Constanze Therese Adelaide Geiger,

Freifrau (; male, abbreviated as ), (; his wife, abbreviated as , literally "free lord" or "free lady") and (, his unmarried daughters and maiden aunts) are designations used as titles of nobility in the German-speaking areas of the Holy Roman Empire ...

von Ruttenstein (16 October 1835,

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

– 24 August 1890,

Dieppe Dieppe (; Norman: ''Dgieppe'') is a coastal commune in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region of northern France. Dieppe is a seaport on the English Channel at the mouth of the river Arques. A regular ferry service runs to Newha ...

) was an Austrian pianist, actor, theatrical actress, composer and singer.

Life

Geiger, the daughter of the composer and the court modist Theresia Geiger, born Ržiha (1804–1865), had inherited the musical talent of her father, which is already noticeable at an early stage. After she and J.W. Tomaschek and Simon Sechter piano lessons, she already tried successfully as a concert pianist at the age of six. At 13 she entered the stage in 1848. She never accepted a firm commitment, but only completed shorter or longer guest appearances. On 23 April 1862 she married

Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha Prince Leopold Franz Julius of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (Vienna, 31 January 1824 – Vienna, 20 May 1884) was a German prince of the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha-Koháry. Born ''Prince Leopold Franz Julius of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, Duke in Sax ...

, and was raised with this

morganatic marriage Morganatic marriage, sometimes called a left-handed marriage, is a marriage between people of unequal social rank, which in the context of royalty or other inherited title prevents the principal's position or privileges being passed to the spous ...

to the Freiherrenstand. With the wedding she withdrew from the stage entirely and lived with her family at Castle Radmeric. Their compositions for chamber music and church music, however, were still performed. After the death of her husband she moved to Paris. Constanze Geiger was buried in

Montmartre Cemetery The Cemetery of Montmartre (french: link=no, Cimetière de Montmartre) is a cemetery in the 18th arrondissement of Paris, France, that dates to the early 19th century. Officially known as the Cimetière du Nord, it is the third largest necropolis ...

References

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Constanze Geiger
bei certosaverlag.de {{DEFAULTSORT:Geiger, Constanze 1835 births 1890 deaths Morganatic spouses of German royalty House of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha-Koháry Austrian stage actresses Austrian pianists Austrian women pianists Austrian child actresses 19th-century Austrian women singers Austrian sopranos Austrian women composers Austrian people of Czech descent Actresses from Vienna Musicians from Vienna 19th-century women pianists