Ida Henriette da Fonseca (July 27, 1802 – July 6, 1858) was a

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish ance ...

opera singer and composer of

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

descent. Ida Henriette da Fonseca was the daughter of

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

-born Abraham da Fonseca (1776–1849) and Marie Sofie Kiærskou (1784–1863). She and her sister

Emilie da Fonseca Emilie da Fonseca, married surnames ''Muller'' and ''Bratz'' (31 December 1803 – 8 May 1884) was a Norwegian-Danish stage actor and opera singer. She belonged to the pioneer group of artists in the first national theatre in Norway. She was also ...

were students of

Giuseppe Siboni Giuseppe Siboni (27 January 1780 – 28 March 1839) was an Italian operatic tenor, opera director, choir conductor, and voice teacher. He began his career in his native country in 1797 and actively performed in major Italian opera houses up thro ...

, choir master of the Opera in Copenhagen. She was given a place at the royal Opera alongside her sister the same year she debuted in 1827. She made tours in Europe in 1829 and 1833–34, performing in Hannover, Germany, the Netherlands, and Sweden, after which she was named one of the greatest singers in Scandinavia and prima donna, but as she was not a soprano but an alto, which was not fashionable at the time, she was in fact not given many parts at the Danish opera. She often performed

breeches role A breeches role (also pants role or trouser role, or Hosenrolle) is one in which an actress appears in male clothing. Breeches, tight-fitting knee-length pants, were the standard male garment at the time these roles were introduced. The theatric ...

s. She retired in 1840. In 1841, she was named royal court singer at her request, as it would make it easier to get students: she was suffering from economical difficulties and worked as a singing teacher. She performed at court the last time in 1842. She was popular as a concert singer, however, and much active as such. In 1844-47, she visited Sweden and Norway. In 1848, she published her first composition, and became one of the first woman composers of her country.

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Sources

This article was initially translated from Ida Henriette da Fonseca on the Danish Wikipedia which lists the following sources: *''Dansk biografisk Leksikon'' 1. udgave
Temaside på KB

Kvindeleksikon
*Gerhard Schepelern: ''Giuseppe Siboni. Et Afsnit af Operaens Historie ude og hjemme. 1-2'' København 1989

External links

* 1802 births 1858 deaths 19th-century Danish women opera singers Danish classical composers Danish people of Portuguese descent Women classical composers 19th-century classical composers Danish operatic mezzo-sopranos Singers from Copenhagen Danish women composers 19th-century Danish composers 19th-century women composers {{Denmark-composer-stub

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