Pauline Strauss-de Ahna

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Pauline Strauss de Ahna, 1894

Pauline Maria Strauss-de Ahna , also Paula de Ahna (born February 4, 1863 in Ingolstadt , † May 13, 1950 in Garmisch-Partenkirchen ) was a German soprano and wife of the composer Richard Strauss .

Life

Photo taken around 1900

Pauline de Ahna was the daughter of the Bavarian Army General Adolf de Ahna and niece of the Berlin court opera singer Eleonore de Ahna and the violinist Heinrich de Ahna . In 1887 she met the conductor Richard Strauss, whom she followed as a pupil at the Weimar Court Opera, where she made her debut as Pamina in Die Zauberflöte on May 22, 1890 and sang Eva in Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg in December of the same year , followed by Part of Elisabeth in Tannhäuser . In Weimar she shone on December 23, 1893 as Hansel at the world premiere of Hansel and Gretel .

On September 10, 1894, she married Richard Strauss in the St. Veit castle church in Marquartstein . Pauline Strauss-de Ahna continued to perform as a singer and celebrated great success on the music stages of Bayreuth, Berlin, Braunschweig, Brussels, Hamburg, Karlsruhe, Madrid, etc. In addition to her stage presence, she was considered to be an excellent interpreter of Strauss songs. Together with her husband she gave many concerts and recitals. A real triumph for both of them was their three-month (February, March and April) concert tour through the USA in 1904. She led the couple u. a. to New York, Philadelphia, Boston, Pittsburg, Chicago and Washington. Strauss wrote about his wife's success:

Pauline takes all the hardships splendidly, has sung for seven days in a row, great success, three and four Dacapos everywhere, excellent reviews almost everywhere.

Her somewhat boyish, direct, even tactless manner was legendary among friends of the house. Alma Mahler-Werfel characterized them with the following words:

Pauline Strauss ... had a strong musical instinct ... But you had to be very careful not to get thrown at your head with any great tactlessness. She said everything and how she thought .

Strauss himself created a loving memorial to his wife in the character of Christine in the autobiographical opera Intermezzo . The couple first lived in Munich and from 1898 in Berlin , where Pauline de Ahna gave up her profession as a singer in 1906. In 1908 the Strauss couple moved into a villa in Garmisch . In 1918 the couple moved to Vienna , 1945 to Baden in Aargau, then to Ouchy and finally to Montreux . In 1949 the couple returned to Garmisch-Partenkirchen, where both died in quick succession.

The Strauss couple had their son Franz Strauss (1897–1980).

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ cit. n. Messmer 1994, p. 312
  2. ↑ Mahler, p. 223

literature

  • Anna Mahler : My life . S. Fischer, Frankfurt 1963.
  • Walter Deppisch (Ed.): Richard Strauss. In self-testimonials and picture documents. (Rowohlt's monographs 146) Rowohlt Verlag, Reinbek near Hamburg 1984, ISBN 3-499-50146-5 .
  • Franzpeter Messmer : Richard Strauss. Biography of a sound magician . Edition Musik & Theater, Zurich / St. Gallen 1994.

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Strauss-de Ahna, Pauline
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Ahna, Pauline de (maiden name); Ahna, Paula de
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German soprano and wife of the composer Richard Strauss
DATE OF BIRTH February 4, 1863
PLACE OF BIRTH Ingolstadt
DATE OF DEATH May 13, 1950
Place of death Garmisch-Partenkirchen