Caroline Unger (sometimes Ungher; 28 October 1803 – 23 March 1877), alternatively known as Karoline, Carolina, and Carlotta,[1] was an Austro-Hungariancontralto.
Unger had a great success at the Théâtre-Italien in Paris in October 1833, where Sadie speculates that this was the occasion upon which Rossini is known to have commented on her voice as having "the ardour of the south, the energy of the north, brazen lungs, a silver voice and a golden talent".[3]
In 1835, she had a passionate love affair with the French writer Alexandre Dumas during the boat trip they made together from Naples to Palermo, where the singer had been engaged for the autumn season at the Teatro Massimo.[4]
In 1841 she married the French writer François Sabatier-Ungher and retired from the stage in 1843.[1] She died in Florence and was buried in the cemetery of the basilica San Miniato al Monte there.
She is memorable for her part in the famous anecdote regarding the applause at the premiere of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, at which she sang the contralto solo part – it was reported she turned the deaf composer around to receive his audience's thunderous applause.
