 Born in Mělník, Maýr began his career working as an opera singer at the opera house in Klagenfurt in 1839.From 1842–1844 he worked at various theatres in Prague, after which he was committed to the opera house in Darmstadt from 1844–1846.At the behest of František Ladislav Rieger, he returned to Prague in 1846 to become a principal singer at the Estates Theatre.