Auguste von Müller (1848–1912) was a nineteenth-century German

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

mezzo-soprano A mezzo-soprano (, ), or mezzo ( ), is a type of classical music, classical female singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the soprano and the contralto voice types. The mezzo-soprano's vocal range usually extends from the A bel ...

and

actress An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...

. She is best remembered today for originating the role of Dalila in the world premiere of

Camille Saint-Saëns Charles-Camille Saint-Saëns (, , 9October 183516 December 1921) was a French composer, organist, conductor and pianist of the Romantic music, Romantic era. His best-known works include Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso (1863), the Piano ...

's ''

Samson et Dalila ''Samson and Delilah'' (), Op. 47, is a grand opera in three acts and four scenes by Camille Saint-Saëns to a French libretto by Ferdinand Lemaire. It was first performed in Weimar at the (Grand Ducal) Theater (now the Staatskapelle Weimar) on 2 ...

'' in 1877.

Biography

Müller was born in Darmstadt, the daughter of German actress Maria von Müller-Stack who worked for many years at the Hoftheater von

Darmstadt Darmstadt () is a city in the States of Germany, state of Hesse in Germany, located in the southern part of the Frankfurt Rhine Main Area, Rhine-Main-Area (Frankfurt Metropolitan Region). Darmstadt has around 160,000 inhabitants, making it the ...

. She started her career appearing in plays at the Stadttheater von

Stettin Szczecin ( , , ; ; ; or ) is the capital and largest city of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in northwestern Poland. Located near the Baltic Sea and the German border, it is a major seaport, the largest city of northwestern Poland, and se ...

from 1875 to 1876. She began her opera career singing at the opera house 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 ...

in 1876–1877. She joined the Staatskapelle Weimar in 1877 and sang roles there through 1881. While there she notably portrayed the role of Dalila in the world premiere of

's ''

'' on 2 December 1877 under the direction of Eduard Lassen. Her other roles in Weimar included Azucena in

Giuseppe Verdi Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi ( ; ; 9 or 10 October 1813 – 27 January 1901) was an Italian composer best known for List of compositions by Giuseppe Verdi, his operas. He was born near Busseto, a small town in the province of Parma ...

's '' Il trovatore'', Frau Reich in Carl Otto Nicolai's '' The Merry Wives of Windsor'', Fricka in both

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 ...

's ''

Das Rheingold ''Das Rheingold'' (; ''The Rhinegold''), Wagner-Werk-Verzeichnis, WWV 86A, is the first of the four epic poetry, epic music dramas that constitute Richard Wagner's Literary cycle, cycle ''Der Ring des Nibelungen'' (English: ''The Ring of the Nib ...

'' and '' Die Walküre'', and Floßhilde in Wagner's ''

Götterdämmerung ' (; ''Twilight of the Gods''), Wagner-Werk-Verzeichnis, WWV 86D, is the last of the four epic poetry, epic music dramas that constitute Richard Wagner's Literary cycle, cycle ''Der Ring des Nibelungen'' (English: ''The Ring of the Nibelung''). I ...

'' among others.Biography of Auguste von Müller
on Operissimo.com (in German). Accessed 25 February 2009. After leaving

Weimar Weimar is a city in the state (Germany), German state of Thuringia, in Central Germany (cultural area), Central Germany between Erfurt to the west and Jena to the east, southwest of Leipzig, north of Nuremberg and west of Dresden. Together w ...

in 1881, Müller joined the Stadttheater von Bremen where she sang for only one season. She then sang at the Stadttheater von Magdeburg from 1882 to 1883, the Hoftheater von Altenburg from 1883 to 1884, the Hoftheater von Sondershausen from 1884 to 1885, and the Stadttheater von Lübeck from 1885 to 1886. She retired from the opera stage after leaving Lübeck and lived for a number of years in Bremen. She later moved back to her hometown of Darmstadt where she died.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Muller, Auguste von German operatic mezzo-sopranos 19th-century German women opera singers Musicians from Darmstadt 1848 births 1912 deaths