Maria Theresia von Ahlefeldt (16 January 1755 – 20 December 1810) was a German born

aristocrat The aristocracy (''from Greek'' ''ἀριστοκρατία'' ''aristokratía'', "rule of the best"; ''Latin: aristocratia'') is historically associated with a "hereditary" or a "ruling" social class. In many states, the aristocracy included the ...

and a Danish

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and def ...

. She is known as the first female composer in

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

Biography

Born in

Regensburg Regensburg (historically known in English as Ratisbon) is a city in eastern Bavaria, at the confluence of the rivers Danube, Naab and Regen (river), Regen, Danube's northernmost point. It is the capital of the Upper Palatinate subregion of the ...

, Maria Theresia was the eldest child and daughter of

Alexander Ferdinand, 3rd Prince of Thurn and Taxis Alexander Ferdinand, 3rd Prince of Thurn and Taxis, full German name: ''Alexander Ferdinand Fürst von Thurn und Taxis'' (21 March 1704 – 17 March 1773) was the third Prince of Thurn and Taxis, Postmaster General of the Imperial Reichspost, ...

(1704–1773) and his wife, Princess Maria Henriette Josepha of

Fürstenberg-Stühlingen Fürstenberg-Stühlingen was a German county during the Middle Ages. It was located in the territorial landgraviate of Stühlingen. It emerged as a partition of Fürstenberg-Blumberg in 1614. It was partitioned in 1704 between the sons of Count Pr ...

(1732–1772). She was a younger half-sister of

Karl Anselm, 4th Prince of Thurn and Taxis Karl Anselm, 4th Prince of Thurn and Taxis, full German language, German name: ''Karl Anselm Fürst von Thurn und Taxis'' (2 June 1733 – 13 November 1805) was the fourth Thurn und Taxis, Prince of Thurn and Taxis, Postmaster General of the Reic ...

and niece of Maria Augusta of Thurn and Taxis. She grew in a cultural environment at the princely court in

, which was a centre of French, German and Italian opera, theatre, ballet, pantomimes and concerts. She was instructed in clavecin playing with her sisters and displayed an early talent of music composition. Maria Theresia was engaged to Prince Joseph of

Fürstenberg Fürstenberg (also Fuerstenberg and Furstenberg) may refer to: Historical states * Fürstenberg-Baar, county (1441–1559) * Fürstenberg-Blumberg, county (1559–1614) * Fürstenberg-Donaueschingen, county (1617–1698) * Fürstenberg-Fürst ...

(1758–1796) from 1772 until her affair with an elderly German Prince Philipp of

Hohenlohe-Ingelfingen Hohenlohe-Ingelfingen was a German County of the House of Hohenlohe, located in northeastern Baden-Württemberg, Germany, around Ingelfingen. Hohenlohe-Ingelfingen was a scion of Hohenlohe-Langenburg. It was raised from a County to a Principality i ...

(1702–1781) in 1776. Her family, however, refused permission for her to marry Philipp. In 1780 in Prague, she married the Danish noble Count Ferdinand of

Ahlefeldt-Langeland The House of Ahlefeldt is an ancient German and Danish noble family. It has identical coat of arms with the von Rumohr, von Bosendahl and von Rastorp German noble families, which indicates that they have descended from one House. Legend Accor ...

(1747–1815), against the will of her family. This marriage against the will of her family was a criminal act for which she was forced to flee to avoid arrest. From 1780, Maria Theresia's spouse was Marshal at the Court of

Ansbach Ansbach ( , ; ) is a city in the Germany, German state of Bavaria. It is the capital of the Regierungsbezirk, administrative region of Mittelfranken, Middle Franconia. Ansbach is southwest of Nuremberg and north of Munich, on the river Fränk ...

, where she was active in the

amateur theatre Amateur theatre, also known as amateur dramatics, is theatre performed by amateur actors and singers. Amateur theatre groups may stage plays, revues, musicals, light opera, pantomime or variety shows, and do so for the social activity as well as f ...

Elizabeth Craven Elizabeth, Princess Berkeley (born Lady Elizabeth Berkeley; 17 December 1750 – 13 January 1828), sometimes unofficially styled Margravine of Brandenburg-Ansbach, previously Elizabeth Craven, Baroness Craven of Hamstead Marshall, was an author ...

. During this time, she wrote a libretto. From 1792 to 1794, her spouse was marshal of the Danish royal court and director 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 ...

. Maria Theresia composed music for several

ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...

s, operas, and plays of the royal theatre. She was given good critic as a composer and described as a "virkelig Tonekunstnerinde" ('a True Artist of Music'). She moved to

Dresden Dresden (; ; Upper Saxon German, Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; , ) is the capital city of the States of Germany, German state of Saxony and its second most populous city after Leipzig. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, 12th most p ...

with her spouse in 1798, and lived from 1800 until her death in Prague.

Selection of work

* ''La Folie, ou quel Conte!'' (libretto) 1780s * ''Telemak paa Calypsos Øe'' (music, aria, choir), 1792 * ''Veddemaalet'' (music), 1793 * ''Romance de Nina'' 1794/98

Ancestry

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ahlefeldt, Maria Theresia 1755 births 1810 deaths 18th-century Danish composers 18th-century Danish women musicians 18th-century German composers 18th-century German women composers 19th-century Danish composers 19th-century Danish women musicians 19th-century German composers 19th-century German women composers German Classical-period composers Danish classical composers Danish women composers Danish women classical composers German women classical composers Maria Theresia Ahlefeldt Musicians from Regensburg Maria Theresia Ahlefeldt Emigrants from the Holy Roman Empire to Denmark–Norway Musicians from Denmark–Norway