Kornélia Hollósy

Kornélia Julianna Klára Hollósy (, , 13 April 1827 – 10 February 1890) was a Hungarian coloratura soprano opera singer, who was known as the "Hungarian Nightingale."

Early life and education

Hollósy was born on 13 April 1827 in Gherteniș, Banat. She was the eleventh and last child of Bogdán Korbuly and Mária Magdolna Csausz.

Hollósy's ancestors were from the area of Szamosújvár. Her Armenian father was a landowner who received a certificate of Hungarian nobility after purchasing the Gertenyes manor from the treasury in 1832 and was permitted to change the family surname to the more Hungarian-sounding Hollósy. She then trained as an opera singer for two years in the Austrian towns of Timisoara and Vienna under Matteo Salvi, as well as in Turin, Italy, under Giovanni Battista Lamperti, despite opposition from her father. After her maternal uncle organised a guest performance for her, She was one of the Hungarian composer Ferenc Erkel's favourite singers and he adapted a new part for her in his opera about the Hungarian nobleman and soldier László Hunyadi. Hollósy performed as Melinda in the 1861 premiere of Erkel's nationalist opera Bánk bán.

Hollósy also performed for charitable causes. In October 1846, she participated in a concert given by Franz Liszt for the benefit of the József Orphanage and in 1858 she sang at a concert given by the Pester Women's Charitable Society in aid of a local hospital. She was also a founding member of the Pest-Buda Hangászegyesület (music school).