A Cyclopaedia of Female Biography/Sontag, Henrietta
SONTAG, HENRIETTA,
A very distinguished singer, was born at Coblentz, in 1808. Her parents were actors, and Henrietta was brought on the stage at Frankfort when she was only five years old. In 1824, she performed at Berlin with great applause, and also at London and Paris. It was as a vocalist that she acquired her celebrity. Her voice was very clear and flexible, her acting fine, and her personal appearance attractive. About 1830, she married and left the stage.
For nearly twenty years this lady was heard of as the wife of Count Rossi, a nobleman of distinguished rank, who was, at his marriage, the Sardinian minister at the court of Berlin. Some years afterwards he was sent ambassador to Russia, and during the missions of St. Petersburg, as well as at Berlin, Madame Sontag (now Countess Rossi) was received at court with the greatest distinction, and delighted the circles of the king and the emperor by the occasional display of her genius;—at St. Petersburgh she eclipsed all the female vocalists. In private life, her virtues and accomplishments rendered her respectable and admired. She was naturally benevolent, and her charities were immense. But in consequence of those reverses to which the most eminent have been liable in these revolutionary days, she has found it necessary again to resort to her talents as an artist. London was the place chosen for her reappearance. She sustained the character of Linda, in July, 1849, and was received with the warmest and most enthusiastic applause. As an actress she is undeniably improved;—it is impossible for a girl of twenty, whatever be her genius, to have that knowledge of human nature, and of the passions, which are requisite for the proper conception of tragic characters. Sometimes this mental finish arrives when nature begins to withdraw the exterior charms so necessary to impersonate the heroine. In the case of Madame Sontag (she resumes her own name, professionally,) this drawback does not exist; she enjoys perfect health and vigour, her person is elegantly formed, and her graceful ladylike demeanour is peculiarly attractive. Her voice seems to have retained every element of power and beauty. It is a pure soprano, both in tone and in compass. Her early advantages of education were great; and during her retirement she has never ceased to cultivate herself in private, thus evincing the true greatness of her genius by its constant activity.