Henrietta Treffz

Henrietta "Jetty" Treffz (German: [tʁɛfts]; née Chalupetzky; 1 July 1818, in Alsergrund – 8 April 1878, in Hietzing) was best known as the first wife of Johann Strauss II and a well-known mezzo-soprano appearing in England in 1849 to great acclaim.

Henrietta Chalupetzky was the only child of a Viennese goldsmith, and she studied music in Vienna, adopting her mother's maiden name, Treffz, for professional purposes.

The Musical World, published in London on 5 May 1849, noted her talents: "mezzo-soprano voice of beautiful quality and remarkable for freshness and equality of tone throughout the register".

She writes up all accounts, copies out orchestral parts and sees to everything in the kitchen with such efficiency and kindness that is admirable" in a letter dated 2 May 1869 written to his wife Caroline.

Jetty Treffz lived long enough to see her husband claim a small but encouraging success in the operetta business, however, on 8 April 1878, she suffered a heart attack and died, aged 59, the cause being reported as a disturbing letter from one of her illegitimate sons.