Princess Amalie of Saxony

Princess Amalie
Princess Amalie of Saxony
File:María Amalia of Saxony by López Portaña.jpg
Born	(1794-08-10)10 August 1794 Pillnitz, Dresden
Died	Pillnitz, Dresden
Burial	Katholische Hofkirche
Full name German: Maria Amalia Friederike Augusta Karolina Ludovica Josepha Aloysia Anna Nepomucena Philippina Vincentia Franziska de Paula Franziska de Chantal
House	Wettin
Father	Prince Maximilian of Saxony
Mother	Princess Carolina of Parma
Religion	Roman Catholicism

Amalie Marie Friederike Auguste (10 August 1794 – 18 September 1870), Princess of Saxony, full name Maria Amalia Friederike Augusta Karolina Ludovica Josepha Aloysia Anna Nepomucena Philippina Vincentia Franziska de Paula Franziska de Chantal, was a German composer writing under the pen name A. Serena, and a dramatist under the name Amalie Heiter. She was the daughter of Prince Maximilian of Saxony and Princess Carolina of Parma. She was the granddaughter of Frederick Christian, Elector of Saxony; niece of Frederick Augustus I, King of Saxony and Anthony, King of Saxony; sister of Frederick Augustus II, King of Saxony and John, King of Saxony; and aunt of Albert, King of Saxony and George, King of Saxony.

Life

Princess Amalie lived her entire life in Pillnitz Castle near Dresden, Germany. She was a well-educated and intellectually curious woman who composed chamber music, opera, and sacred music, sang, wrote comedies, and played the harpsichord.

Amalie was a young girl during the time of the Napoleonic wars and had to flee from her castle several times. She and her family were forced to sleep on straw wherever they could find shelter. She met Napoleon several times and held a negative opinion of him. When Napoleon observed that she was angry with him because he warred against her family, but that she should and would accustom herself to the situation, she firmly replied that there were some things that can't be accustomed to.

Career

Music

Amalie studied music with Joseph Schuster, Vincenzo Rastrelli, Johann Miksch, Franz Anton Schubert and Carl Maria von Weber. She began writing music in 1811 and composed numerous operas, popular among the Dresden elite. She published her musical works under the pseudonym A. Serena. Her most popular compositions were her comedic operas. She portrayed her characters with innovation and color. Weber found her "highly talented."

Dramatics

In 1829/30, she published two dramas under the name of Amalie Heiter. Among her subsequent dramatic works, which were noted for a love of humanity and virtue, her comedies Der Onkel (“The Uncle”) and Die Fürstenbraut (“The Prince's bride”) became very popular. The latter was performed in Paris under the title Une femme charmante (“A charming woman,” 1840). Others of her plays were also adapted to the French stage. A complete edition of her dramatic works was published in Dresden, for the benefit of the women's association, under the title of Originalbeiträge zur deutschen Schaubühne (“Original contributions to the German stage,” 6 vols., 1837–42). A 3rd edition of the 1st volume appeared in 1858, and a French version of it (Comédies) at Paris in 1841. Six of her dramas were translated into English by Jameson (London, 1846), and six others were translated anonymously (1848).

Musical works

File:Sachsen, Maria Amalia (1794-1870).jpg

Amalie, Princess of Saxony.

• Una donna (1816)
• Le nozze funeste (1816)
• Le tre cinture (1817)
• Il prigioniere (1820)
• L'americana (1820)
• Elvira (1821)
• Elisa ed Ernesto (1823)
• La fedeltà alla prova (1826)
• Vecchiezza e gioventù (1828)
• Il figlio pentito (1831)
• Il marchesino (1833)
• Die Siegesfahne (operetta, 1834)
• La casa disabitata (1835)

Ancestry

Family of Princess Amalie of Saxony

16. Augustus II the Strong               8. Augustus III of Poland                       17. Christiane Eberhardine of Brandenburg-Bayreuth               4. Frederick Christian, Elector of Saxony                             18. Joseph I, Holy Roman Emperor (=#22)               9. Maria Josepha of Austria                       19. Wilhelmine Amalia of Brunswick-Lüneburg (=#23)               2. Maximilian, Crown Prince of Saxony                                   20. Maximilian II Emanuel, Elector of Bavaria               10. Charles VII, Holy Roman Emperor                       21. Theresa Kunegunda Sobieska               5. Duchess Maria Antonia of Bavaria                             22. Joseph I, Holy Roman Emperor (=#18)               11. Maria Amalia of Austria                       23. Wilhelmine Amalia of Brunswick-Lüneburg (=#19)               1. Princess Amalie of Saxony                                         24. Philip V of Spain               12. Philip, Duke of Parma                       25. Elisabeth Farnese               6. Ferdinand, Duke of Parma                             26. Louis XV of France               13. Louise Élisabeth of France                       27. Marie Leszczyńska               3. Princess Carolina of Parma                                   28. Leopold, Duke of Lorraine               14. Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor                       29. Élisabeth Charlotte d'Orléans               7. Archduchess Maria Amalia of Austria                             30. Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor               15. Maria Theresa of Austria                       31. Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel

Bibliography

Modern works

• Slonimsky, Nicolas, ed. Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Musicians. Vol. 1. New York: Schrimer Books, 2001: 67.
• Women in World History: A Biographical Encyclopedia. Vol. 1. Woodbridge, CT: Yorkin, 1999: 254–255.
• Rieger, Eva, ed. The Norton/Grove Dictionary of Women Composers. New York : W.W. Norton and Company, 1995: 12.

Older sources

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• This is an extract from another publication.