Ema Pukšec
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Ema Pukšec (1834-1889), also known as Ilma De Murska, was a famous 19th century opera singer from Croatia.
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[edit] Life
Ema was born on February 6, 1834 in Ogulin in today's Croatia. Her place of birth is often mistakenly stated to be Zagreb. Her mother was Krescencia Brodarotti de Trauenfeld, while her father, Josip Pukšec, was a highly respected military officer stationed in the region around the city of Slunj. For all he did protecting the eastern flanks of western Europe within the Austrian Military Frontier, her father was granted nobility and added the extension Murski to his name. The same was later used by Ema as her surname.
Ema started playing the piano at the age of five. After her family moved to Zagreb in 1850, she started to sing, hoping for a later opera career. She married a soldier by the name of Josip Eder in 1851, with whom they had two children (Alfons and Hermina). They moved first to Graz in 1857, then to Vienna in 1860, in order to enable her to study in Conservatory. For some time, she also went to study in Paris.
Her professional career started in 1862 and lasted some twenty years. She is sometimes described as the phenomenal Hungarian prima donna, which is not correct, since she was Croatian and came from Croatia. The reason of the misunderstanding is that Croatia was at the time part of the Kingdom of Hungary, which in turn was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
She died on January 14, 1889 in Munich, Germany.
[edit] Education and Career
Ilma De Murska was a coloratura soprano with a range of three octaves. Her career as Ilma de Murska started in 1862 in Florence, Italy as Lady Harriet in Friedrich von Flotow's Martha. Some sources claim she debuted as Marguerite de Valois in Les Huguenots. Her tour of Europe followed by performing in Hungary, (Budapest), Spain, Italy. After a string of 42 successful performances, there was just one place to go - Vienna.
She came as a guest artist, representing the royal theatre of Berlin and sang on August 16, 1864 in Verdi's Il Trovatore. Her period in Vienna was the best part of her career, which closed on August 10 1873 in a farewell performance, in which she played Ophelia in the very first performance of Ambroise Thomas' Hamlet at the Vienna Court Opera. Her finest roles were the Queen of the Night in Mozart's The Magic Flute and Lucia di Lammermoor. She also sang Dinorah and Isabella.
[edit] Memories
As probably the best among many soprano singers of that time, obviously equaling Adelina Patti, Pauline Lucca, Christine Nilsson, Etelka Gerster, experts, high societies and ordinary listeners in Vienna and London called her - The Croatian nightingale. Murska made her London debut in 1865 as Lucia di Lammermoor at Her Majesty's Theatre. Even after leaving Vienna in 1873, Ilma De Murska was welcome guest and performed in Hamburg, Berlin, Paris. In 1873 and 1874 the soprano toured United States. She also toured Russia, Australia, New Zealand and for a period of time she lectured at Conservatory in New York City.
