Marie Litta
American opera singer (1856–1883)
Marie Eugenia von Elsner (June 1, 1856 – July 7, 1883; pronounced Maria), known by her stage name Marie Litta, was an American soprano opera singer.
Trained to sing from an early age by her father, she traveled with him around the country to perform. She later studied with John Underner in Cleveland, Ohio. With the support of a patron, she studied further in Europe, with Pauline Viardot among others. Her debut performance in Paris was the title role of Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor—a role that remained a signature of hers while touring the United States with an opera company for years. In 1880, she formed her own troupe, and died three years later.
Early life
Marie Eugenia von Elsner was born on June 1, 1856, in Bloomington, Illinois, to Hugo von Elsner (a professor of music) and mother Amanda Dimmitt (whose family were early settlers of Illinois). After her musical skill was noticed by those around her, her father began to train her to become a leading singer. At the age of 5, she sang "The Last Rose of Summer" to Union soldiers in Springfield; this was her first public performance. By the time she was 14, she began traveling with her father to several cities in Illinois and beyond to perform.
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Chronology provides the most reliable spine for this subject; interpretation should follow only after identities and dates are secure. The source revision retrieved here is dated Apr 15, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q101500419. VIAF identifies the subject as 256817650. The Library of Congress control number is n2012043586. 1 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1856, 1883 and 1880.
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This entry incorporates text from “Marie Litta” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.