Auguste von Müller
Encyclopedia
Auguste von Müller was a nineteenth century German
opera
tic mezzo-soprano
and actress. She is best remembered today for originating the role of Dalila in the world premiere of Camille Saint-Saëns
's Samson et Dalila
in 1877.
. She started her career appearing in plays at the Stadttheater von Stettin from 1875-1876. She began her opera career singing at the opera house in Riga
in 1876-1877. She joined the Staatskapelle Weimar
in 1877 and sang roles there through 1881. While there she notably portrayed the role of Dalila in the world premiere of Camille Saint-Saëns
's Samson et Dalila
on 2 December 1877 under the direction of Franz Liszt
. Her other roles in Weimar included Azucena in Giuseppe Verdi
's Il trovatore
, Frau Reich in Carl Otto Nicolai
's The Merry Wives of Windsor
, Fricka in both Richard Wagner
's Das Rheingold
and Die Walküre
, and Flosshilde in Wagner's Götterdämmerung
among others.
After leaving Weimar
in 1881, Müller joined the Stadttheater von Bremen where she sang for only one season. She then sang at the Stadttheater von Magdeburg from 1882-1883, the Hoftheater von Altenburg from 1883-1884, the Hoftheater von Sondershausen from 1884-1885, and the Stadttheater von Lübeck from 1885-1886. She retired from the opera stage after leaving Lübeck and lived for a number of years in Bremen. She later moved back to her hometown of Darmstadt where she died.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
tic mezzo-soprano
Mezzo-soprano
A mezzo-soprano is a type of classical female singing voice whose range lies between the soprano and the contralto singing voices, usually extending from the A below middle C to the A two octaves above...
and actress. She is best remembered today for originating the role of Dalila in the world premiere of Camille Saint-Saëns
Camille Saint-Saëns
Charles-Camille Saint-Saëns was a French Late-Romantic composer, organist, conductor, and pianist. He is known especially for The Carnival of the Animals, Danse macabre, Samson and Delilah, Piano Concerto No. 2, Cello Concerto No. 1, Havanaise, Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso, and his Symphony...
's Samson et Dalila
Samson and Delilah (opera)
Samson and Delilah , Op. 47, is a grand opera in three acts and four scenes by Camille Saint-Saëns to a French libretto by Ferdinand Lemaire...
in 1877.
Biography
Müller was born in Darmstadt, the daughter of German actress Maria von Müller-Stack who worked for many years at the Hoftheater von DarmstadtDarmstadt
Darmstadt is a city in the Bundesland of Hesse in Germany, located in the southern part of the Rhine Main Area.The sandy soils in the Darmstadt area, ill-suited for agriculture in times before industrial fertilisation, prevented any larger settlement from developing, until the city became the seat...
. She started her career appearing in plays at the Stadttheater von Stettin from 1875-1876. She began her opera career singing at the opera house in Riga
Riga
Riga is the capital and largest city of Latvia. With 702,891 inhabitants Riga is the largest city of the Baltic states, one of the largest cities in Northern Europe and home to more than one third of Latvia's population. The city is an important seaport and a major industrial, commercial,...
in 1876-1877. She joined the Staatskapelle Weimar
Staatskapelle Weimar
The Deutsche Nationaltheater and Staatskapelle Weimar is the most important musical and theatrical venue in Weimar in Germany. It is a twin institution, consisting of the theatrical Deutsches Nationaltheater and the symphony orchestra known as the Staatskapelle Weimar...
in 1877 and sang roles there through 1881. While there she notably portrayed the role of Dalila in the world premiere of Camille Saint-Saëns
Camille Saint-Saëns
Charles-Camille Saint-Saëns was a French Late-Romantic composer, organist, conductor, and pianist. He is known especially for The Carnival of the Animals, Danse macabre, Samson and Delilah, Piano Concerto No. 2, Cello Concerto No. 1, Havanaise, Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso, and his Symphony...
's Samson et Dalila
Samson and Delilah (opera)
Samson and Delilah , Op. 47, is a grand opera in three acts and four scenes by Camille Saint-Saëns to a French libretto by Ferdinand Lemaire...
on 2 December 1877 under the direction of Franz Liszt
Franz Liszt
Franz Liszt ; ), was a 19th-century Hungarian composer, pianist, conductor, and teacher.Liszt became renowned in Europe during the nineteenth century for his virtuosic skill as a pianist. He was said by his contemporaries to have been the most technically advanced pianist of his age...
. Her other roles in Weimar included Azucena in Giuseppe Verdi
Giuseppe Verdi
Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi was an Italian Romantic composer, mainly of opera. He was one of the most influential composers of the 19th century...
's Il trovatore
Il trovatore
Il trovatore is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Salvadore Cammarano, based on the play El Trovador by Antonio García Gutiérrez. Cammarano died in mid-1852 before completing the libretto...
, Frau Reich in Carl Otto Nicolai
Carl Otto Nicolai
Carl Otto Ehrenfried Nicolai was a German composer, conductor, and founder of the Vienna Philharmonic. Nicolai is best known for his operatic version of Shakespeare's comedy The Merry Wives of Windsor...
's The Merry Wives of Windsor
The Merry Wives of Windsor (opera)
The Merry Wives of Windsor is an opera in three acts by Otto Nicolai to a German libretto by Hermann Salomon Mosenthal, based on the play The Merry Wives of Windsor by William Shakespeare....
, Fricka in both 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 Das Rheingold
Das Rheingold
is the first of the four operas that constitute Richard Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen . It was originally written as an introduction to the tripartite Ring, but the cycle is now generally regarded as consisting of four individual operas.Das Rheingold received its premiere at the National Theatre...
and 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...
, and Flosshilde in Wagner's Götterdämmerung
Götterdämmerung
is the last in Richard Wagner's cycle of four operas titled Der Ring des Nibelungen...
among others.
After leaving Weimar
Weimar
Weimar is a city in Germany famous for its cultural heritage. It is located in the federal state of Thuringia , north of the Thüringer Wald, east of Erfurt, and southwest of Halle and Leipzig. Its current population is approximately 65,000. The oldest record of the city dates from the year 899...
in 1881, Müller joined the Stadttheater von Bremen where she sang for only one season. She then sang at the Stadttheater von Magdeburg from 1882-1883, the Hoftheater von Altenburg from 1883-1884, the Hoftheater von Sondershausen from 1884-1885, and the Stadttheater von Lübeck from 1885-1886. She retired from the opera stage after leaving Lübeck and lived for a number of years in Bremen. She later moved back to her hometown of Darmstadt where she died.