![]() “I have never,” she continued, “read anything half as laughable in all my life. “Now, I remember,” Catalani replied, and when she turned to Goethe she said, “Ah, sir, what an admirer I am of Werther,” to which the poet bowed low in acknowledgement of the compliment. “He is the celebrated Goethe,” she was informed, to which she replied, “Oh, so he is! And what instrument does he play?” Catalani was then told that Goethe was not a musician but the celebrated author of Werther. She had never heard of Goethe or read any of his works before, but since everybody seemed to pay much attention to him, she loudly enquired who that gentleman on her side might be. According to one anecdote, when Catalani visited Weimar she was seated next to Goethe at a court dinner. ![]() In combination with a rather excitable temperament and a vivacious and talkative nature, this could on occasion lead to somewhat embarrassing situations. One of the greatest bravura singers of all times, it is said that Catalani “never lost her simplicity and purity of manners.” Entirely focused on her musical career, she was not well versed in literature or any of the other arts.
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