FLOTOW, Friedrich von
b Tuetendorf, near Nev-Sanitz, Mechlenburg-Schwerin, 26 April 1812
d Darmstadt, 24 January 1883, aged seventy

Nobly born, he was intended for a diplomatic life, and was sent to Paris for training at the age of fifteen. However, he found artistic circles more congenial, and soon became aware of his musical potential. He studied music seriously for a time and, sometimes in partnership with Offenbach, gained a hearing at the aristocratic soirees. From 1856 to 1863 he was the intendant of the court theatre at Schwerin. He spent his later years in Paris and Vienna, and saw his operas performed as far afield as St Petersburg and Turin. He composed a great many operas, but the only one to survive is Martha, written in 1847 when he was thirty-five.