Blaha, Lujza

ACTOR, OPERA SINGER (HUNGARY)
BORN 8 Sep 1850, Rimavská Sobota: Tompa Street - DIED 18 Jan 1926, Budapest
BIRTH NAME Reindl, Ludovika
GRAVE LOCATION Budapest: Kerepesi cemetery (18/1)

Luzja Blaha was Hungary's most famous prima donna and actress. She was called 'a nemzet csalogánya' ('the nightingale of the nation'). This name was given to her after she asked the emperor Francis Joseph for a pardon for 13 Hungarian hussars who were sentenced to death.

Between 1863 and 1896 she performed 199 parts in theatre plays and appeared in 60 operettas. The building of the National Theatre stood on the square that was named after her (It was built in 1908 and demolished in 1964 when the second line of the underground was constructed).

Images

The grave of Lujza Blaha at the Kerepesi cemetery in Budapest.
Picture by Androom (20 Aug 2006)

 

Sources
• Vórnai, Péter, Budapest Guide, Tourism Office of Budapest, 1999
Find-A-Grave


Blake, William

Published: 16 Jul 2006
Last update: 25 Jan 2022