Boris Borodin and Maria Mayhoff Photo Album

Contralto Maria Mayhoff-Freudenberg (simply Mayhoff in her performance career) came to New Orleans as a refugee from Nazi-occupied Europe in the1930s and petitioned for United States citizenship in 1945. Mayhoff-Freudenberg was an inaugural member of the New Orleans Opera Association (NOOA). She performed the titular role in NOOA’s 1943 debut summer season performance of Carmen, and went on to perform over a dozen roles with NOOA. Prior to her time in New Orleans, Mayhoff-Freudenberg attended the National Austrian Academy and performed with both the Vienna Opera and the New Orleans Symphony.

She also performed as a soloist at social events throughout New Orleans from the 1940s-1950s. Operatic bass Boris Borodin was born April 10, 1898 in Russia, and immigrated to the United States in 1936 where he became a naturalized citizen. He performed twice with NOOA in the 1940s and later with the Boston Grand Opera Company. Borodin’s brother, Benjamin L. Freudenberg, was married to Maria MayhoffFreudenberg. Borodin passed away in July of 1993.