Josepha Hofer

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Josepha Hofer in front left, holding hands with the tenor Benedikt Schack and other protagonists of the Wiedner Theater in Schikaneder's Singspiel Die Zween Anton (in the number “O Anton you are mine”).

Maria Josepha Hofer , b. Weber , second marriage to Mayer (* 1758 in Zell im Wiesental near Lörrach ; † December 30, 1819 in Vienna ), was a German opera singer (soprano).

Life

She was a sister-in-law of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and the first interpreter of the Queen of the Night in Mozart's Singspiel Die Zauberflöte (1791) and in its sequel The Magic Flute, second part. The Labyrinth (1798) by Schikaneder / Winter in the Wiedner Theater . She performed in this role until 1801.

Josepha was the oldest daughter of Franz Fridolin Weber . Her sisters were Aloisia , Constanze (Mozart's wife) and Sophie. The composer Carl Maria von Weber was the son of Fridolin Weber's half-brother.

Josepha grew up mostly in Mannheim. Later she came with her family, who followed the singing career of the most gifted sister Aloisia, to Munich and Vienna, where she appeared in numerous soprano roles, including the title role in Paul Wranitzky's Oberon (1789).

Josepha was married twice. Her first husband was the violinist Franz de Paula Hofer (1755–1796), whom she married on July 21, 1788 in St. Stephen's Cathedral . Hofer was a violinist at the Imperial Court and St. Stephen's Cathedral. Her second marriage was on December 23, 1797 with the singer and director Sebastian Mayer (1773-1835), who, after Franz Xaver Gerl, sang the role of Sarastro in both parts of the Magic Flute and, in 1805, Pizarro in the premiere of Beethoven's Leonore .

Josepha Mayer resigned from the stage in 1805 and last lived with her husband at Laimgrube No. 22, where she died on December 30, 1819 at the age of 58 of the "Schlagfluss" (stroke).

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Other sources give 1759 or "approx. 1757 “as the year of birth.
  2. ↑ Wiener Zeitung , No. 3 of January 5, 1820, p. 11: “Deceased in Vienna. December 30th. To Mr. Sebastian Mayer, k. k. Court operists, s. Fr. Josepha, aged 58, at Laimgrube No. 22, on the Schlagfluss. " (Digitized version)
personal data
SURNAME Hofer, Josepha
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Hofer, Maria Josepha (full name); Weber, Josepha (maiden name); Mayer, Josepha
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German opera singer (soprano)
DATE OF BIRTH between 1757 and 1759
PLACE OF BIRTH Zell im Wiesental near Lörrach
DATE OF DEATH December 30, 1819
Place of death Vienna