Tietjens, Theresa

OPERA SINGER (GERMANY)
BORN 17 Jul 1831, Hamburg - DIED 3 Oct 1877, London
BIRTH NAME Tietjens, Thérèse Johanne Alexandra
CAUSE OF DEATH cancer
GRAVE LOCATION London: Kensal Green Cemetery, Harrow Road, Kensal Green (077/3 (22270))

Theresa Tietjens was the daughter of Peter Albrecht Tietjens (1789-1848) and Maria Friederike Schröder. She studied singing in Hamburg and in Vienna. She made her singing debut als Lucrezia Borgia in Donizetti's opera of the same name Hamburg 1849. From 1850 to 1856 she worked in Frankfurt am Main and from 1856 to 1859 in Vienna.

She first appeared in London in 1858 as Valentina in "Les Huguenots". She was so successful in London as Lucrezia boriga and in other parts that she settled in England permanently and became a British citizen. In 1863 she sang the part of Marguerite in the first performance on English ground of Gounod's Faust next to Antonio Giuglini as Faust. In May 1865 she performed in Buckingham Palace for Queen Victoria. In 1866 she supported Giulia Grisi's return in "Norma" and "Don Giovanni". Grisi failed, but her own appearances at the time were very successful.

Her temper was so fierce that she couldn't suddenly burst out in anger and smash everything around her. At one time she threw a bottle of soda water to a theatre manager. She missed him and the bottle crashed through a window and almost hit a passer-by. After this incident she stopped throwing things around.

In 1876 her career took her to North America where she played Lucrezia Borgia once more. Her last performance was also as Lucrezia Borgia at Her Majesty's Theatre on 19 May 1877. She suffered from cancer and was very ill at the time. She was operated but it didn't save her and she died on 3 October 1877.

Related persons
• has a connection with Grisi, Giulia

Images

The grave of Theresa Tietjens at Kensal Green Cemetery, London.
Picture by Androom (25 Mar 2016)

 

The grave of Theresa Tietjens at Kensal Green Cemetery, London.
Picture by Androom (17 Aug 2017)

 

Sources
By the way ...
Thérèse Tietjens - Wikipedia (EN)


Tilbury, William Harries

Published: 26 Apr 2019
Last update: 20 Apr 2022