Maria Waldmann (19 November 1845 – 6 November 1920) was an Austrian

mezzo-soprano A mezzo-soprano (, ), or mezzo ( ), is a type of classical music, classical female singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the soprano and the contralto voice types. The mezzo-soprano's vocal range usually extends from the A bel ...

who had a noted association with

Giuseppe Verdi Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi ( ; ; 9 or 10 October 1813 – 27 January 1901) was an Italian composer best known for List of compositions by Giuseppe Verdi, his operas. He was born near Busseto, a small town in the province of Parma ...

. She was born in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

, then part of the

Austrian Empire The Austrian Empire, officially known as the Empire of Austria, was a Multinational state, multinational European Great Powers, great power from 1804 to 1867, created by proclamation out of the Habsburg monarchy, realms of the Habsburgs. Duri ...

in 1845 and studied with

Francesco Lamperti Francesco Lamperti (11 March 1811 or 1813 – 1 May 1892) was an Italian singing teacher and the father of the famed singing teacher, Giovanni Battista Lamperti, the author of ''The Technics of Bel Canto''. Biography A native of Savona, Lam ...

. She dedicated herself to the Italian mezzo-soprano repertoire. She was heard with

Teresa Stolz Teresa Stolz (born Tereza Stolzová; 2 June 1834 – 23 August 1902) was a spinto soprano from Bohemia, for long a resident in Italy, who was associated with significant performances of the works of Giuseppe Verdi, some with his supervision i ...

in September 1869 in a production of ''

Don Carlo ''Don Carlos'' is an 1867 five-act grand opera composed by Giuseppe Verdi to a French-language libretto by Joseph Méry and Camille du Locle, based on the 1787 play '' Don Karlos, Infant von Spanien'' (''Don Carlos, Infante of Spain'') by Fried ...

'' in

Trieste Trieste ( , ; ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital and largest city of the Regions of Italy#Autonomous regions with special statute, autonomous region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, as well as of the Province of Trieste, ...

. Thereafter she sang in Moscow and at

La Scala La Scala (, , ; officially , ) is a historic opera house in Milan, Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as (, which previously was Santa Maria della Scala, Milan, a church). The premiere performa ...

, Milan where, in 1871-2, she appeared in both '' La forza del destino'' and as Amneris in the European premiere of ''

Aida ''Aida'' (or ''Aïda'', ) is a tragic opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Antonio Ghislanzoni. Set in the Old Kingdom of Egypt, it was commissioned by Cairo's Khedivial Opera House and had its première there on 24 De ...

'' (8 February 1872). Despite Verdi's initial reluctance to engage Waldmann for that premiere, she became his favorite Amneris. In 1874, he again used her for the mezzo-soprano role in his ''

Requiem A Requiem (Latin: ''rest'') or Requiem Mass, also known as Mass for the dead () or Mass of the dead (), is a Mass of the Catholic Church offered for the repose of the souls of the deceased, using a particular form of the Roman Missal. It is ...

'', for which he wrote the ''Liber scriptus'' with her voice in mind. Verdi particularly valued her for the rich, dark color of her lower, contralto register. Verdi exploits that to great effect in the ''Liber scriptus'', which focusses on the mid- and low-registers of the mezzo-soprano range. Waldmann retired from the stage at age 31 after marrying Duke Galeazzo Massari. She lived with him at Palazzo Massari on Corso Parto Mare in

Ferrara Ferrara (; ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Emilia-Romagna, Northern Italy, capital of the province of Ferrara. it had 132,009 inhabitants. It is situated northeast of Bologna, on the Po di Volano, a branch channel of the main ...

. After her retirement, she enjoyed Verdi's and his wife's affection for many years thereafter and she maintained a long correspondence with Verdi, almost until his death. Her husband died in 1902, and she died in 1920, in Ferrara.

Sources

Eric Blom Eric Walter Blom (20 August 188811 April 1959) was a Swiss-born British-naturalised music lexicographer, music critic and writer. He is best known as the editor of the 5th edition of ''Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' (1954). Earl ...

, Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 5th ed. 1954 * Parish register

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Waldmann, Maria 1845 births 1920 deaths People from the Austrian Empire Italian mezzo-sopranos Operatic mezzo-sopranos 19th-century Italian singers 19th-century Italian women singers