Bahr-Mildenburg, Anna von

SOPRANO (AUSTRIA)
BORN 29 Nov 1872, Wien - DIED 27 Jan 1947, Wien
BIRTH NAME Bellschan von Mildenburg, Anna
GRAVE LOCATION Salzburg: Kommunalfriedhof, Gneiser Strasse 8 (Gruppe 22, Nummer 22-23 (Ehrengrab) )

Anna von Bahr-Mildenburg took singing lessons with Rosa Papier and Johannes Ress in Vienna and later privately with Gustav Mahler and Cosima Wagner. She debuted in Hamburg in 1895 as Brünnhilde in "Die Walküre". During that time she had an affair with Gustav Mahler, who was musical director in Hamburg. Possibly this was a reason for Mahler's departure to Vienna. In 1897 she appeared for the first time at the Bayreuth festival.

Although their affair had ended in 1897, she followed Mahler to the State Opera in Vienna where they worked together although they were on less intimate terms. She performed successfully in Vienna until 1916. She sat for the painter Gustav Klimt for his "Judith I" (1901). In 1904 she started a liaison with the author Hermann Bahr and they married in 1909. Together they wrote "Bayreuth und das Wagnertheater" (1910). In 1910 she was the first Klytemnästra in "Elektra" in England at Covent Garden.

In 1921 she became a professor of singing at the Academy of Music in Munich and she also worked as a singing teacher in Berlin. Among her pupils were Lauritz Melchior and Maria Müller. From 1922 to 1927 she appeared at the Salzburg Festival. Her last appearance was in Augsburg in 1930, where she performed the part of Klytemnästra in "Elektra". Only one recording of her voice is known, a part from "Oberon" by Carl Maria von Weber from 1904.

Family
• Husband: Bahr, Hermann (1909-1934)

Related persons
• performed with Berg, Smaragda
• worked as a model for Klimt, Gustav
• cooperated with Mahler, Gustav
• had a love affair with Mahler, Gustav
• was teacher of Müller, Maria
• was painted by Sargent, John Singer

Images

The grave of Hermann Bahr and Anna Bahr-Mildenburg at the Kommunalfriedhof, Salzburg.
Picture by Androom (29 Aug 2009)

 

The grave of Hermann Bahr and Anna Bahr-Mildenburg at the Kommunalfriedhof, Salzburg.
Picture by Androom (29 Aug 2009)

 


Baillie, Joanna

Published: 13 Mar 2010
Last update: 01 Mar 2022