Maria Carolina Bendaaus classic

Maria Carolina Benda (* 1742 in Potsdam (baptised on 27 December 1742); † 2 August 1820 in Weimar) was a singer, pianist, composer and chamber singer

Life

Maria Carolina Benda was born in Potsdam in 1742 as the second of eight children and was baptized in Berlin Cathedral on 27 December of the same year. She was the daughter of the violinist and composer Franz Benda. Her mother was Franziska Louise Eleonore Benda (née Stephanie), who served as chambermaid to Margravine Wilhelmine of Bayreuth.

Due to the early death of her mother in 1758, it is assumed that Maria Carolina, together with her older sister Wilhelmine Louise Dorothea, took over the upbringing of her four younger siblings Friedrich Wilhelm Heinrich, Carl Hermann Heinrich, Charlotte Henriette Sophie and Bernhardine Juliane. The other two siblings, Johann Christian Gottlieb and Luise Wilhelmine Amalia, died at an early age.

Maria Carolina received musical training in singing and piano playing from her father, whom she was allowed to accompany on a “visit and art trip” to Gotha, Weimar and Rudolstadt in 1761 at the age of 18. An important event on this trip was the marriage between Franz Benda and his sister-in-law Caroline Wilhelmine Stephanie on August 13, 1761. Caroline Wilhelmine had served Anna Amalia of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach as a chambermaid since she was five years old. After her marriage, she passed on her duties as chambermaid to her nieces and, from then on, stepdaughters Maria Carolina and Wilhelmine Louise Dorothea. Maria Carolina was also engaged by Duchess Anna Amalia as a chamber singer.

At the court of the Duchess of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, Maria Carolina met the court conductor, pianist and composer Ernst Wilhelm Wolf, whom she married on August 28, 1770. Anna Amalia covered the costs of the wedding, as she wanted to keep the two artists in Weimar.

Maria Carolina was a member of the “Liebhabertheater”, which was established at the Duchess’s court in 1775 and was directed by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.

Source Wiki: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Carolina_Wolf