Laura Friedmann (8 April 1860 – after 1893) was a German operatic

coloratura soprano A coloratura soprano is a type of operatic soprano voice that specializes in music that is distinguished by agile runs, leaps and trills. The term '' coloratura'' refers to the elaborate ornamentation of a melody, which is a typical component o ...

Life

Born in Berlin, Friedmann showed her singing talent at an early age and was trained as an opera singer at the Königliche Hochschule in Berlin from 1874 to 1877. Among others, she was trained in singing by

Gustav Engel Gustav Engel (24 July 1893 – 17 December 1989) was a German historian. Life Born in Quakenbrück, Engel studied art history, English and French from 1912 to 1914. After the beginning of the First World War, Engel was called up before he coul ...

and

Adolf Schulze Adolf Schulze (13 April 1835 – April 1920) was a German baritone and music educator. Life Born in Panten, Schulze initially worked as an elementary school teacher in Hamburg. There, he also received his first vocal pedagogy training from Karl ...

and in acting by

Minona Frieb-Blumauer Minona Frieb-Blumauer (11 May 1816 – 31 July 1886) was a German actress and singer. Life Born in Stuttgart, Minona (''actually Johanna'') Frieb-Blumauer was the daughter of the actor Karl Blumauer, with whom she received her first lessons ...

and

Karl Gustav Berndal Karl Gustav Berndal, also Carl Gustav Berndal, (2 November 1830 – 30 July 1885) was a German stage actor Life Born in Berlin, Berndal was accepted in July 1848 as a young 18-year-old pupil of the court theatre, but was released the follow ...

. On 30 June 1877, she passed her exams under the supervision of

Joseph Joachim Joseph Joachim (28 June 1831 – 15 August 1907) was a Hungarian violinist, conductor, composer and teacher who made an international career, based in Hanover and Berlin. A close collaborator of Johannes Brahms, he is widely regarded as one of ...

and was discharged into professional life. She had her first engagement in Bremen under the direction of

Max Pohl Max Pohl (10 December 1855 – 7 April 1935) was an Austrian stage and film actor.Gadberry p.155 Selected filmography * '' The Black Tulip Festival'' (1920) * '' The Marquise of Armiani'' (1920) * ''The Fear of Women'' (1921) * '' The Oath of Ste ...

. She made her debut as queen in ''

Les Huguenots () is an opera by Giacomo Meyerbeer and is one of the most popular and spectacular examples of grand opera. In five acts, to a libretto A libretto (Italian for "booklet") is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work suc ...

''. She then stayed in Bremen for two years and afterwards she was engaged in Cologne from 1880 to 1882.Friedmann, Laura
on ''

Großes Sängerlexikon ''Großes Sängerlexikon'' (''Biographical Dictionary of Singers'', literally: Large singers' lexicon) is a single-field dictionary of singers in classical music, edited by Karl-Josef Kutsch and Leo Riemens and first published in 1987. The first ...

'' (p.1573) To perfect her education, she went to Paris for a year to

Pauline Viardot Pauline Viardot (; 18 July 1821 – 18 May 1910) was a nineteenth-century French mezzo-soprano, pedagogue and composer of Spanish descent. Born Michelle Ferdinande Pauline García, her name appears in various forms. When it is not simply "Pauli ...

. In Paris, she also met

Charles Gounod Charles-François Gounod (; ; 17 June 181818 October 1893), usually known as Charles Gounod, was a French composer. He wrote twelve operas, of which the most popular has always been ''Faust (opera), Faust'' (1859); his ''Roméo et Juliette'' (18 ...

Giuseppe Verdi Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi (; 9 or 10 October 1813 – 27 January 1901) was an Italian composer best known for his operas. He was born near Busseto to a provincial family of moderate means, receiving a musical education with the h ...

Ambroise Thomas Charles Louis Ambroise Thomas (; 5 August 1811 – 12 February 1896) was a French composer and teacher, best known for his operas ''Mignon'' (1866) and ''Hamlet'' (1868). Born into a musical family, Thomas was a student at the Conservatoire de ...

and

Jules Massenet Jules Émile Frédéric Massenet (; 12 May 1842 – 13 August 1912) was a French composer of the Romantic era best known for his operas, of which he wrote more than thirty. The two most frequently staged are '' Manon'' (1884) and ''Werther' ...

personally. From 1883 until 1893, she was a member of the

Semperoper The Semperoper () is the opera house of the Sächsische Staatsoper Dresden (Saxon State Opera) and the concert hall of the Staatskapelle Dresden (Saxon State Orchestra). It is also home to the Semperoper Ballett. The building is located on the ...

in Dresden, and she also appeared several times as a concert singer. She not only sang parts for coloratura soprano, but also dramatic parts. Her repertoire included among others Susanna in ''

The Marriage of Figaro ''The Marriage of Figaro'' ( it, Le nozze di Figaro, links=no, ), K. 492, is a ''commedia per musica'' (opera buffa) in four acts composed in 1786 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, with an Italian libretto written by Lorenzo Da Ponte. It premie ...

'', Donna Anna in ''

Don Giovanni ''Don Giovanni'' (; K. 527; Vienna (1788) title: , literally ''The Rake Punished, or Don Giovanni'') is an opera in two acts with music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to an Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte. Its subject is a centuries-old Spanis ...

'', Rosina in ''

the Barber of Seville ''The Barber of Seville, or The Useless Precaution'' ( it, Il barbiere di Siviglia, ossia L'inutile precauzione ) is an ''opera buffa'' in two acts composed by Gioachino Rossini with an Italian libretto by Cesare Sterbini. The libretto was base ...

'', Violetta in Verdi's ''

La traviata ''La traviata'' (; ''The Fallen Woman'') is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi set to an Italian libretto by Francesco Maria Piave. It is based on ''La Dame aux camélias'' (1852), a play by Alexandre Dumas ''fils'' adapted from his own 18 ...

'', Gilda in ''

Rigoletto ''Rigoletto'' is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi. The Italian libretto was written by Francesco Maria Piave based on the 1832 play ''Le roi s'amuse'' by Victor Hugo. Despite serious initial problems with the Austrian censors who had cont ...

'' and Martha in Friedrich von Flotow's ''

Martha Martha (Hebrew: מָרְתָא‎) is a biblical figure described in the Gospels of Luke and John. Together with her siblings Lazarus and Mary of Bethany, she is described as living in the village of Bethany near Jerusalem. She was witness to ...

''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Friedmann, Laura German operatic sopranos 1860 births Date of death unknown Singers from Berlin Berlin University of the Arts alumni 19th-century German women opera singers

Life

Further reading

References