Felicita von Vestvali: Outstanding Opera Singer, Lesbian, and Darling of Napoleon III

As I strolled down Łabska Street in Jelenia Góra (Hirschberg) for the first time, the house at number 12 immediately grabbed my attention. With its elegant driveway and richly adorned façade reminiscent of ancient temples, I recall my initial thought during that stroll: “Someone exceptional must have lived here.” And indeed, that proved to be true. Let me introduce you to the history of Villa Vestvali.

The house at ul. Łabska 12 in Jelenia Góra, formerly Villa Vestvali, later Villa Birken / Photo: Marta Maćkowiak

Elise Lund – actress from Hamburg

It all began with Elise Lund. I came across her while browsing the address book of the town of Herischdorf (today’s Malinnik in Cieplice Śląskie-Zdrój, a district of Jelenia Góra) from the year 1882.
 
Parcel 171 l. “Villa Vestvali” Lund, Elise, Fräulein und Schauspielerin in Hamburg
 
Schauspielerin. Actress. Hamburg. It’s getting interesting. I began to dig and search for information about her, but it quickly turned out that Elise won’t be the main character of this story. It was about Felicita von Vestvali – an outstanding opera singer, privately her friend and lover.
Elise Lund Villa Vestvali w księdze adresowej z Herischdorf

Information about Elise on the pre-war map of Cieplice

Elise Lund

Portrait of Elise Lund – AbeBooks antique shop

Felicita Vestvali

Felicita von Vestvali, according to various sources, was born either in Szczecin, Warsaw, or Krakow, in 1828 or 1831. Some claim she was German, while others say she was Polish. According to some, her name was Anne Marie Stagemann, while others refer to her as Felicja Westfalowicz. She was said to be the daughter of a high-ranking official, a noblewoman, or a fugitive from Polish lands.

And as the famous saying goes, there’s a grain of truth in every gossip. Piotr Szarota, a descendant of Felicity’s sister, Emma Spitzbarth (née Stagemann), who is working on a book about Vestvali’s life, has managed to establish a few facts.

Felicita was born in Szczecin (then German Stettin) in 1828 or 1829 as Maria Stagemann. Her parents were Prussian Army Lieutenant Georg Stagemann and Charlotte von Hünefeld.

The Stagemann family was related to the Polish Westwalewicz family, as Felicity’s half-brother was Henryk Westwalewicz, who later became her manager in the United States and adopted the nickname Henry Vestvali.

At the age of 15, Felicita, against her parents’ wishes, ran away from home disguised as a boy to join Wilhelm Bröckelmann’s theater troupe in Leipzig. Shortly thereafter, she was discovered by the actress Wilhelmine Schröder-Devrient, who became her mentor.

She then traveled throughout Europe, performing and honing her skills. At the turn of 1855/1856, she made her debut at the renowned La Scala in Milan for the first time under the stage name Felicita Vestvali and, for the first time, in en travesti – playing a character of the opposite gender, in this case, Romeo. Felicita would become particularly famous for such roles.
Felicita Vestvali jako Hamlet

Information about the performance of Elise Lund and Felicity Vestvali as Romeo and Juliet in Poznań. Dziennik Poznański, February 26, 1869.

Podobizna Felicity Vestvali

Felicita Vestvali / source: Bibliothèque nationale de France

Success after success propelled her career forward. Felicity began performing in the United States and Mexico as well. In America, she earned the nickname Felicity the Magnificent and was compared to the American goddess of liberty. During this time, her bond with the aforementioned Elise Lund also deepened. Vestvali played Romeo, and Elise played Juliet. Some believed that Elise was Felicita’s cousin, while others thought she was her adopted daughter [sic!]. In reality, it was never a secret that there was something more between the two women because Felicita led an “extraordinarily open life as an extremely visible lesbian,” and she quickly became an icon in the fight for the rights of LGBTQ+ individuals.

Felicita made a striking impression on everyone, as Anna Dżabagina wrote, quoting Lilian Eriksson: “many beautiful women sought Vestvali’s favor, and many husbands had reason to envy the beautiful and charming Romeo.”

She was the first woman to play Hamlet, earning rave reviews, and she was a favorite of, among others, Abraham Lincoln and Napoleon III, from whom she received a silver suit of armor as a gift.

Felicita von Vestvali
Felicita Vestvali jako Hamlet

Dziennik Poznański, February 26, 1869 – Felicita Vestvali

Wspólny występ Felicity i Elise jako Romeo i Julia

Joint performance of Felicity and Elise as Romeo and Juliet

Sanctuary in Bad Warmbrunn – Russische Kolonie 

After the end of the Franco-Prussian War in 1871, Felicita performed less frequently and decided to focus on her private life. She found her place in Bad Warmbrunn, today’s Cieplice Śląskie-Zdrój (a district of Jelenia Góra), where she bought a plot of land and commissioned the construction of a villa. Moreover, Felicita engaged in real estate speculation and created an entire neighborhood called Russische Kolonie (Russian Colony) in the present-day vicinity of Łabska and Krośnieńska streets. According to one theory, the name originated from the popularity among Russian spa guests. According to the Historical Maps Atlas, the first villa in the Russian colony belonged to Mrs. von Spitzbarth, the wife of a financial counselor, who was said to be of Russian origin.

It is highly likely that it pertained to Emma Spitzbarth nee Stegemann, the sister of Felicity, who also owned land there. Emma lived in Warsaw, where she is buried in the Evangelical-Augsburg Cemetery. She was the mother of Warsaw architect Arthur Otto Spitzbarth and the grandmother of the writer Eleonora Kalkowska.

Nagrobek rodziny Spitzbarth

The Spitzbarth family tomb at the Evangelical Augsburg Cemetery in Warsaw / Source: Grobonet.com

Wycinek z Columbus Morning Journal

Snippet about Elise not being able to be Felicity’s adopted daughter because she was older / Columbus Morning Journal, January 23, 1866

Felicita Vestvali passed away on April 3, 1880, either during a visit to her sister in Warsaw or already in Bad Warmbrunn (Cieplice). Towards the end of her life, she was associated with another woman (referred to as G. in letters), but it was Elise Lund who inherited her villa on Łabska Street and the majority of her estate. Elise was also supposed to fulfill her final wish and bring Felicity’s body to Cieplice for burial.

And what if she became the patron of a special place in Cieplice? What would you suggest?

Sources:

  • Kalkowska. Biogeografia. Anna Dżabagina, 
  • Lesbians in Germany 1890’s-1920’s, Lillian Federman, Brigitte Eriksson
  • Special thanks to Mr. Piotr Szarota, a descendant of Emma Spitzbarth nee Stagemann

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