Francesca Lebrun

Francesca Lebrun (; 24 March 1756 – 14 May 1791) was a celebrated German soprano associated with the court at Mannheim, as well as an accomplished composer of sonatas. As a singer, she was renowned for her vocal dexterity and was highly sought after by such notable composers as Anton Schweitzer, Ignaz Holzbauer, and Antonio Salieri to sing the lead roles in their most challenging operas. As a composer, her twelve sonatas for piano or harpsichord with violin accompaniment, six each in opus 1 and opus 2, were first published in London, England, in 1779–1781, with further editions in London, Paris, and several German centers. The opus 1 sonatas are available in commercial recordings. Early life She was born Franziska Dorothea Danzi in Mannheim, Electoral Palatinate (present-day Germany), the eldest child of Italian-born cellist Innocenz Danzi and dancer Barbara Sidonia Margaretha Toeschi, the core of the elite elector Mannheim court performers in the late 1750s. Her two brothers, the cellist Franz Ignaz (1763–1826) and the violinist Johann Baptist, were successful composers. The violinist, composer and conductor Karl Joseph (Carlo Giuseppe) Toeschi was her maternal uncle. Career She m