Franz Himmer and Marie Friderici by Wenderoth

Franz Himmer (1828-1899); Austrian tenor.

He first studied medicine in Vienna. For participation in the revolution of 1848 he was sentenced to 6 months in prison. After a short vocal training he made his debut in 1849 at the the Wiener Hofoper as the fisherman in Rossini's "Guillaume Tell". He then was engaged at the Hofoper von Dresden, where he appeared in the lyric tenor repertoire. After Dresden he moved to the Hoftheater von Braunschweig where his repertoire changed into "Heldentenor". Due to a serious illness he was not able to sing for several years. After his recovery he appeared at the Deutsche Oper in Budapest (1858/60), at the Hamburger Stadttheater (1860/62) and at the Hoftheater Darmstadt (1862/63). In 1863 he went to the USA, what turned out to be the start of a brilliant career, especially as a Mozart and Wagner interpreter. He undertook major tours in the United States and sang a variety of roles. In 1863 he sang the title role in the American première of Gounod's "Faust" at Philadelphia, with his wife the soprano Marie Friderici as Marguerite. Until 1870 he remained in the USA; in that year he participated in the American premiere of Mozart 's "Der Schauspieldirektor" in New York. He then returned to Germany, where he gave guest performances and concerts until 1887. Since then he lived in Himmelsthür as a much sought-after vocal teacher.

Marie Friderici (1840-1925); German soprano

Her name also appears as "Frederici" especially in the American press. She was married to the Austrian tenor Franz Himmer and she accompanied him on his tour to the USA. In 1863 she sang the role of Marguerite in the American première of Gounod's "Faust" at Philadelphia, with her husband Franz Himmer as Doctor Faust. In 1861 she had already created the role of Marguerite in the German première of "Faust" at the "Hoftheater Darmstadt". This role was a highlight in her repertoire and in the USA alone she has performed "Marguerite" more than 300 times. In 1871 she performed the role of Ortrud in the American première of Wagner's "Lohengrin" at the Bowery Amphitheatre in New York. She made several guest appearances in Germany: at the Hofoper Dresden in 1865, at the Stadttheater Bremen in 1866 and at the Berliner Kroll-Oper in 1872. Her most memorable roles were -besides Marguerite- Agathe in "Der Freischütz", Pamina in "Die Zauberflöte" and Lucrezia in "Lucrezia Borgia" .

On the photo they are seen as Doctor Faust and Marguerite in Gounod's opera "Faust.