Rosa Streitmann

Rosa Carola^[1] Streitmann, von Jenny from 1885^[2] and Benvenisti from 1888^[3] (21 February 1857 – 30 July 1937) was an Austrian operetta singer and singing pedagogue.

Life

Born in Vienna as Rosalia Streitmann,^[4] Streitmann was the daughter of a stockbroker, her brother was the operetta singer Karl Streitmann. She is said to have first enjoyed ballet training with Virgilius Calori [pl], but then turned to singing under pressure from her parents. She received lessons from her aunt Rosa Csillag. A first public performance is mentioned in the press in February 1875.^[5] In June 1876 she made her debut at the Carltheater in Offenbach's Schönröschen^[6][7] at the world premiere of Franz von Suppé's Boccaccio she sang the role of Fiametta. In 1881 she changed to the Theater an der Wien.^[8]

In December 1885 Streitmann married Fritz von Jenny, a grandson of Franz von Suppé.^[2] However, shortly after the marriage, he lived together with Streitmann's sister-in-law Louise. The resulting scandal led to several lawsuits.^[9]

After that Streitmann was briefly employed in Moscow (1886), at the Berliner Theater [de] and at the Königsstädtisches Theater (1887). Her second marriage was to Heinrich Benvenisti from 1888 with the marriage ending in divorce in 1898.^[3]

Her engagement in the Theater in der Josefstadt, which she began in 1889, ended with mutual recriminations and a trial,^[10] from which Streitmann finally emerged victorious.^[11] From a stay abroad (possibly in Paris) she returned to Vienna in 1893, where she sang again at the Carlstheater in 1897.^[12] She made her last stage appearance in 1900 at the Operettenhaus in Hamburg.^[13]

At the latest since 1897 she worked as a singing teacher^[14] from 1905 for the Musikschulen Kaiser.

From 1920 Streitmann lived in poor conditions,^[15] first in the Gumpendorfer Straße, last in Baden bei Wien. Streitmann died in the Vienna General Hospital at age 80 and was buried at Wiener Zentralfriedhof on 2 August 1937.^[16]

Further reading

• C. M. Gruber: "Streitmann Rosa". In: Österreichisches Biographisches Lexikon 1815–1950 (ÖBL). Vol. 13, Austrian Academy of Sciences, Vienna 2010, ISBN 978-3-7001-6963-5, p. 395.
• Ludwig Eisenberg: Großes biographisches Lexikon der Deutschen Bühne im XIX. Jahrhundert. Paul List publisher, Leipzig 1903, (Rosa Streitmann is available for free viewing and download at the Internet Archive).
• Alexander Rausch, Monika Kornberger: Streitmann, Geschwister in Oesterreichisches Musiklexikon. Online-edition, Vienna 2002 ff., ISBN 3-7001-3077-5; Printed edition volume 5, published by the Austrian Academy of Sciences, Vienna 2006, ISBN 3-7001-3067-8.

External links

• Streitmann Rosa on Operissimo.