Mathilde Mallinger

She spent the next three years performing at that house, singing primarily Wagner roles like Elsa in Lohengrin and Elisabeth in Tannhäuser.

She created the role of Eva in the world premiere of Richard Wagner's Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg on 21 June 1868.

The tension came to a climax on 27 January 1872 in a performance of Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro in which Mallinger sang the Countess and Lucca portrayed Cherubino.

So upset by this event, Lucca broke her contract with the opera house and left the German capital to perform elsewhere.

Outside of Berlin, Mallinger made a number of guest appearances at the Vienna State Opera and the Mariinsky Theatre in St Petersburg.