Ida Pellet (1838 - 10 July 1863) was a German classical actress, originally from 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 ...

, who died young.

Life

Ida Pellet was probably born in

Graz Graz () is the capital of the Austrian Federal states of Austria, federal state of Styria and the List of cities and towns in Austria, second-largest city in Austria, after Vienna. On 1 January 2025, Graz had a population of 306,068 (343,461 inc ...

. Reference is also made to sources giving her place of birth as

Lemberg Lviv ( or ; ; ; see #Names and symbols, below for other names) is the largest city in western Ukraine, as well as the List of cities in Ukraine, fifth-largest city in Ukraine, with a population of It serves as the administrative centre of ...

Linz Linz (Pronunciation: , ; ) is the capital of Upper Austria and List of cities and towns in Austria, third-largest city in Austria. Located on the river Danube, the city is in the far north of Austria, south of the border with the Czech Repub ...

, and it was to Linz where her father, Joseph Pellet, having retired from a successful career as a theatre director in a succession of cities, had retired in order to focus on preparing his daughter for her own stage career. Thanks to her father she was able to make her theatre debut at

Nuremberg Nuremberg (, ; ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the Franconia#Towns and cities, largest city in Franconia, the List of cities in Bavaria by population, second-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Bav ...

in 1853, while still a child. She appeared at

in 1954, and there were also early appearances at the

Carltheater The Carltheater was a theatre in Vienna. It was in the suburbs in Leopoldstadt at Praterstraße 31 (at that time called Jägerzeile). It was the successor to the Leopoldstädter Theater. After a series of financial difficulties, that theater had ...

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. ...

. She spent the next four years at the

Stettin Szczecin ( , , ; ; ; or ) is the capital and largest city of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in northwestern Poland. Located near the Baltic Sea and the German border, it is a major seaport, the largest city of northwestern Poland, and se ...

Theatre where she worked under the artistic direction of Edgar Hein, especially in respect of conversation pieces, and quickly became a favourite with audiences. In the first part of 1858 she signed up with the Court Theatre in

Wiesbaden Wiesbaden (; ) is the capital of the German state of Hesse, and the second-largest Hessian city after Frankfurt am Main. With around 283,000 inhabitants, it is List of cities in Germany by population, Germany's 24th-largest city. Wiesbaden form ...

where for the next three years she concentrated on tragic roles. In November 1859, Lina Fuhr retired from the Berlin Hofbühne Theatre and married an Eye Doctor. In Summer 1860, Ida Pellet made her first appearance at the Hofbühne, at this stage as a guest performer and a competitor for the vacancy left by Miss Fuhr who had been the theatre company's leading tragic heroine. Pellet's successes in "The Maid of Orleans" and other popular classics of the time secured for her a place in the company with effect from September 1861. Other noteworthy performances were as Maria Stuart, Leonore, Gretchen, Jane Eyre, Lorle and Anne Liese, along with Chriemhilde in Hebbel's

Nibelungen The term Nibelung ( German) or Niflungr (Old Norse) is a personal or clan name with several competing and contradictory uses in Germanic heroic legend. It has an unclear etymology, but is often connected to the root ''Nebel'', meaning mist. The ...

and Marfa in Heigel's eponymous drama-tragedy. In Summer 1826 Pellet travelled to

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

for a series of guest performances. In the middle to June she moved on to

Leipzig Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...

where on 20 June she opened in "The Widow of Lowood" (a drama based on

Jane Eyre ''Jane Eyre'' ( ; originally published as ''Jane Eyre: An Autobiography'') is a novel by the English writer Charlotte Brontë. It was published under her pen name "Currer Bell" on 19 October 1847 by Smith, Elder & Co. of London. The firs ...

). She appeared in the same piece each night till 26 June. On 28 June she was due to open in "The Maid of Orleans" and took part in the morning rehearsal. Her appearance that evening was cancelled on account of her sickness, however, and she would never return from her sickbed. Twelve days later, despite attentive nursing in the Hotel Bavière, she died.

Celebration

Karl von Holtei wrote:

Beyond any doubt, Ida Pellet became one of the most professional and talent-filled actresses of modern times. Beauty, grace, affecting gestures, insightful presentation and a magical understanding of language, a vocal resonance that penetrated deep into the heart. Anyone who has seen her in Act 5 of '' Maria Stuart'' will agree. She had not yet reached the artistic heights for which she seemed destined. But already she was far along that way in a shining career. Then death quietly destroyed the beautiful youthful being in full bloom.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pellet, Ida Actresses from the Austrian Empire German stage actresses Actresses from Graz Actresses from Linz 1838 births 1863 deaths