Gottlieb, (Maria) Anna

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Gottlieb, (Maria) Anna

Gottlieb, (Maria) Anna, Austrian singer and actress; b. Vienna, April 29, 1774; d. there, Feb. 4, 1856. She was reared in a theatrical family and made her first appearance in the theater as a child. At the age of 12, she created the role of Barbarina in Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro (Vienna, May 1, 1786). Mozart later chose her to create the role of Pamina in his Die Zauberflböte (Vienna, Sept. 30, 1791). She subsequently pursued a career mainly as a singer in Singspiels and musical parodies, and as an actress. She was a member of the Freihaustheater (1790-93) and of the Theater in der Leopoldstadt (1792-1809; 1813-28) in Vienna.

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire