Pauline de Ahna
Pauline Maria de Ahna (4 February 1863 – 13 May 1950) was a German operatic soprano. She is best remembered today as the wife of composer Richard Strauss, who wrote several of his works for her.
[edit] Biography
De Ahna was born in Ingolstadt, the daughter of General Adolf de Ahna. She is best known as the wife of Richard Strauss, whom she married on 10 September 1894. He wrote many operatic roles for her, such as Freihild in Guntram.
De Ahna was famous for being bossy, snobbish, ill-tempered, eccentric, and outspoken, but the marriage was happy, and she was a great source of inspiration to her husband in works up to and including the Four Last Songs. In particular, Strauss portrayed de Ahna both as the hero's companion in A Hero's Life and in several sections of Symphonia Domestica.
She was also the subject of the one-woman show Die Frau im Schatten by Dame Gwyneth Jones. [1]
De Ahna outlived her husband, but only by eight months, dying in Garmisch-Partenkirchen in May 1950.
[edit] Sources
- Elizabeth Forbes: "Pauline de Ahna", Grove Music Online ed. L. Macy (Accessed September 26, 2008), (subscription access)
- BBC Radio 4 broadcast 21 April 2011 http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b010dsts
