Marie Hanfstängl (30 April 1848 – 5 September 1917), born Marie Schroeder (or ''Schröder''), was a notable

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

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 ...

tic

soprano A soprano () is a type of classical singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hertz, Hz to A5 in Choir, choral ...

singer and singing

teacher A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. w ...

, whose career was mostly conducted in

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 ...

. Marie Schröder was born in Breslau. She became a pupil of

Pauline Viardot Pauline Viardot (; 18 July 1821 – 18 May 1910) was a French dramatic mezzo-soprano, composer and pedagogue of Spanish descent. Born Michelle Ferdinande Pauline García,FitzLyon, p. 15, referring to the baptismal name. Thbirth recorddigitized a ...

's in

Baden-Baden Baden-Baden () is a spa town in the states of Germany, state of Baden-Württemberg, south-western Germany, at the north-western border of the Black Forest mountain range on the small river Oos (river), Oos, ten kilometres (six miles) east of the ...

. She appeared at the

Théâtre Lyrique The Théâtre Lyrique () was one of four opera companies performing in Paris during the middle of the 19th century (the other three being the Paris Opera, Opéra, the Opéra-Comique, and the Théâtre-Italien (1801–1878), Théâtre-Italien). ...

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in 1866, but returned to

on the outbreak of war in 1870. In 1871 she was engaged by the Court Opera House at

Stuttgart Stuttgart (; ; Swabian German, Swabian: ; Alemannic German, Alemannic: ; Italian language, Italian: ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, largest city of the States of Germany, German state of ...

. After marrying Erwin Hanfstaengl, a member of the distinguished Stuttgart photographer and art-publishing family headed by

Franz Hanfstaengl Franz Seraph Hanfstaengl (1 March 1804 in near Bad Tölz – 18 April 1877 in Munich) was a Bavarian painter, lithographer, and photographer. Life Hanfstaengl originated from a commoner family and in 1816 came on the recommendation of the t ...

,Franz Hanfstaengl moved in Bavarian royal circles, and was photographer of

Ludwig II Ludwig II (Ludwig Otto Friedrich Wilhelm; 25 August 1845 – 13 June 1886), also called the Swan King or the Fairy Tale King (), was King of Bavaria from 1864 until his death in 1886. He also held the titles of Count Palatine of the Rhine, Duk ...

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and

Richard Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, essayist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most o ...

: the son Edgar was closely attached to the

Duchess Sophie Charlotte in Bavaria Duchess Sophie Charlotte Auguste in Bavaria (22 February 1847 – 4 May 1897) was a granddaughter-in-law of King Louis Philippe of France, the youngest sister of Empress Elisabeth of Austria and fiancée of King Ludwig II of Bavaria. L ...

. Marie resumed her musical studies in 1878, going to Vannucini in

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, and thereafter was employed by the Stadt-Theater at

Frankfurt Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...

. She sang at the

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as Marie Schröder-Hanfstängl during the 1884–85 and 1888–89 seasons. In 1895 she became a teacher of singing at the

Hoch Conservatory Dr. Hoch's Konservatorium – Musikakademie was founded in Frankfurt am Main on 22 September 1878. Through the generosity of Frankfurter Joseph Hoch, who bequeathed the Conservatory one million German gold marks in his testament, a school for ...

in the same city, where one of her students was Margarete Dessoff. She retired in 1897, and spent her final years in

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, where she died. The beautiful, exquisitely trained voice, and the polished virtuosity of her delivery made her an outstanding coloratura singer. Among her best roles were: Rosina (''

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''), Gretchen (in

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 ...

's ''

Faust Faust ( , ) is the protagonist of a classic German folklore, German legend based on the historical Johann Georg Faust (). The erudite Faust is highly successful yet dissatisfied with his life, which leads him to make a deal with the Devil at a ...

''), Amina (''

La sonnambula ''La sonnambula'' (; ''The Sleepwalker'') is an opera semiseria in two acts, with music in the ''bel canto'' tradition by Vincenzo Bellini set to an Italian libretto by Felice Romani, based on a scenario for a ''ballet-pantomime'' written by Eu ...

''), Philine (''

Mignon ''Mignon'' () is an 1866 ''opéra comique'' (or opera in its second version) in three acts by Ambroise Thomas. The original French libretto was by Jules Barbier and Michel Carré, based on Goethe's 1795-96 novel '' Wilhelm Meisters Lehrjahre''. ...

''), ''Lucia'', ''

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 ...

'' etc.

Writings

* ''Meine Lehrweise der Gesangskunst und Elementartheorie in Wort und Bild'' (My System of Teaching Singing). London, etc.: Schott & Co, 1902.

Sources

* Meyers, ''Konversations-Lexikon'' (1888–1890). * A. Eaglefield-Hull, ''A Dictionary of Modern Music and Musicians'' (Dent, London 1924). * Peter Cahn: ''Das Hoch'sche Konservatorium in Frankfurt am Main (1878–1978)'', Frankfurt am Main: Kramer, 1979. {{DEFAULTSORT:Hanfstangl, Marie 1848 births 1917 deaths German operatic sopranos Academic staff of Hoch Conservatory German women academics 19th-century German women opera singers Musicians from Wrocław