Weber, Fridolin
Weber Maria Josepha, 1° voto Hofer, 2° voto Mayer, *1758 Zell im Wiesental, †29 December 1819 Vienna, German singer (soprano), daughter of Fridolin. She was a student of V. Righini in Vienna. She gained recognition from W.A. Mozart, who composed for her the aria Schon lacht der holde Frühling (KV 580) as an interlude in G. Paisiello’s Il barbiere di Siviglia, which was performed at the Theater auf der Wieden. He also wrote the Queen of the Night aria from Die Zauberflöte, having her in mind. Josepha Weber was first to perform the role at the premiere in Vienna (30 September 1791). In 1805 the singer withdrew from the opera stage. Her first husband was the violinist of the Vienna Hofkapelle and friend of Mozart, Franz de Paula Hofer (1755–1796), while her second husband was the singer (bass) Friedrich Sebastian Mayer (1773–1835), who performed the part of Pizarro in the premieres of the first and second versions of Beethoven’s Fidelio (1805 and 1806).