Friedrich von Flotow (27 April 1812 – 24 January 1883) was a German composer. He is chiefly remembered for his opera Martha, which was popular at the end of the 19th century and beginning of the 20th, but which is now rarely performed. thumb|left|Friedrich von Flotow.|220pxFlotow was born in Teutendorf, in Mecklenburg, into an aristocratic family. He studied at the Paris Conservatoire and came under the influence of Auber, Rossini, Meyerbeer, Donizetti, Halévy, and later, Gounod and Offenbach. This influence is clearly reflected in his operas where a distinctive French opéra comique flavour exists in his music. He completed his first opera in 1835, Pierre et Cathérine, but his first major breakthrough was with Le naufrage de la Méduse (1839). Martha, his most successful work, was first staged in Vienna at the Theater am Kärntnertor on 25 November 1847. In all, he wrote 29 operas which w

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