7 Madame Nilsson married a second time, choosing for her husband
Count Casa di Miranda, and after her farewell concerts, given in 1888,
retired permanently.

During her stage career Nilsson gave to the world new and refined
interpretations of many well-known roles, but her only creation was the
part of Edith in Balfe's "Talismano," though when Boito's
"Mephistophele" was first produced in England, in 1880, she sang the
part of Margaret. She also gave a remarkable dramatic and poetical
interpretation of the part of Elsa in "Lohengrin."

Of all the singers of German opera, by which we now mean _Wagner_, none
has attained so great a reputation as Frau Amalie Materna. With a
soprano voice of unusual volume, compass, and sustaining power, a fine
stage presence, and great musical and dramatic intelligence Frau Materna
left nothing to be desired in certain rules.

Amalie Materna was born in Styria at a place named St. Georgen, where
her father was a schoolmaster. This was in 1847, and when she was twelve
years of age her father died, leaving his family penniless.

Amalie and an older brother found means to go to Vienna where a music
teacher tried her voice, and though he saw great promise in it he
declined to undertake her musical education on such terms as she could
offer. Sadly disappointed, Amalie joined her mother and another brother
at St. Peter in Upper Styria, and lived there for the three following
years, when the family migrated to Gratz.

It is related that Suppe, the composer, sometimes spent his summer
holiday at Gratz with some old friends. Every evening the party would
gather in the garden to play skittles. When ready to begin they would
call to the woman next door to send the "lad" to set up the skittles.
The "lad" was a sprightly, black-eyed girl named "Maly" Materna.

One day Suppe happened to hear her sing, and struck by the beauty of her
voice, called the attention of Kapellmeister Zaitz, also a visitor at
Gratz. Soon after this "Maly" became a member of the chorus at the
Landes theatre, and by Suppe's advice Treumann engaged her for Vienna.
She had meanwhile developed her voice.

Materna's first salary was forty gulden a month, but her first
appearance was so successful that this was raised to one hundred gulden.
For two years she sang in Offenbachian roles, and it was at the
termination of her second season that she became engaged at the Karl
Theatre in Vienna, at a yearly salary of five thousand gu