לוביסה אוגוסטי

Lovisa Sofia Augusti (born Ester Salomoni) (1751-1790), soprano and actress and member of the Swedish Royal Academy of Music, born in Germany. She moved in Sweden in 1766 with her father and brother Carl Friedrich Wilhelm Salomoni, forming a "comedy band" that entertained audiences with their talents. Lovisa sang Italian arias, her brother played the violin, and their father displayed his skills on various instruments. They were granted permission to perform by Johan Pyhlson, Mayor of Vårberg (now a Stockholm suburb), who was rumored to be of Jewish origin.

Then the family moved on to Goteborg, where Augusti participated as a singer in concerts by local musicians. In Goteborg she converted to Christianity and was baptized with the name Lovisa Sofia. Her brother also converted, though the exact date is uncertain. She then moved to Kristianstad in southern Sweden, where in 1772 she married Friedrich Benedict Augusti, a violinist and director of music of German origins.

Augusti made her debut as a singer at Bollhuset in Stockholm on November 25, 1773, where she sang the Prologue to Christoph Willibald Gluck's opera Orpheus and Eurydice. She received rave reviews and was honored with a tribute in verse in the daily newspaper Dagligt Allehanda. Along with her husband, she received a contract in 1776, appointing her as a singer at the Royal Court and the Swedish Theatre. Her salary was the same as her husband's, and she was to receive a pension after her performing days were over. She also had special privileges, such as the use of the court's coaches and the ability to dictate her performance conditions.

Augusti's career as a singer flourished, and she performed in various opera roles after her debut in 1773. Some of her most famous roles included Apollo and Eurydice in Orpheus and Eurydice, Anna Eriksdotter Bielke in Gustaf Wasa by Johann Gottlieb Naumann, and Märta Banér in Gustaf Adolf och Ebba Brahe by Georg Joseph Vogler. She also performed in other works with music by Jean-Baptiste Moureau and André Grétry. Lovisa Augusti was appointed as a member of the Royal Academy of Music in 1788.

Despite her successful career, Lovisa Augusti's marriage with Friedrich Benedict Augusti was reportedly unhappy and they separated. Her husband left Sweden, but she stayed in Stockholm and continued her concert performances making her final solo appearance at a charity concert in support of the Serafimer Hospital a few months before her death.