Gallmeyer, Josefine, (real name, Josefina Tomaselli)
Gallmeyer, Josefine, (real name, Josefina Tomaselli)
Gallmeyer, Josefine, (real name, Josefina Tomaselli) German soprano; b. Leipzig, Feb. 27, 1838; d. Vienna, Feb. 2, 1884. She began her stage career at 15. After appearing in Brunn, Budapest, Hermannstadt, and Temesvár, she became a star soubrette artist at Vienna’s Theater an der Wien in 1865. She was bested in a rivalry there with Marie Geistinger, and in 1867 went to Berlin. Upon returning to Vienna, she became one of the principal singers at the Carltheater. She later was active at the Strampfertheater and the Theater an der Wien. After her final appearance at the Carltheater in 1882, she went to N.Y. for engagements at the Thalia Theater. Her N.Y. appearances were bedeviled by illness, and she died shortly after returning to Vienna. Gallmeyer was affectionately known as Pepi. Her roles in the lighter scores of the Viennese musical theater were memorable. Her career was the subject of a Volksstuck (1905) and a Singspiel by Paul Knepler (1921).
Bibliography
M. Waldstein, Erinnerungen an J. G. (Berlin, 1885).
—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire