Dressed in her Wagnerian best, soprano Therese Malten looks the stereotypical part of Richard Wagner's tragic heroine Brünhilde in Die Walküre, the second of the four works that
form Wagner's cycle Der Ring des Nibelungen (The Ring of the Nibelung).

 

Little biographical information regarding her has come to light. She was born Therese Müller at Insterburg, East Prussia on 21 June 1855 and studied under Gustav Engel in Berlin. She made her début in 1873 in Dresden as Pamina in The Magic Flute. In 1882 Richard Wagner selected her as the original Kundry in Parsifal. From that time on till her retirement in 1903, she remained a member of the Dresden Opera although apparently made numerous guest appearances with other European operas. She died on 2 January 1930 at Dresden.

This photograph bears a very faint pencil notation in German on its reverse side identifying Malten, her role and gives Dresden as the location as well as the date of either
June or July 1891.

Cabinet Photograph
W. Hoffert - Photographer
Dresden, Germany
c. 1891