Isabella Offenbach Maas


Isabella Offenbach Maas was an opera singer. She is known for bringing the art of opera to Galveston, Texas.

Biography

Maas was born in Cologne, Germany and was the older sister of Jacques Offenbach. Her father was a rabbi. Maas met her husband, Samuel Maas, during one of her European tours and they were married in Cologne in 1844. Maas and her husband moved to Galveston, her husband's home town, that same year.
Maas's son, Max, built a stage in his home for his mother to perform.
After their fourth child, the couple separated and Maas moved into her daughter's home, living there for nearly 40 years. The home at 1727 Sealy Avenue in Galveston has a Texas State Historical Marker. The house was built in 1886 on the site of another house which burned down in 1885.
The Galveston Daily News posted that she was "dangerously ill" on February 19, 1891. She died that day.