German Soprano Lotte Lehmann ~ Psyche wandelt (1933)

German soprano Lotte Lehmann (1888-1976) / Psyche wandelt / Die toten Augen (D'Albert) / Recorded: 1933 --

Charlotte "Lotte" Lehmann (February 27, 1888 -- August 26, 1976) was a German soprano who was especially associated with German repertory. She gave memorable performances in the operas of Richard Strauss, Richard Wagner, Ludwig van Beethoven, Puccini, Mozart and Massenet. The Marschallin in Der Rosenkavalier was considered her greatest role. During her long career, Lehmann also made more than five hundred recordings. Her performances in the world of Lieder are considered among the best ever recorded. Lehmann was born in Perleberg, Province of Brandenburg. In 1926 she married Otto Krause, who died in 1939. After studying in Berlin with Mathilde Mallinger, she made her debut at the Hamburg Opera in 1910 as a page in Wagner's Lohengrin. In 1914, she sang for the first time at the Vienna State Opera, which she joined in 1916. There she sang the premieres of a number of operas by Richard Strauss, including Ariadne auf Naxos in 1916, Die Frau ohne Schatten in 1919, Intermezzo in 1924, and Arabella in 1933, as well as Vienna premieres of several operas by Puccini. She made her debut in London in 1914, and from 1924 to 1935 she performed regularly at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. She appeared regularly at the Salzburg Festival from 1926 to 1937, performing with Arturo Toscanini, among other conductors. She also gave recitals there accompanied at the piano by the conductor Bruno Walter. In 1936, while in Salzburg, she discovered the Trapp Family Singers, later made famous in the musical The Sound of Music, and persuaded them to present their first public performance.
In 1930, Lehmann made her American debut in Chicago as Sieglinde in Wagner's Die Walküre.[citation needed] Lehmann's other Wagnerian roles included Eva in Die Meistersinger, Elsa in Lohengrin, and Elisabeth in Tannhäuser. She was also famous for her interpretation of Leonore in Beethoven's Fidelio. Just before Germany annexed Austria in 1938, Lehmann fled to the United States, where she continued to sing at the San Francisco Opera and the Metropolitan Opera until 1945. In addition to her operatic work, Lehmann was a renowned singer of lieder, giving frequent recitals throughout her career. Beginning with her first recital tour to Australia in 1937, she worked closely with the accompanist Paul Ulanowsky. He remained her primary accompanist for concerts and master classes until her retirement fourteen years later. After her retirement from the recital stage in 1951, Lehmann taught master classes at the Music Academy of the West in Santa Barbara, California, which she helped found in 1947. She also gave master classes in Chicago, London, Vienna, and other cities. For her contribution to the recording industry, Lehmann has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1735 Vine St. However, her first name is misspelled there as "Lottie". She was a prolific author, publishing a book of poems Verse in Prosa in the early 1920s, a novel, Orplid, mein Land in 1937, which appeared in English as Eternal Flight in 1937, and a book of memoirs, Anfang und Aufstieg (1937), which later appeared as On Wings of Song in the U.K. in 1938 and as Midway in My Song in the U.S. in 1938. She also published volumes on the interpretation of song and the interpretation of opera roles. Later books included Five Operas and Richard Strauss, known as Singing with Richard Strauss in the U.K., a second book of poems in 1969, and Eighteen Song Cycles in 1971, consisting of material drawn largely from earlier works. Lehmann was an active painter in her retirement. Her painting included a series of twenty-four illustrations in tempera for each song of Schubert's Die Winterreise. Lehmann died in 1976 at the age of 88 in Santa Barbara, California. She is interred in the Zentralfriedhof in Vienna, Austria. The Lotte Lehmann Concert Hall on the campus of the University of California, Santa Barbara was named in her honor. The Lotte Lehmann Foundation was established in 1995 to preserve and perpetuate Lotte Lehmann's legacy and at the same time to bring art song into the lives of as many people as possible. In 2011 the Lotte Lehmann League developed a new website in her honor: www.lottelehmannleague.org (wikipedia)

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Category:

Music

Tags:

• German
• Soprano
• Lotte
• Lehmann
• 78RPM
• MayaTatyana
• CurzonRoad

[paulostroff99]

Lovely singing from one of the all time greatest. TY Doug for posting.

[CurzonRoad]

@paulostroff99

Thank YOU, Paulo!

[jozefsterkens2]

One of my favorites.

[CurzonRoad]

@jozefsterkens2

Greetings Pierre... and thank you!

[EdmundStAustell]

The one and only! Great singers from Germany are hardly a rarity, but she is special even among the special. It's not only the range, power and intensity of the voice--although that is certainly spectacular--but most notably the absolute mastery of style that characterizes her work. She was more than qualified to write on this subject! Great recording!

[CurzonRoad]

@EdmundStAustell

Thank you, Edmund... and Happy 4th!

[Arellessful]

A wonderful ,wonderful singer, thank you.

[meltzerboy]

Lehmann's tone is so appealing, particularly in her early recordings: its beauty, brilliance, and focus are almost unique. She combines these tonal qualities with exquisite singing, not so much in the technical sense, but more with respect to color and phrasing. An extraordinary artist, by any standard. Thanks for sharing this, Doug.

[SuperLuckydream]

Thank you for sharing, dear Doug. Lotte Lehmann sang so natural and clearly and had heart in every note she uttered.

[Bivolari]

She was a wonderful singer and person.

[paulostroff99]

@EdmundStAustell -Well and correctly stated Edmund. Lotte was one of the best ever,as well as A fine person.

[CurzonRoad]

@Herur22

Hello Janja:

As always... thank you!

Doug --

[CurzonRoad]

@racheleleeba

Thank you, Roberta... and Happy 4th!