Love Letter Written in Musical Code

The Jewish baritone Adolf Muhlmann was born Alter Milman on December 26, 1866, in Kischineff, Moldavia. His first singing lessons came from a Jewish choirmaster. In 1887, Muhlmann traveled to Vienna where he studied for three years. It was in Vienna that he met and wrote this musical love letter to Marie Henrietta Bernfeld, whom he married ca. 1890.

Muhlmann made his stage debut in Rotterdam in 1890, and performed in Germany and Poland until 1898. In that year he began a twelve-year association with the Metropolitan Opera in New York, where he was especially noted for his performances of Wagnerian repertoire. His roles included Wolfram in Tannhäuser and Gunther in Götterdämmerung. During this time he made numerous guest appearances in opera houses in the United States and abroad. After the end of his stage career he settled in Chicago to teach and to write music criticism. He died in Chicago on April 27, 1938.