Josepha Weber

Maria Josepha Hofer, née Weber, in a second marriage Mayer (* 1761 in Zell im meadow valley near Lörrach; † 30 December 1819 in Vienna) was a German soprano.

Life

She was a sister of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and the first performer of the Queen of the Night in Mozart's Singspiel Die Zauberflöte (1791 ) and its continuation in The Magic Flute Zweyter Theil ( 1798) by Schikaneder / Winter in the Wiedner Theater. In this role she performed until 1801.

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

Josepha grew predominantly in Mannheim. Later, she came with her family, which was followed by the singing career of the most talented sister Aloysia, to Munich and Vienna, where she appeared in numerous soprano roles, including the title role of Paul Wranitzky Oberon (1789 ).

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

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