Róza Csillag or Rosa Herrmann-Csillag (born ''Róza Goldstein'', 23 October 1832 – 20 February 1892) was an

Austro-Hungarian Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military and diplomatic alliance, it consist ...

mezzo-soprano A mezzo-soprano (, ), or mezzo ( ), is a type of classical music, classical female singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the soprano and the contralto voice types. The mezzo-soprano's vocal range usually extends from the A bel ...

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. Csillag was born in the Jewish community of Irsa in central Hungary (today

Albertirsa Albertirsa (formerly ''Alberti-Irsa'', ) is a town in '' Ceglédi kistérség'', ''Pest megye'', and the middle of the Great Hungarian Plain. History Initially Albertirsa was two separate inhabitations: ''Alberti'' and ''Irsa'', having joined i ...

), and her father was Moritz Goldstein, a

hazzan A ''hazzan'' (; , lit. Hazan) or ''chazzan'' (, plural ; ; ) is a Jewish musician or precentor trained in the vocal arts who leads the congregation in songful prayer. In English, this prayer leader is often referred to as a cantor, a term al ...

of Irsa. She first attracted attention in the

chorus Chorus may refer to: Music * Chorus (song), the part of a song that is repeated several times, usually after each verse * Chorus effect, the perception of similar sounds from multiple sources as a single, richer sound * Chorus form, song in whic ...

of the

Hungarian National Theatre The National Theatre, located in Budapest originally opened in 1837. Since then, it has occupied several locations, including the original building at Kerepesi Street, the ''People's Theatre'' at Blaha Lujza Square, as well as Hevesi Sándor Sq ...

at Budapest, where by 1849 she was playing the roles of Nancy in Flotow's ''

Martha Martha (Aramaic language, Aramaic: מָרְתָא‎) is a Bible, biblical figure described in the Gospels of Gospel of Luke, Luke and Gospel of John, John. Together with her siblings Lazarus of Bethany, Lazarus and Mary of Bethany, she is descr ...

'' and Mátyás Hunyadi in Erkel's ''

Hunyadi László László Hunyadi or Ladislaus Hunyadi (Slovak language, Slovak: ''Ladislav Huňady''; 1431Bánhegyi 2008, p. 17. – 16 March 1457) was a Hungary, Hungarian nobleman. Ladislaus Hunyadi was the elder of the two sons of John Hunyadi, voivode of Tr ...

''. Recommended to the

Vienna Court Opera The Vienna State Opera (, ) is a historic opera house and opera company based in Vienna, Austria. The 1,709-seat Renaissance Revival venue was the first major building on the Vienna Ring Road. It was built from 1861 to 1869 following plans by A ...

in 1850 by the singer

Anna de La Grange Anna may refer to: People Surname and given name * Anna (name) Mononym * Anna the Prophetess, in the Gospel of Luke * Anna of East Anglia, King (died c.654) * Anna (wife of Artabasdos) (fl. 715–773) * Anna (daughter of Boris I) (9th–10th ...

, she received further training from Heinrich Proch and made her initial appearances there, most notably as Fidès in

Meyerbeer Giacomo Meyerbeer (born Jakob Liebmann Meyer Beer; 5 September 1791 – 2 May 1864) was a German opera composer, "the most frequently performed opera composer during the nineteenth century, linking Mozart and Wagner". With his 1831 opera ''Ro ...

's ''

Le prophète ''Le prophète'' (''The Prophet'') is a grand opera in five acts by Giacomo Meyerbeer, which was premiered in Paris on 16 April 1849. The French-language libretto was by Eugène Scribe and Émile Deschamps, after passages from the ''Essay on the ...

''. She delighted audiences with her beautiful mezzo-soprano voice and remained a favorite member of the company of the Vienna Court Opera until 1873. She also toured widely around Europe with much success, and in 1870 appeared in New York. In 1852 she married the celebrated

prestidigitator Sleight of hand (also known as prestidigitation or ''legerdemain'' () comprises fine motor skills used by performing artists in different art forms to entertain or manipulate. It is closely associated with close-up magic, card magic, card fl ...

and magician Carl "Compars" Hermann. The opera singer and actress Blanche Corelli was their daughter. When her voice was beginning to deteriorate, she became a singing teacher at the Vienna Conservatoire. She died in Vienna and was buried in the Central Cemetery there.

Selected roles

*Mátyás Hunyadi in ''Hunyadi László'', Erkel *Fidès in ''Le prophète'', Meyerbeer *Nancy in ''Martha'', Flotow *Romeo in ''

I Capuleti e i Montecchi ''I Capuleti e i Montecchi'' (''The Capulets and the Montagues'') is an Italian opera (''tragedia lirica'') in two acts by Vincenzo Bellini. The libretto by Felice Romani was a reworking of the story of ''Romeo and Juliet'' for an opera by Nicol ...

'', Bellini *Lucrezia in ''

Lucrezia Borgia Lucrezia Borgia (18 April 1480 – 24 June 1519) was an Italian noblewoman of the House of Borgia who was the illegitimate daughter of Pope Alexander VI and Vannozza dei Cattanei. She was a former governor of Spoleto. Her family arranged ...

'',

Gaetano Donizetti Domenico Gaetano Maria Donizetti (29 November 1797 – 8 April 1848) was an Italian Romantic music, Romantic composer, best known for his almost 70 operas. Along with Gioachino Rossini and Vincenzo Bellini, he was a leading composer of the ''be ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Csillag, Roza 1832 births 1892 deaths People from Albertirsa Jews from Austria-Hungary Jewish opera singers Singers from Austria-Hungary Austrian operatic mezzo-sopranos 19th-century Hungarian women opera singers 19th-century Austrian women opera singers Hungarian mezzo-sopranos 19th-century Hungarian Jews 19th-century Austrian Jews