Henriette Sontag

Henriette Sontag, born Gertrud Walpurgis Sontag, and after her marriage entitled Countess Rossi (3 January 1806 – 17 June 1854), was a German operatic soprano of great international renown. She possessed a sweet-toned, lyrical voice and was a brilliant exponent of florid singing.

Sontag was born at Koblenz, Germany, as Gertrude Walpurgis Sontag, to the actor Franz Sontag and his wife, the actress Franziska Sontag (née Martloff, 1798–1865). Her brother was the actor Karl Sontag. She made her début at the age of 6. In 1823 she sang at Leipzig in Carl Maria von Weber's Der Freischütz and in December of that year created the title role in his Euryanthe. Her success was immediate. She was invited to be the soprano soloist in the first performances of Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 and Missa Solemnis on 7 May 1824; she was only 18 years old at the time. In 1825 she was engaged by the Königstädter Theater, Berlin.

In 1826, she was engaged at the Paris Comédie-Italienne, where she debuted in the role of Rosina in Gioacchino Rossini's opera The Barber of Seville. She was also extremely successful in performance in England and Germany in the following years. When she visited Weimar, Goethe wrote a poem dedicated to her (Neue Siren). Around 1829 she married Count Carlo Rossi in secret, after which she left the stage until her husband's financial situation deteriorated.