Fembio Special: Famous Lesbians
Therese Malten
(actual name: Therese Müller)
born on June 21, 1855 in Insterburg/East Prussia (today: Tschernjachowsk/Russia)
died on January 2, 1930 in Neu-Zschieren near Dresden, Germany
German singer (soprano)
95th anniversary of her death on January 2, 2025
Biography
Therese Müller seemed almost predestined for an illustrious career. She had inherited from her mother musicality, a love of singing, an exceptionally good singing voice and a wide vocal range. Her mother promptly arranged for her talented daughter to train with Berlin’s most highly respected and qualified teachers of singing and acting when the family settled there following the father’s appointment as a royal Prussian government councilor in the cultural capital. A mere four years later, the 17-year-old debuted with the stage name of Therese Malten in the renowned Dresden Royal Opera House as Pamina, and just a week later she was singing Agathe – both not easy parts for a beginner (she promptly received a permanent engagement)! She then sang Elsa a further two weeks later. The lyrical singer, lavishly praised for “her heroic appearance, her inspired, dramatic and moving performance, her powerful, modulatory, touching soprano voice where the sweetly melodious is united with vitality in equal measure,” quickly became the darling of the audience; she matured into Leonore, and then further into the first Kundry. Wagner also brought her to Bayreuth as his first Isolde and, among other roles, as Eva. Her performances in London, Holland and, above all, in Neumann's Wagner-authorized Ring cycles in the musical centers of St. Petersburg, Kiev and Moscow were also significant. But she remained loyal to Dresden: at the age of 48, it was there that she took her leave of the stage as Isolde. She then devoted herself to teaching and supporting the needy, although she would occasionally agree to sing in concerts and oratorios.
In between, she experienced some private turmoil.
The passionate relationship the famous philosopher Helene von Druskowitz had with Therese Malten ended disastrously and was presumably not meant to be made public. In December 1889, the “intellectual Amazon” needed to consult a neurologist. In 1890, in her “lighthearted tale” International, she alluded to an implicitly erotic relationship between her “alter ego” Mme de Catalesca and a singer. Helene von Druskowitz blamed “her lover Therese Malten,” among others, for her delusions of persecution following the philosopher’s commitment to a psychiatric hospital in February 1891.
In 1892-93, the king had a villa in a beautiful location in Zschieren on the Elbe constructed for Therese, who was his mistress and since 1880 a Saxon Royal Kammersängerin. Built in a Neo-Renaissance style, the villa included a bathtub with its own integrated lighting and a steam engine for an independent supply of energy. The grounds housed farm buildings, three pavilions, a pond filled with collected rain water and a large park with a bowling green. Knowledge of both the liaison and the villa was most certainly not restricted to the members of the royal court.
Therese Malten's companion inherited the villa.
(Text from 2004; translated with DeepL.com; edited by Ramona Fararo, 2024.
Please consult the German version for additional information, pictures, sources, videos, and bibliography.)
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