Camilla Frydan

Camilla Frydan, birthname Herzl, married name Friedmann, pseudonym Herzer, (1887–1949) was an Austrian pianist, soubrette singer, composer and song writer. She performed in operettas and revues in Vienna and Berlin before she was forced to emigrate to the United States in 1938. She settled in New York where she produced hundreds of melodious numbers which were published by her Empress Music Publishing.

Early life Born in Wiener Neustadt on 3 June 1887, Camilla Frydan was the daughter of the bank employee Heinrich Herzl and his wife Cäcilie {née Königsberger). Her elder brother, Ludvig, and her younger sister, Clothilde, were also talented musicians.

In addition to her elementary and high school education, her brother taught her piano, harmony and composition. It was at the Fledermaus that she met Egon Friedell and his fellow performers, including his brother Oskar Friedmann, a librettist and journalist, whom she married on 15 July 1910 in the Evangelical Church in central Vienna. She had moved away from her Jewish ancestry, adopting the Christian faith. Their son Hans was born the following year. It was followed in 1926 by her operetta Liebesmagazin at the Neue Wiener Bühne with a libretto written by her husband. She conducted it herself. Collaboration between husband and wife ended prematurely in November 1929 when Oscar Friedmann, a diabetic, died after a leg amputation.