Schröter, Corona (EN)

Schröter, Schroeter, Schroeder, Corona Elisabeth Wilhelmine, *14 January 1751 Guben, †23 August 1802 Ilmenau, German singer, actress and composer, daughter of Johann Friedrich. Initially, her father taught her music, including piano and guitar. Around 1773, she continued her education in Leipzig as a student of J.A. Hiller. She performed in his Grosse Konzerte from 1765. She achieved success as a theatre actress and as a singer. In the singing field she was competing with G. Schmeling (later G. Mara). In 1771–73 she took part in the Schröter family tour. In 1776, she was engaged as a singer at the court of Anna Amalia in Weimar, thanks to J.W. Goethe, and she also appeared in many leading roles in the court theatre. At the time, she also composed music for Singspiels (including Die Fischerin) and theatre plays. From 1783 until around 1788, Corona Schröter performed in salons and taught singing. In 1801, due to her health, she moved to Ilmenau. The most prominent authors dedicated their works to her, including F. Schiller and J.W. Goethe.

Two volumes of Corona Schröter’s song collections have been preserved. The older one includes simple pieces in strophic form, influenced by folk music, for instance the song Der Erlkönig (as the opening Singspiel in Die Fischerin) which is the first musical arrangement of a Goethe ballad. The second volume contains artistic arrangements of poetry, including French and Italian songs.

Literature: H. Düntzer Charlotte von Stein und Corona Schröter. Eine Verteidigung, Stuttgart 1876 (regarding Corona and Johann Samuel Schröter); P. Pasig Goethe und Ilmenau. Mit einer Beigabe: Goethe und Corona Schröter, Weimar 2nd Edition, published in 1902; H. Stümcke, Corona Schröter, Bielefeld 1904, 2nd Edition, published 1926; M.J. Citron Corona Schröter. Singer, Composer, Actress, “Music and Letters” LXI, 1980; A.J. Randall The Mysterious Disappearance of Corona Schröter’s Autobiography, “Journal of Musicological Research” XIV, 1994; P. Braun Corona Schröter, Düsseldorf 2004.