Ilma De Murska By Gurney

ILMA DE MURSKA ( Ema Pukšec )
(February 6, 1834 – January 14, 1889), Croatian soprano

Her career as Ilma de Murska started in 1862 in Florence, Italy as Lady Harriet in Friedrich von Flotow's Martha. Some sources claim she debuted as Marguerite de Valois in Les Huguenots. Her tour of Europe followed by performing in Budapest, Spain and Italy. After a string of 42 successful performances she went to Vienna as a guest artist and sang on August 16, 1864 in Verdi's Il Trovatore. Her period in Vienna closed on August 10, 1873 in a farewell performance, in which she played Ophelia in the very first performance of Ambroise Thomas' Hamlet at the Vienna Court Opera. Her most noted roles included the Queen of the Night in Mozart's The Magic Flute and Lucia di Lammermoor. She also sang the roles of Dinorah and Isabella in Robert le Diable

London appearances were from 1865 until after 1873 and were generally in connection with James Henry Mapleson's company. She made her London debut as Lucia di Lammermoor at Her Majesty's Theatre. Her appearance as Queen of the Night in 1865 was a great success In 1866 she sang Meyerbeer's Dinorah. That autumn she played Ophelia in Ambroise Thomas's Hamlet, with Charles Santley and Karl Formes, in London and on tour.

In 1871 she was Isabella for Ernesto Nicolini's English debut, in Robert le Diable She also took part in Mapleson's tours in Dublin between 1872 and 1876 .
After leaving Vienna in 1873, she performed in Hamburg, Berlin and Paris. In 1873-74, she toured United States. She also toured Russia, Australia and New Zealand, and for a period of time she lectured at the music conservatory in New York City.