Anna Elisabeth Toscani (born 1761, died 1799), née Endemann, was a German actress. She was a student of

Friederike Sophie Seyler Friederike Sophie Seyler (1738, Dresden – 22 November 1789, Schleswig; née Sparmann, formerly married Hensel) was a German actress, playwright and librettist. Alongside Friederike Caroline Neuber, she was widely considered Germany's greatest a ...

and was one of the leading actresses of the

Mannheim National Theatre The Mannheim National Theatre () is a theatre and opera company in Mannheim, Germany, with a variety of performance spaces. It was founded in 1779 and is one of the oldest theatres in Germany. History In the 18th century Mannheim was the cap ...

from 1779 to 1784. She is also notable for being the first "Amalia" in the original performance of

Friedrich Schiller Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller (, short: ; 10 November 17599 May 1805) was a German playwright, poet, philosopher and historian. Schiller is considered by most Germans to be Germany's most important classical playwright. He was born i ...

's ''

The Robbers ''The Robbers'' (', ) is the first dramatic play by German playwright Friedrich Schiller. The play was published in 1781 and premiered on 13 January 1782 in Mannheim and was inspired by Leisewitz's earlier play '' Julius of Taranto''. It was wr ...

'' on 13 January 1782 at Mannheim. She worked under the direction of F.S. Seyler's husband

Abel Seyler Abel Seyler (23 August 1730, Liestal – 25 April 1800, Rellingen) was a Swiss-born theatre director and former merchant banker, who was regarded as one of the great theatre principals of 18th century Europe. He played a pivotal role in the dev ...

at the Mannheim National Theatre until 1781, when a quarrel between her and the director led to his retirement. She was described as a "scheming" character; although Friederike Sophie Seyler was also regarded as a very difficult person to work with. She was married to Giovanni Federico (also known as Johann Friedrich) Toscani, a noted

tenor A tenor is a type of male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. Composers typically write music for this voice in the range from the second B below m ...

born in Warsaw in the 1750s to an Italian family. Her husband had joined Abel Seyler's travelling company, the

Seyler Theatre Company The Seyler Theatre Company, also known as the Seyler Company (German: ''Seylersche Schauspiel-Gesellschaft'', sometimes ''Seylersche Truppe''), was a travelling theatrical company founded in 1769 by Abel Seyler. It was one of the most famous and ...

, in 1775.

Karl-Josef Kutsch Karl-Josef Kutsch, also known as K. J. Kutsch, (born 11 May 1924) is a German physician and music biographer. With the Dutch musicologist Leo Riemens he co-authored the ''Großes Sängerlexikon'', the standard reference for opera singers. Life ...

Leo Riemens Leonardus Antony Marinus Riemens (3 December 1910 – 3 April 1985) was a Dutch musicologist and cultural journalist. He wrote a book about Maria Callas, and together with Karl-Josef Kutsch began a reference book about opera singers in 1962, whic ...

(editors), ''Großes Sängerlexikon'', vol. 4,

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Toscani, Anna Elisabeth 1761 births 1799 deaths 18th-century German actresses