• HAGEN, Rosa: soloist, v

Information that Rosa Hagen was to give a concert on 4/6/1850 did not appear in the newspaper Bohemia until the Tageskalender text of that day, which listed the venue and time of the event.

A review, signed ‘V.’, of this concert was published by Bohemia 6/6/1850. The correspondent related that he had twice had the opportunity to write about the concert-giver, as an opera and as a Lieder singer, and ‘today’s concert seemed to confirm what we have already said about her. Not [with a] great, but with a pleasant voice, no lively dramatics but all the same a proper delivery and praiseworthy vocal technique, she is not a singer of a lower standard.’ Details were then given of the works performed. Due to the indisposition of Miss Frey who was suffering from hoarseness and therefore did not give a declamation, Mrs Hagen sang her first two songs as a pair. She later performed an aria in E-flat major from Norma and finally the three songs by Beethoven, Krebs and Kobel. The critic thought it strange that it was the second of these three that on popular demand had to be repeated, and following her performances ‘the concert-giver was three or four times curtain-called.’ Brief comments were then made about the other three soloists appearing in the concert. ‘Mr Weber, orchestra member of the local theatre, through his performance of Ernst’s Papageno-Rondo gained all-round recognition as much for his great aplomb as for his bold bravura, which this modern composition demands in full measure. The oboist Mr Müller again testified to his great reputation with the very difficult composition of “Luft” [this was given in quotation marks by the review text, perhaps suggesting the name was actually a pseudonym]. All pieces were accompanied on the piano with a pleasant delicacy by Mr Proksch junior. Mr Bendel, a pupil of Proksch’s music institute played Chopin’s op.47 Ballade and a Liszt novelty, an Illustration to the famous skaters’ dance from Meyerbeer’s Prophète. He [Bendel] was like all the paticipants [curtain-]called. The hall was fairly full.’

The list of works in the database programme record is based upon the order in which the pieces were covered in the Bohemia review. The solo vocal items were certainly given in that order, although following the song by Kalivoda, and before the final three songs, the instrumental items would have been performed. Exactly which aria from Norma was sung by Hagen cannot be ascertained, most likely it constituted a transposition down a tone into E-flat major of the well-known ‘Casta Diva’.