Titiens, or TIE TJENS, TERESA,

Titiens, or TIE TJENS, TERESA, one of the greatest of modern operatic singers. She was born at Hamburg, of Hungarian parents, 18th July 1831, and made her début at Altona in the character of Lucrezia Borgia in 1849, taking at once a very high position on the lyric stage; at Frankfort and Vienna she was even more warmly received; and her first appearance in London in 1858 was quite a triumph. Among her most famous impersonations were Norma, Semiramide, Fidelio, Margarita, and Ortrud (in Lohengrin). She visited America in 1875. The great volume and purity of her voice, and her energetic but dignified acting, combined to make her an unrivalled representative of strong dramatic parts. She was almost equally admirable in oratorio: Sir Julius Benedict wrote St Cecilia and other works specially for her. She sang for the last time in public in May 1877 in Il Trovatore, and died 3d October of the same year.