Euphrasie Borghese

Auguste Edouart cut Euphrasie Borghese’s portrait in August 1841, shortly after her arrival in the United States. The opera singer had performed in Italy, Paris, and Havana. Here, she holds an unusually detailed sheet of music that shows us precise notes, but not words, for an aria for a soprano. During the fall of 1841, Borghese appeared onstage in New York City numerous times. An early review noted that she was the “best singer we have ever heard on this side of the Atlantic” and remarked on her expressive, but not beautiful, countenance. By 1845, one critic noted that the opera Semiramide was “never so brilliantly performed,” and that Borghese was celebrated with “a many-colored shower of wreaths and bouquets.” She married Monsieur le Chevalier Maximilien Hardtmuth of Vienna in 1851, in New York City, and continued her operatic career.