1850. The story of the eponymous character is taken from medieval German romance, notably the Parzival of Wolfram von Eschenbach and its sequel, Lohengrin, written by a different author, itself...
and Elisabeth in Tannhäuser
Tannhäuser (opera)
Tannhäuser is an opera in three acts, music and text by Richard Wagner, based on the two German legends of Tannhäuser and the song contest at Wartburg...
. She created the role of Eva in the world premiere of Richard Wagner
Richard Wagner
Wilhelm Richard Wagner was a German composer, conductor, theatre director, philosopher, music theorist, poet, essayist and writer primarily known for his operas...
's Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg
Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg
Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg is an opera in three acts, written and composed by Richard Wagner. It is among the longest operas still commonly performed today, usually taking around four and a half hours. It was first performed at the Königliches Hof- und National-Theater in Munich, on June 21,...
on 21 June 1868.
Mallinger left Munich to join the roster of principal artists at the Berlin State Opera
Berlin State Opera
The Staatsoper Unter den Linden is a German opera company. Its permanent home is the opera house on the Unter den Linden boulevard in the Mitte district of Berlin, which also hosts the Staatskapelle Berlin orchestra.-Early years:...
in 1869. She sang at that house through 1882. She notably sang in the Berlin premieres of Lohengrin
Lohengrin (opera)
Lohengrin is a romantic opera in three acts composed and written by Richard Wagner, first performed in 1850. The story of the eponymous character is taken from medieval German romance, notably the Parzival of Wolfram von Eschenbach and its sequel, Lohengrin, written by a different author, itself...
(Elsa, 1869), Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg (1870) and Guiseppe Verdi's Aida
Aida
Aida sometimes spelled Aïda, is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Antonio Ghislanzoni, based on a scenario written by French Egyptologist Auguste Mariette...
(Aida, 1874). She also portrayed Ingeborg in the world premiere of Bernard Hopffner's Frithjof (11 April 1871) and sang in the premiere of Wilhelm Taubert
Wilhelm Taubert
Carl Gottfried Wilhelm Taubert was a German pianist, composer, and conductor.Taubert studied under Ludwig Berger and Bernhard Klein . In 1831 he became assistant conductor and accompanist for Berlin court concerts...
's Cesario oder Was ihr wollt (13 November 1874). Other roles she sang in Berlin included Leonore in Fidelio
Fidelio
Fidelio is a German opera in two acts by Ludwig van Beethoven. It is Beethoven's only opera. The German libretto is by Joseph Sonnleithner from the French of Jean-Nicolas Bouilly which had been used for the 1798 opera Léonore, ou L’amour conjugal by Pierre Gaveaux, and for the 1804 opera Leonora...
, Agathe in Der Freischütz
Der Freischütz
Der Freischütz is an opera in three acts by Carl Maria von Weber with a libretto by Friedrich Kind. It premiered on 18 June 1821 at the Schauspielhaus Berlin...
, Sieglinde in Die Walküre
Die Walküre
Die Walküre , WWV 86B, is the second of the four operas that form the cycle Der Ring des Nibelungen , by Richard Wagner...
, Valentine in Les Huguenots
Les Huguenots
Les Huguenots is a French opera by Giacomo Meyerbeer, one of the most popular and spectacular examples of the style of grand opera. The opera is in five acts and premiered in Paris in 1836. The libretto was written by Eugène Scribe and Émile Deschamps....
and several Mozart heroines, including Pamina, Donna Anna and Countess Almaviva.
Mallinger had a notorious rivalry with soprano Pauline Lucca
Pauline Lucca
Pauline Lucca was a prominent operatic soprano, born in the Austrian capital of Vienna.As a child she showed a remarkable talent for singing and at eight years old became a voice student of M. Walter. Not too long after her parents lost all their property, forcing her to abandon her studies...
while at the Berlin State Opera. The conflict between the two extended among their fans as well, with supporters of Mallinger and supporters of Lucca heckling one another. The tension came to a climax on 27 January 1872 in a performance of Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro in which Mallinger sang the Countess and Lucca portrayed Cherubino. During the performance supporters of Mallinger booed Lucca so severely that she was prevented from singing her aria. So upset by this event, Lucca broke her contract with the opera house and left the German capital to perform elsewhere.
Outside of Berlin, Mallinger made a number of guest appearances at the Vienna State Opera
Vienna State Opera
The Vienna State Opera is an opera house – and opera company – with a history dating back to the mid-19th century. It is located in the centre of Vienna, Austria. It was originally called the Vienna Court Opera . In 1920, with the replacement of the Habsburg Monarchy by the First Austrian...
and the Mariinsky Theatre
Mariinsky Theatre
The Mariinsky Theatre is a historic theatre of opera and ballet in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Opened in 1860, it became the preeminent music theatre of late 19th century Russia, where many of the stage masterpieces of Tchaikovsky, Mussorgsky, and Rimsky-Korsakov received their premieres. The...
in St Petersburg. Although she retired from the opera stage in 1882, she continued to perform as a concert singer up through 1895. She was married to Baron Otto Schimmelpfenig Oye (1838–1912), who, under the name Otto Düringsfeld, appeared as an actor and later ran the Berlin Palace Theater. Their daughter Marie Mallinger (1878–1959) was an opera singer who performed at the Theater of Elberfeld and at various Berlin theaters. Marie married Martin Zickel (1877–1932), a German actor and theater director active in Berlin.
From 1890-1895, Mallinger worked as a celebrated singing teacher in Prague and then taught at the Eichelberg'schen Konservatorium in Berlin up until her death. Among her pupils were Lotte Lehmann
Lotte Lehmann
Charlotte "Lotte" Lehmann was a German soprano who was especially associated with German repertory. She gave memorable performances in the operas of Richard Strauss, Richard Wagner, Ludwig van Beethoven, Puccini, Mozart and Massenet. The Marschallin in Der Rosenkavalier was considered her greatest...
, Johannes Bischoff, Emmy Neiendorff, Henny Trundt and Florence Wickham. She died in Berlin at the age of 73.
Sources
- Ludwig Eisenberg: Großes biographisches Lexikon der Deutschen Bühne im 19. Jahrhundert. List, Leipzig 1903, S. 634-635.