Ottilie Genée, also Ottilie Fritzsch (4 August 1834 − 14 November 1911), was a German stage actress and operatic

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 ...

Life

Born in Dreden, the sister of

Richard Genée Franz Friedrich Richard Genée (7 February 1823 – 15 June 1895) was a Prussian-born Austrian libretto, librettist, playwright, and composer. Life Genée was born in Gdańsk, Danzig. He died in Baden bei Wien. Works He is most famous for the li ...

and Rudolph Genée made her debut as a child at the

Gdańsk Gdańsk is a city on the Baltic Sea, Baltic coast of northern Poland, and the capital of the Pomeranian Voivodeship. With a population of 486,492, Data for territorial unit 2261000. it is Poland's sixth-largest city and principal seaport. Gdań ...

City Theatre, which her father Friedrich Genée had directed since 1841. Later, she also performed in Breslau and at the

Hamburg State Opera The Hamburg State Opera (in German: ) is a German opera company based in Hamburg. Its theatre is near the square of Gänsemarkt. Since 2015, the current ''Intendant'' of the company is Georges Delnon, and the current ''Generalmusikdirektor'' ...

. In 1850, at the age of 16, she was brought to the newly opened Friedrich-Wilhelm-Städtisches Theater in Berlin. From there she moved to the

Kroll Opera House The Kroll Opera House () in Berlin, Germany, was in the Tiergarten district on the western edge of the '' Königsplatz'' square (today ''Platz der Republik''), facing the Reichstag building. It was built in 1844 as an entertainment venue for th ...

and was able to perform there as a

soubrette A soubrette is a female minor stock character in opera and theatre, often a pert lady's maid. By extension, the term can refer generally to any saucy or flirtatious young woman. The term arrived in English from Provençal via French, and means " ...

(

trouser role In theater, a breeches role or breeches part (also pants role, pants part, trouser role, trouser part, and Hosenrolle) is a role in which a female actor performs in male clothing. Breeches, tight-fitting knee-length pants, were a standard male g ...

s) and celebrated great successes. Spurred on by this, authors such as Ernst Dohm, Eduard Jacobson,

David Kalisch David Kalisch (also known under the pseudonym: D. J. Schalk; 23 February 1820 – 21 August 1872) was a German playwright and humorist. Early life His infancy and early childhood were spent in a home of comfort and culture; but when he was only ...

and August Weirauch began to write roles for her. During this time, Genée also repeatedly gave guest performances at various German and Austrian stages. In 1869, she went on a major tour of the US. There she directed the German Theatre in

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

. In 1884, she returned to Germany and could be seen on various German stages over the next few years. At the special request of the German Emperor William I, she appeared in the municipal theatre of

Bad Ems Bad Ems () is a town in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is the administrative seat of the Rhein-Lahn rural district and is well known as a spa on the river Lahn. Bad Ems was the seat of Bad Ems collective municipality, which has been merged i ...

and in the

Staatstheater Kassel The Staatstheater Kassel is a state-owned and operated German theater in Kassel, Germany. The theatre employs around 500 people. The opera house has 953 seats, the Playhouse Theatre 540 seats and the Fridericianum 99 seats. With its total number ...

. After another tour of the US, she settled in Berlin in 1891 and worked there as a teacher of dramatic art. In 1897, the general director of the königliches Schauspielhaus entrusted her with the direction of the drama school attached to it. At the age of 77, Genée died on 14 November 1911 in

Eberswalde Eberswalde () is a major town and the administrative seat of the district Barnim in Brandenburg in north-eastern Germany, about northeast of Berlin. Population 42,144 (census in June 2005). The town is often called Waldstadt (forest town), beca ...

and also found her final resting place there. She was married to the theatre director Charles Fritzsch.

Student

Elsa Galafrés 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, Germany. She trained as a pianist, and debuted as a concert pianist at the age of 14 on 1 D ...

Roles (selection)

* Pfefferrösel – ''Pfeffer-Rosel oder die Frankfurter Messe im Jahre 1297'' (

Charlotte Birch-Pfeiffer Charlotte Birch-Pfeiffer (23 June 1800 in Stuttgart25 August 1868 in Berlin) was a German actress, writer, director of the Stadttheater in Zürich for six years, and author of over 100 plays and libretto. Biography Charlotte Johanna Birch-Pfeif ...

) * Clothilde – ''Stadt und Land'' (Christian Hinrich Spieß) * Evchen – ''Der verwunschene Prinz : Schwank in drei Aufzügen'' (Johann von Plötz 1786–1856) * Jerold – ''Die Bummler von Berlin'' ( Eduard Jacobson) * Näherin – ''Der Gesindeball'' (Eduard Jacobson and Jean Kren)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Genee, Ottilie 1834 births 1911 deaths German operatic sopranos German stage actresses Singers from Dresden

Life

Student

Roles (selection)

References

Further reading

External links