Murska, lima di
Murska, lima di
Murska, lima di, Croatian soprano; b. Zagreb, Jan. 4, 1836; d. Munich, Jan. 14, 1889. She studied with Mathilde Marchesi in Vienna and Paris, making made her debut in Florence (1862). After a European tour, she was engaged at the Vienna Court Opera. She made her London debut as Lucia (May 11, 1865) and was favorably received there until 1873; toured America (debut as Amina in N.Y, Oct. 7, 1873) and Australia (1873–76), and was again in London in 1879. She was greatly admired for the quality of her voice and stage presence, but her voice and health deteriorated so rapidly that reviewers were embarrassed by her pathetic vocal display at her last N.Y. appearance (Dec. 29, 1887). She taught unsuccessfully at the National Cons, there (1888) and then returned to Germany, where she died in poverty. She also composed a few works. Her life was filled with turbulence and a fabricated background: 2 marriages, an illegitimate daughter whose legitimacy was established by fabricating a third marriage, lawsuits with opera companies, and injudicious advice from friends. Learning of her death, her daughter, with whom she was living, committed suicide.
—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire