Elsa Galafrés (sometimes spelt Elza) (23 May 1879 – 16 April 1977) was a German stage and film actress.

Early life

Galafrés was born in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. She trained as a

pianist A pianist ( , ) is a musician who plays the piano. A pianist's repertoire may include music from a diverse variety of styles, such as traditional classical music, jazz piano, jazz, blues piano, blues, and popular music, including rock music, ...

, and debuted as a concert pianist at the age of 14 on 1 December 1893, together with the

Berlin Philharmonic The Berlin Philharmonic () is a German orchestra based in Berlin. It is one of the most popular, acclaimed and well-respected orchestras in the world. Throughout the 20th century, the orchestra was led by conductors Wilhelm Furtwängler (1922� ...

. Although this performance was well received, she did not pursue a career in music, instead deciding to become an actor.

Theatre career

At the age of fifteen, Galafrés gave recitations at a charity concert in

Havelberg Havelberg () is a town in the district of Stendal, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is situated on the Havel, and part of the town is built on an island in the centre of the river. The two parts were incorporated as a town in 1875. It has a populati ...

. She took lessons from the actress and singer Ottilie Genée and caught the interest of the director

Friedrich Haase Friedrich Haase (1 November 1827 – 17 March 1911) was a prominent German actor and theatre director. He was born in Berlin, the son of a valet to King Frederick William IV, who was his godfather. __NOTOC__ Career Haase trained under Ludwig ...

, who hired her to play Ellen Friborg in ''Am Spieltisch des Lebens'' at a guest performance in Halle in December 1894. Her first engagement was at the Hoftheater in Berlin, where she debuted as Perdita, one of the main characters in

Shakespeare's William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...

The Winter's Tale ''The Winter's Tale'' is a play by William Shakespeare originally published in the First Folio of 1623. Although it was grouped among the comedies, many modern editors have relabelled the play as one of Shakespeare's late romances. Some criti ...

''. In 1896 she played the Queen in

Friedrich Schiller Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller (, short: ; 10 November 17599 May 1805) was a German playwright, poet, philosopher and historian. Schiller is considered by most Germans to be Germany's most important classical playwright. He was born i ...

's ''

Don Carlos ''Don Carlos'' is an 1867 five-act grand opera composed by Giuseppe Verdi to a French-language libretto by Joseph Méry and Camille du Locle, based on the 1787 play '' Don Karlos, Infant von Spanien'' (''Don Carlos, Infante of Spain'') by Fried ...

'' at the city theater in

Riga Riga ( ) is the capital, Primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Latvia, largest city of Latvia. Home to 591,882 inhabitants (as of 2025), the city accounts for a third of Latvia's total population. The population of Riga Planni ...

, and as an 18-year-old she was engaged by a theater in

Hanover Hanover ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Lower Saxony. Its population of 535,932 (2021) makes it the List of cities in Germany by population, 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-l ...

, where she remained for three years. In the 1910s she also appeared on film: in the Austrian horror film ''

Trilby A trilby is a narrow-brimmed type of hat. The trilby was once viewed as the rich man's favored hat; it is sometimes called the "brown trilby" in UK, BritainBernhard Roetzel, Roetzel, Bernhard (1999). ''Gentleman's Guide to Grooming and Style''. B ...

'', based on the popular novel ''Trilby'' by

George du Maurier George Louis Palmella Busson du Maurier (6 March 1834 – 8 October 1896) was a Franco-British cartoonist and writer known for work in ''Punch (magazine), Punch'' and a Gothic fiction, Gothic novel ''Trilby (novel), Trilby'', featuring the char ...

, and ''Durch Nacht zum Licht'', directed by Carl Schönfeld.

Personal life

Galafrés was married three times. In 1910 she married the violinist and composer

Bronisław Huberman Bronisław Huberman (19 December 1882 – 16 June 1947) was a Polish violinist. He was known for his individualistic interpretations and was praised for his tone color, expressiveness, and flexibility. The '' Gibson ex-Huberman Stradivariu ...

, with whom she had a son, Johannes. The marriage was passionate but often tempestous, and in 1913 she sought a divorce in order to marry the Hungarian pianist and composer

Ernst von Dohnányi Ernst von Dohnányi (Hungarian: ''Dohnányi Ernő'', ; 27 July 1877 – 9 February 1960) was a Hungarian composer, pianist and conducting, conductor. He used the German form of his name on most published compositions. Biography Dohnányi was bo ...

. Both Huberman and Dohnányi's first wife refused to grant their spouses a divorce, but the couple lived together in Budapest, where their son Matthew was born in 1917. In 1919 their respective divorces were granted, they got married in June of that year, and Dohnányi adopted Johannes. They were married until 1949, although by that time they had been separated for several years. After the divorce from Dohnányi, Galafrés emigrated to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

, where she met her third husband, the physician Clifton Stewart. The couple lived near

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

until her death in 1977.

Filmography

* 1912: ''

'' * 1915: ''Durch Nacht zum Licht''

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Galafres, Elsa 20th-century German actresses German women pianists German silent film actresses 1879 births 1977 deaths Actresses from Berlin German emigrants to Canada Dohnányi family