Róza Csillag or Rosa Herrmann-Csillag (born ''Róza Goldstein'', 23 October 1832 – 20 February 1892) was an

Austro-Hungarian Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libre ...

singer. Csillag was born in the Jewish community of Irsa in central Hungary (today

Albertirsa Albertirsa (formerly ''Alberti-Irsa'', sk, Irša) is a town in '' Ceglédi kistérség'', ''Pest megye'', and the middle of the Great Hungarian Plain. History Initially Albertirsa was two separate inhabitations: ''Alberti'' and ''Irsa'', havi ...

), and her father was Moritz Goldstein, a

hazzan A ''hazzan'' (; , lit. Hazan) or ''chazzan'' ( he, חַזָּן , plural ; Yiddish ''khazn''; Ladino ''Hasan'') is a Jewish musician or precentor trained in the vocal arts who helps lead the congregation in songful prayer. In English, thi ...

of Irsa. She first attracted attention in the

chorus Chorus may refer to: Music * Chorus (song) or refrain, line or lines that are repeated in music or in verse * Chorus effect, the perception of similar sounds from multiple sources as a single, richer sound * Chorus form, song in which all verse ...

of the Hungarian National Theatre at Budapest, where by 1849 she was playing the roles of Nancy in 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 ...

'' and Mátyás Hunyadi in Erkel's '' Hunyadi László''. Recommended to the

Vienna Court Opera The Vienna State Opera (, ) is an opera house and opera company based in Vienna, Austria. The 1,709-seat Renaissance Revival venue was the first major building on the Vienna Ring Road. It was built from 1861 to 1869 following plans by August Si ...

in 1850 by the singer Anna de La Grange, she received further training from

Heinrich Proch Heinrich Proch (22 July 1809 – 18 December 1878) was an Austrian composer. Born in Vienna, Proch studied jurisprudence and completed his training as a violinist in his native city. From 1834 to 1867, he was a member of the Vienna Hofkapelle. ...

and made her initial appearances there, most notably as Fidès in

Meyerbeer Giacomo Meyerbeer (born Jakob Liebmann Beer; 5 September 1791 – 2 May 1864) was a German opera composer, "the most frequently performed opera composer during the nineteenth century, linking Mozart and Wagner". With his 1831 opera '' Robert le d ...

's ''

Le prophète ''Le prophète'' (''The Prophet'') is a grand opera in five acts by Giacomo Meyerbeer, which was premiered in Paris on 16 April 1849. The French-language libretto was by Eugène Scribe and Émile Deschamps, after passages from the ''Essay on the M ...

''. She delighted audiences with her beautiful mezzo-soprano voice and remained a favorite member of the company of the Vienna Court Opera until 1873. She also toured widely around Europe with much success, and in 1870 appeared in New York. In 1852 she married the celebrated

prestidigitator Sleight of hand (also known as prestidigitation or ''legerdemain'' ()) refers to fine motor skills when used by performing artists in different art forms to entertain or manipulate. It is closely associated with close-up magic, card magic, card f ...

and magician Carl "Compars" Hermann. The opera singer and actress Blanche Corelli was their daughter. When her voice was beginning to deteriorate, she became a singing teacher at the Vienna Conservatoire. She died in Vienna and was buried in the Central Cemetery there.

Selected roles

*Mátyás Hunyadi in ''Hunyadi László'', Erkel *Fidès in ''Le prophète'', Meyerbeer *Nancy in ''Martha'', Flotow *Romeo in ''

I Capuleti e i Montecchi ''I Capuleti e i Montecchi'' (''The Capulets and the Montagues'') is an Italian language, Italian opera (''Tragedia lirica'') in two acts by Vincenzo Bellini. The libretto by Felice Romani was a reworking of the story of ''Romeo and Juliet'' for ...

'',

Bellini Bellini is an Italian name, Italian surname, formed as a patronymic or plural form of Bellino (surname), Bellino. People *Family of Italian painters: **Jacopo Bellini (c. 1396–c. 1470), father of Gentile and Giovanni **Gentile Bellini (c. 1429� ...

*Lucrezia in ''

Lucrezia Borgia Lucrezia Borgia (; ca-valencia, Lucrècia Borja, links=no ; 18 April 1480 – 24 June 1519) was a Spanish-Italian noblewoman of the House of Borgia who was the daughter of Pope Alexander VI and Vannozza dei Cattanei. She reigned as the Gover ...

'',

Gaetano Donizetti Domenico Gaetano Maria Donizetti (29 November 1797 – 8 April 1848) was an Italian composer, best known for his almost 70 operas. Along with Gioachino Rossini and Vincenzo Bellini, he was a leading composer of the ''bel canto'' opera style dur ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Csillag, Roza 1832 births 1892 deaths People from Albertirsa Austro-Hungarian Jews Jewish opera singers Austro-Hungarian singers Austrian operatic mezzo-sopranos 19th-century Hungarian women opera singers 19th-century Austrian women opera singers Hungarian mezzo-sopranos