A Dictionary of Music and Musicians/Wippern, Louise

by Alexis Chitty

WIPPERN, Louise (Harriers-Wippern), bora 1835 or 1837 at Hildesheim or Bückeburg.^[1] On June 16, 1857, she made her first appearance at Berlin and played Agatha in 'Der Freischütz,' and Alice in 'Robert le Diable' with such success as to obtain a permanent engagement in Berlin in September of the same year. She kept the post until her retirement, and was a great favourite both in dramatic and in the lighter parts, viz. Iphigenia, Jessonda, Pamina, Susanna, Fidelio, Inez (L'Africaine), the Princess of Navarre (John of Paris), Mrs. Ankerstrom (Gustavus III.), Gretchen (Faust), Elizabeth (Tannhäuser), Valentine, etc. In Dec. 1859 she married at Bückeburg an architect named Harriers. She sang for three seasons in London at Her Majesty's, appearing first, June 11, 1864, as Alice. She pleased 'on account of the freshness of her tone, her firm delivery of the notes, her extreme earnestness and her unquestionable feeling' (Musical World). She was an admirable actress. Her parts in London were but few, viz. Pamina (July 6, 1865), Amelia (Un Ballo), Leonora (Trovatore), Zerlina (Don Giovanni); but several of her best parts were in the hands of Fräulein Tietjens, then in the zenith of her fame and powers, and Mme. Harriers-Wippern was placed at great disadvantage. In May 1868, while at Königsberg, she was seized with diphtheria, which compelled her to visit Italy. She reappeared at Berlin Jan. 5, 1870, and sang there for a year or more, but her voice and strength were so much impaired that she was compelled to retire from regular work. She died Oct. 5, 1878, from another throat disease, at the Hydropathic Establishment at Görbersdorf (Silesia).

[ A. C. ]

1. 'Neue Berliner Musik Zeitung.'