Emilie da Fonseca, married surnames ''Muller'' and ''Bratz'' (31 December 1803 – 8 May 1884) was a Norwegian- Danish

stage actress An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...

and

opera singer Opera is a form of Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a lib ...

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

descent. She belonged to the

pioneer Pioneer commonly refers to a person who is among the first at something that is new to a community. A pioneer as a settler is among the first settling at a place that is new to the settler community. A historic example are American pioneers, perso ...

group of artists in the first national theatre in

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

. She was also among the most noted artists of her time in Norway.

Life

Emilie da Fonseca was born in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

, Denmark. She was the daughter of

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

-born Abraham da Fonseca (1776–1849) and Marie Sofie Kiærskou (1784–1863). She and her sister

Ida Henriette da Fonseca Ida Henriette da Fonseca (July 27, 1802 – July 6, 1858) was a Denmark, Danish opera singer and composer of Portuguese people, Portuguese descent. Ida Henriette da Fonseca was the daughter of Portugal-born Abraham da Fonseca (1776–1849) and ...

(1802–1858) were students of

Giuseppe Siboni Giuseppe Siboni (27 January 1780 – 28 March 1839) was an Italian operatic tenor, opera director, choir conductor, and voice teacher. He began his career in his native country in 1797 and actively performed in major Italian opera houses up throu ...

(1780–1839), choir master of the

Royal Danish Theatre The Royal Danish Theatre (RDT, Danish: ') is both the national Danish performing arts institution and a name used to refer to its old purpose-built venue from 1874 located on Kongens Nytorv in Copenhagen. The theatre was founded in 1748, first s ...

Opera in

. She debuted in October 1827 as Susanna in ''

The Marriage of Figaro ''The Marriage of Figaro'' (, ), K. 492, is a ''commedia per musica'' (opera buffa) in four acts composed in 1786 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, with an Italian libretto written by Lorenzo Da Ponte. It premiered at the Burgtheater in Vienn ...

'' at the Copenhagen Opera, and was given a position there alongside her sister the same year. In 1831, she left Denmark and was given a position at the newly opened Christiania Public Theatre (''

Christiania Offentlige Theater Christiania Offentlige Theater ('Christiania Public Theatre') or ''Det Strømbergske Teater'' ('Strömberg Theatre') was a historic theatre in Oslo Oslo ( or ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county a ...

'') in Christiania (now Oslo). In Norway, she became one of the most noted artists. She also performed as a

concert A concert, often known informally as a gig or show, is a live performance of music in front of an audience. The performance may be carried by a single musician, in which case it is sometimes called a recital, or by a musical ensemble such as an ...

singer in the concerts arranged by the musical society, which performed many arias from famous operas in the Norwegian capital at this time. She first married in 1839 to music teacher Ludvig Ernst Müller who died ca. 1840. After his death, she was married in 1841 to artist Ludvig Wilhelm Theodor Bratz (1811-1868).

References

Norsk musikkhistorisk arkiv

– runeberg.org * Børre Qvamme: ''Norsk musikkhistorisk arkiv. Børre Qvammes samlinger. Halfdan Kjerup og Operaen'' (Halfdan Kjerup and the Opera) (In Norwegian) 19th-century Norwegian actresses Naturalised citizens of Norway Norwegian stage actresses 1803 births 1884 deaths Norwegian operatic sopranos Danish operatic sopranos 19th-century Danish women opera singers Danish people of Portuguese descent Danish emigrants to Norway 19th-century Norwegian women opera singers {{Denmark-opera-singer-stub