Hermine Bosetti (1875-1936)

  • Profession: Soprano
  • Relation to Mahler: Worked with Gustav Mahler (1860-1911) in the Vienna State Opera
  • Correspondence with Mahler: 
  • Born: 28-09-1875 Vienna, Austria 
  • Died: 01-05-1936 Hohenrain or Munich
  • Buried: 00-00-0000 
  1. 1900 Opera Vienna 21-01-1900

Born: Hermine Bosettinée von Flick

Bosetti sang her debut in Wiesbaden (1898) as “Ännchen” in Der Freischütz. In 1900, she was a member of the Vienna State Opera and from 1901 until 1924 she was a star singer with the Bavarian State Opera. In 1903, she sang the role of “Colombina” in the first performance of Le donne curiose (Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari). She appeared in most of the German opera houses as well as in the Netherlands, Belgium, London, and Russia. In 1908, she sang in Vienna as a guest in roles such as “The Queen of the Night” and “Marguerite de Valois”. She recorded for G&T Recordings, Odeon, and Gramophone.

She taught at the Hoch Conservatory in Frankfurt am Main from 1926-28. Among her students were Marcia Van Dresser and Adele Kern.

In 1913, she became the face of Aok products in Germany in their advertising, claiming “I have used Aok soap for years”.

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She studied singing under Ms. Aurelie Jäger-Wilczek in Vienna and made her debut in 1898 at the Hoftheater in Wiesbaden as Ännchen in ‘’Freischütz’’.

She remained there until 1900 and in the 1900-1901 season sang at the Vienna Court Opera. Since 1901 until her retirement (1926) she was a member of the Munich Court Opera. In 1903 she appeared in the Munich premiere of the opera ‘’Le Donne curiose’’ by Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari (in the Residenztheater) as Colombine, in 1906 she sang here (again at the Residenztheater) in the premiere of the opera ‘’I Quattro Rusteghi’’ by E. Wolf-Ferrari, in 1912 at the Court Opera in the world premiere of the opera ‘’Franfreluche’’ by Wilhelm Mauke.

In 1910 she created G. Puccini’s Butterfly for Munich, in 1911 the Octavian in R. Strauss’s ‘’Rosenkavalier’’ and J. Massenet’s Manon, in 1913 the Zerbinetta in ‘’Ariadne auf Naxos’’ by R. Strauss. She appeared as a guest in 1905 and 1914 at the Berlin Court Opera, in 1910 at the Court Opera in Dresden, in the 1908-1911 seasons several times at the Vienna Court Opera, in the 1905-1915 seasons at the Court Theater of Stuttgart, in 1907 at the Deutsches Theater in Prague, in 1908 at the Vienna Volksoper, from 1906 to 1915 at the Frankfurt a.M. Opera House, also at the opera houses of Cologne and Leipzig, at the Stadttheater in Bremen, in 1906 and 1907 at the Riga Opera House, in 1912 at the Théâtre de la Monnaie in Brussels and in 1921 at the Stadttheater in Basel.

Rosen aria from ‘Figaros Hochzeit’ by Hermine Bosetti (1875-1936).

Guest performances also brought her great successes in Russia; she sang in St. Petersburg among others as a partner of Mattia Battistini. In 1912 she made guest appearances at the Municipal Theater of Zurich as Susanna in ‘’Figaros Hochzeit’’, Violetta in ‘’Traviata’’ and as Frau Fluth in ‘’Lustigen Weibern von Windsor’’. At the Covent Garden Opera (1907) she appeared in ‘’Bartered bride’’ by B. Smetana’s and ‘’Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg’’ of R. Wagner.

In 1913 she was heard at His Majesty’s Theater of London in the English premiere of the Richard Strauss’s opera ‘’Ariadne auf Naxos’’. The same season, again at the Covent Garden Opera she sang the role of Octavian in R. Strauss’s ‘’Rosenkavalier’’. She remained active until 1926 at the Munich Opera (1924-1926 as a guest). From 1924 to 1930 she was a teacher at the Hoch Conservatory in Frankfurt a.M., then in Munich. Her daughter Elly Bosetti appeared in the 1930’s as soprano (debut in 1935 at the Municipal Theater of Bamberg as Lola in ‘’Cavalleria Rusticana’’).

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