Sophie Müller (19 January 1803 in

Mannheim Mannheim (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: or ), officially the University City of Mannheim (), is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, second-largest city in Baden-Württemberg after Stuttgart, the States of Ger ...

– 20 June 1830 in

Hietzing Hietzing () is the 13th Districts of Vienna, district of Vienna (). It is located west of the central districts, west of Meidling. Hietzing is a heavily populated urban area with many residential buildings, but also contains large areas of the Vi ...

) was a

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 ...

stage 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. ...

, one of the most distinguished

tragedian A tragedy is a genre of drama based on human suffering and, mainly, the terrible or sorrowful events that befall a main character or cast of characters. Traditionally, the intention of tragedy is to invoke an accompanying catharsis, or a "pain ...

s of her day.

Biography

She was a daughter of ''Mannheimer Hoftheater'' actor Karl Müller (1783–1837) and the singer Marie Boudet. At the age of three years, she was appearing on the stage, and at five she appeared as Hännschen in

August von Kotzebue August Friedrich Ferdinand von Kotzebue (, ; – ) was a German playwright, who had also worked as a Russian diplomat. In 1817, one of Kotzebue's books was burned during the Wartburg festival. He was murdered in 1819 by Karl Ludwig Sand, a ...

’s ''Erbschaft''. In 1816, her talent was noticed by

Johanna Schopenhauer Johanna Schopenhauer (née Trosiener; 9 July 1766 – 17 April 1838) was a German writer and '' salonnière''. She was the mother of the philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer and author Adele Schopenhauer. Biography Johanna Schopenhauer was born ...

, and she appeared on the

Karlsruhe Karlsruhe ( ; ; ; South Franconian German, South Franconian: ''Kallsruh'') is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, third-largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, after its capital Stuttgart a ...

stage in her 15th year. In 1821 she went to

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

, and in 1822 she appeared in

Braunschweig Braunschweig () or Brunswick ( ; from Low German , local dialect: ) is a List of cities and towns in Germany, city in Lower Saxony, Germany, north of the Harz Mountains at the farthest navigable point of the river Oker, which connects it to the ...

. Though her appearance in Braunschweig was unsuccessful, she was engaged at the court theatre () of

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

that same year, debuting on 5 August 1822 as Rutland in ''Essex'', which she had performed earlier in Mannheim to much applause. She also became reader to the empress of Austria. Her most notable roles were Chrimhild ( Raupach’s ''Nibelungen''), Lady Milfort ( Shiller's ''

Kabale und Liebe ''Intrigue and Love'', sometimes ''Love and Intrigue'', ''Love and Politics'', or ''Luise Miller'' (, ; literally "''Cabal and Love''") is a five-act play written by the German dramatist Friedrich Schiller. His third play, it was first performed ...

''), Rosaura (''Leben ein Traum''), Ophelia, Preciosa, Semiramis (Raupach’s ''Tochter der Luft''), Portia, Zaire, Hedwig and Juliet (''

Romeo and Juliet ''The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet'', often shortened to ''Romeo and Juliet'', is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare about the romance between two young Italians from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's ...

''). After her death, a portrait of her as Princess Eboli was hung in the court theatre's hall of outstanding performers. Her biography, by Mailath, was published at Vienna in 1832.

Notes

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Muller, Sophie 1803 births 1830 deaths Actresses from Mannheim 19th-century German actresses German stage actresses