Lebrun, Ludwig August
Lebrun Franziska Dorothea, née Danzi, baptised 24 March 1756 Mannheim, †14 May 1791 Berlin, wife of Ludwig August, German soprano singer, pianist and composer. She came from a family of distinguished musicians of Italian origin; she was the sister of F. Danzi and the niece of K.J. Toeschi. Following a successful debut in 1772 (in N. Sacchini’s La contadina in corte), she established a prominent position in the court opera in Mannheim. She sang leading roles in numerous operas; in Rosamunde (performed in Mannheim in 1780) by A. Schweitzer and in Günther von Schwarzburg (performed in Mannheim in 1777) by I. Holzbauer; these roles were written especially for her. In the autumn of 1777, she left for a year in London, where she performed at the King’s Theatre in opere serie by A. Sacchini, J.C. Bach and T. Giordano. In 1778 she sang in A. Salieri’s Europa riconosciuta during the opening ceremony of La Scala in Milan. She was among the finest singers of her time, and her voice was described (Ch. Burney, The Present State of Music in Germany…, 2 vols., London 1773) as exceptionally expressive, clear and high, at times imitating the sound of the oboe. Her repertoire included, alongside the aforementioned operas, works by F. Bertoni, M. Mortellari, A. Prati and V. Rauzzini, amongst others. Furthermore, she left behind two collections of sonatas for piano and violin, which were published on numerous occasions, including in London, Paris, Berlin and Amsterdam.