Mathilde Fröhlich (19 July 1867 – 8 November 1934) was an Austrian operatic

soprano A soprano () is a type of classical female singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hz to "high A" (A5) = 880&n ...

Life

Born in Vienna, the daughter of the Viennese teacher Carl Fröhlich and his wife Antonie received her first

music education Music education is a field of practice in which educators are trained for careers as elementary or secondary music teachers, school or music conservatory ensemble directors. Music education is also a research area in which scholars do origina ...

from her father. She studied from September 1879 with interruptions until 1888/89 at the

University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna The University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna (german: link=no, Universität für Musik und darstellende Kunst Wien, abbreviated MDW) is an Austrian university located in Vienna, established in 1817. With a student body of over three thousa ...

. Among her teachers was the voice teacher

Selma Nicklass-Kempner Selma Nicklaß-Kempner, occasionally also Niklas-Kempner, (2 April 1850 – 22 December 1928) was a German operatic soprano and singing teacher. Life Born in Breslau, Nicklass-Kempner was a Student of Jenny Meyer (1834–1894) and made her ...

(1850-1928) and (1842–1908) for the dramatic representation .

Court opera singer in Dresden

On 1 March 1890, the graduate of the Vienna Conservatory auditioned for rehearsals at the Semperoper: Orfeo's aria by Gluck "Ach ich habe sie verloren" and the blessing aria from '' Le prophète'' by

Giacomo Meyerbeer Giacomo Meyerbeer (born Jakob Liebmann Beer; 5 September 1791 – 2 May 1864) was a German opera composer, "the most frequently performed opera composer during the nineteenth century, linking Mozart and Wagner". With his 1831 opera ''Robert le di ...

. She made her debut on 13 March 1890 as the "Fairy Morgana" in Goldmark's Opera ''

Merlin Merlin ( cy, Myrddin, kw, Marzhin, br, Merzhin) is a mythical figure prominently featured in the legend of King Arthur and best known as a mage, with several other main roles. His usual depiction, based on an amalgamation of historic and le ...

''. On 20 March 1901, Fröhlich appeared at the Dresden Court Opera from the cycle Homeric World under the direction of

Ernst von Schuch Ernst Edler von Schuch, born Ernst Gottfried Schuch (23 November 1846, Graz – 10 May 1914, Niederlößnitz/Radebeul Dresden) was an Austrian conductor who became famous through his working collaborations with Richard Strauss at the Dresden C ...

. The Dresden music critic Ernst Roeder praised her artistic qualities and also her stage appearance, especially her "advantageous appearance" and "tall, slim figure". Fröhlich was a member of the Guild of the German Stage.

Guest performance in London

The Hamburg opera director Bernhard Pollini became aware of the artist and arranged for her to make a guest appearance in London in 1892, for which she was granted the necessary leave of absence from the Dresden opera. At the London

Covent Garden Opera The Royal Opera is a British opera company based in central London, resident at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden. Along with the English National Opera, it is one of the two principal opera companies in London. Founded in 1946 as the Cov ...

, Fröhlich sang in Wagner's '' Ring of the Nibelung'' under the direction of

Gustav Mahler Gustav Mahler (; 7 July 1860 – 18 May 1911) was an Austro-Bohemian Romantic composer, and one of the leading conductors of his generation. As a composer he acted as a bridge between the 19th-century Austro-German tradition and the modernism ...

the Rhinemaidens, Erda and a Valkyrie. She also appeared in a Wagner concert in London's St James's Hall. After returning from England to the Dresden Opera, Fröhlich sang Erda and a part in Rubinstein's ''Kinder der Heide'' as well as Puk in '' Oberon'' and other opera figures such as Maddalena in '' Rigoletto'' and Lucia in '' Cavalleria rusticana''. As a singer, she took part in church concerts, for example in

Chemnitz Chemnitz (; from 1953 to 1990: Karl-Marx-Stadt , ) is the third-largest city in the German state of Saxony after Leipzig and Dresden. It is the 28th largest city of Germany as well as the fourth largest city in the area of former East Germany a ...

with the aria: ''Se i mici Sospiri'', which was attributed to

Alessandro Stradella Antonio Alessandro Boncompagno Stradella (Bologna, 3 July 1643 – Genoa, 25 February 1682) was an Italian composer of the middle Baroque period. He enjoyed a dazzling career as a freelance composer, writing on commission, and collaborating with ...

, and with the song ''Sei stille dem Herrn'' from Mendelssohn's '' Elija''.

Leaving the Dresden Opera

After her marriage in 1901, Fröhlich took the name of her husband, the later Viennese district inspector Otto Kolbe, and ended her professional career as an opera singer in Dresden. She lived with her husband Otto Kolbe († 1932), a daughter and her parents, Antonie and Carl/Karl Fröhlich († 1904), again in Vienna last as a widow and pensioner in the Cumberlandstraße.''Adolph Lehmann's Allgemeiner Wohnungs-Anzeiger'', 1934 Teil I Namensverzeichnis
Wien-Bibliothek digital
/ref> Frölich died in Vienna at the age of 77 and was buried in the Central Cemetery on 12 November 1934. The Austrian clarinettist, composer and university teacher

Alfred Prinz Alfred Prinz (4 June 1930 – 20 September 2014) was an Austrian composer, clarinetist, and music educator. In 1947 he was awarded a gold medal at the Geneva Music Competition and in 1971 he won a composition award from the city of Vienna. His com ...

(1930-2014) was her grandson.

References

External links