Biography

Lotte Lehmann was one of the top dramatic soprano vocalists during the first half of the 20th century. She was known for her exuberant sense of drama, imaginative phrasing, and a precise vocal technique. Lehmann was born in Perleberg, Germany, in 1888 to a modest and musical family. Her father sang folk music with the local glee club, and he also played the zither. Her mother and aunt also sang, but they both suffered from health problems that prevented them from performing professionally. As a child, she took piano lessons, dance lessons, and she also enjoyed painting. In 1902 Lehmann moved with her family to Berlin, where she studied singing with Mathilde Mallinger, the famous Croatian soprano. Her father encouraged her to pursue other more practical career options, but Lehmann was determined to become a singer and continued with her musical studies. She began her first professional appointment in 1910 and sang minor roles with the Hamburg Opera. However, she learned the profession quickly and began singing important roles early in her career. In 1914, Lehmann made her first recordings, and she gave debut performances in London with Thomas Beecham and the Covent Garden Opera, and in Vienna with the Vienna State Opera. Two years later, she moved to Vienna and joined the Vienna State Opera, where she sang the premieres of several operas by Richard Strauss, including Ariadne auf Naxos, Die Frau ohne Schatten, and Intermezzo. Lehmann remained in Vienna for 21 years and sang over 50 roles with the Vienna State Opera. From 1924 to 1935, she sang with the Covent Garden Opera and became very popular in London. She was also the inspiration for the musical The Sound of Music, when she discovered the Trapp Family Singers and convinced their father to let them perform in public in 1936. She made her American debuts with the Chicago Lyric Opera in 1930, and with the Metropolitan Opera in 1934 and returned to the U.S. annually to perform. It was also around this time that she began singing lieder and art songs, accompanied by Bruno Walter, Erno Balogh, and eventually Paul Ulanowsky. In 1938, Lehmann relocated to the United States to distance herself from the Nazi regime and performed regularly with the Met until 1945. This was followed by an additional season with the San Francisco Opera before her partial retirement in 1946. She continued performing in recitals until 1951 and began a new career as a professor at the Music Academy of the West, in Santa Barbara. She retired from her teaching position in 1962, and spent her final years painting, writing, and she gave private lessons in her home. Her literary works include volumes on musical interpretation, a novel, and an autobiography. Lehmann passed away in 1976 at her home in Santa Barbara. ~ RJ Lambert, Rovi