The similarities between the lives of Lola Montez and Alma Mahler aren’t subtle. Although they were born 58 years apart (Montez in 1821, Mahler in 1879), the central European societies they inhabited weren’t so different. They were both musically talented, although in the case of Montez this manifested as dance, and in the case of Mahler, as composition. In their twenties, they both had affairs with several European men whose names are still known today. Montez’ lovers included composer Franz Liszt, writer Alexandre Dumas and King Ludwig I of Bavaria. Mahler was married to composer Gustav Mahler, architect Walter Gropius, writer Franz Werfel, and she had an affair with artist Gustav Klimt. They both fled to America because of political upheaval in Europe: The revolution of 1848 in Montez’ case, and in the case of Mahler, persecution of her then-husband Franz Werfel, who was Jewish, by the Nazis. Both their lives continued to be interesting after their arrival in America.
One difference: Tom Lehrer wrote a song about Mahler, but not about Montez.
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