Isabella Offenbach Maas (March 11, 1817 – February 19, 1891) was an

opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

singer, pianist and the older sister of composer

Jacques Offenbach Jacques Offenbach (; 20 June 18195 October 1880) was a German-born French composer, cellist and impresario. He is remembered for his nearly 100 operettas of the 1850s to the 1870s, and his uncompleted opera ''The Tales of Hoffmann''. He was a p ...

. She was born in

Cologne, Germany Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city proper and over 3.1 million people in the Cologne Bonn urba ...

and is known for bringing the opera to

Galveston, Texas Galveston ( ) is a Gulf Coast of the United States, coastal resort town, resort city and port off the Southeast Texas coast on Galveston Island and Pelican Island (Texas), Pelican Island in the U.S. state of Texas. The community of , with a pop ...

Early life and education

Isabella was one of ten children of Isaac Juda Offenbach, ''né'' Eberst (1779–1850) and his wife Marianne, ''née'' Rindskopf (c. 1783–1840). Isaac, who came from a musical family, had abandoned his original trade as a

bookbinder Bookbinding is the process of building a book, usually in codex format, from an ordered stack of paper sheets with one's hands and tools, or in modern publishing, by a series of automated processes. Firstly, one binds the sheets of papers alon ...

and earned an itinerant living as a

cantor A cantor or chanter is a person who leads people in singing or sometimes in prayer. Cantor as a profession generally refers to those leading a Jewish congregation, although it also applies to the lead singer or choir director in Christian contexts. ...

synagogues A synagogue, also called a shul or a temple, is a place of worship for Jews and Samaritans. It is a place for prayer (the main sanctuary and sometimes smaller chapels) where Jews attend religious services or special ceremonies such as wed ...

and playing the

violin The violin, sometimes referred to as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in the violin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino picc ...

in cafés. He was generally known as "der Offenbacher", after his native town,

Offenbach am Main Offenbach am Main () is a List of cities and towns in Germany, city in Hesse, Germany, on the left bank of the river Main (river), Main. It borders Frankfurt and is part of the Frankfurt urban area and the larger Frankfurt Rhein-Main Regional Aut ...

, and in 1808 he officially adopted Offenbach as a surname. In 1816 he settled in

Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...

, where he became established as a teacher, giving lessons in singing, violin, flute, and guitar, and composing both religious and secular music."Offenbach", by Peter Gammond, Omnibus Press, 1980, p. 15 Isabella played piano in a trio with her brothers Jacob (

Jacques Jacques or Jacq are believed to originate from the Middle Ages in the historic northwest Brittany region in France, and have since spread around the world over the centuries. To date, there are over one hundred identified noble families related t ...

) cello, and Julius (violin). They performed popular dance music and operatic arrangements at local dance halls, inns and cafés.

Biography

Maas met her husband, Samuel Maas, during one of her European tours and they were married in

in 1844. Maas and her husband moved to Galveston, her husband's home town, that same year. Maas's son, Max, built a stage in his home for his mother to perform. Isabella Offenbach Maas Residence

After their fourth child, the couple separated and Maas moved into her daughter's home, living there for nearly 40 years. The home at 1727 Sealy Avenue in Galveston has a Texas State Historical Marker. The house was built in 1886 on the site of another house which had burned down in 1885. The '' Galveston Daily News'' posted that she was "dangerously ill" on February 19, 1891. She died that day.

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Maas, Isabella Offenbach 1817 births 1891 deaths Musicians from Galveston, Texas American opera singers Singers from Texas Classical musicians from Texas Immigrants to the United States