Lotte Lehmann

• Born: February 27, 1888
• Birthplace: Perleberg, Germany
• Died: August 26, 1976
• Place of death: Santa Barbara, California

German opera singer

Renowned for her natural acting, impeccable diction, and warm, enthusiastic singing, Lehmann was one of the finest dramatic sopranos of the first half of the twentieth century.

The Life

Charlotte Sophie Pauline “Lotte” Lehmann (LAHT-tee LAY-mahn) launched her operatic career in 1911 at the Hamburg Opera, achieving early success as Elsa in Wagner’s Lohengrin (1848). In 1914 she sang the role of Sophie in Richard Strauss’s Der Rosenkavalier (1911) at Drury Lane in London. Soon after, Hans Gregor, director of the Vienna Court Opera, offered her a contract. Her affiliation with Vienna would stretch from 1916 to 1938. In the Austrian capital, Lehmann attracted critical attention for her Manon, and she was picked by Strauss to sing the Composer in his revised Ariadne auf Naxos, a performance that caused a sensation in Vienna. She emerged as the first Straussian soprano, premiering the roles of the Dyer’s Wife (Die Frau ohne Schatten, 1919) and Christine (Intermezzo, 1924), and singing in many productions of Arabella in the 1930’s.

In 1924 Lehmann sang her first Marschallin, which became her most celebrated role. Her debut at New York’s Metropolitan Opera in 1934 featured her widely admired portrayal of Wagner’s Sieglinde (Die Walküre, 1870). Leaving behind the political turmoil in Austria in 1938, she immigrated to the United States and was affiliated with the Metropolitan Opera until 1945. Lehmann gave her final operatic performance in 1946 in San Francisco, reprising her beloved Marschallin. Her later years included frequent lieder recitals, and she taught voice at the Music Academy of the West in Santa Barbara, California, a summer music school she cofounded in 1947.

The Music

Lehmann’s early career was dominated by lighter roles, but she gradually developed her voice to handle works requiring a large sound and great vocal endurance. Though best known for her interpretations of the works of Wagner and Strauss, Lehmann had in her repertoire songs from French operas such as Georges Bizet’s Carmen (1875) and Jules Massenet’s Manon (1884) as well as several of Giacomo Puccini’s Italian operas. With its lyric quality, Lehmann’s voice type prohibited her from singing heavy Wagnerian roles; she never gave full performances as Isolde or Brünnhilde. Lehmann was well-suited for Strauss, whose post-Elektra (1909) output often demands that the singer navigate lengthy passages in a carefree, conversational style. Throughout her career, Lehmann was a highly regarded recitalist whose sensitivity for textual nuances found a perfect medium in the genre of the lied.

Sieglinde. Premiered during her fourth season at the Hamburg Opera on January 9, 1914, Lehmann’s Sieglinde quickly became one of her most admired roles. The Wagnerian character was an ideal vehicle for her masterful acting, and her performances soon achieved great popularity in England. Lehmann later chose the role for two important debuts: her North American premiere at Chicago’s Lyric Opera in 1930 and her first appearance on the stage of the Metropolitan Opera in New York. Critics and audiences ecstatically praised the pairing of Lehmann’s Sieglinde and Lauritz Melchior’s Siegmund as one of the best. Their 1935 recording of act 1 with Bruno Walter conducting the Vienna Philharmonic is legendary. The soprano’s renditions of well-known passages such as Sieglinde’s “Du bist der Lenz” and the love scene at the end of the act offer a uniquely feminine, impassioned, and unrestrained reading.

The Marschallin. A veritable pioneer of Strauss’s most popular opera, Lehmann was the first to sing each of Der Rosenkavalier’s three soprano roles. In Hamburg, she followed her breakthrough performance as Sophie in 1911 with a convincing Octavian in 1914. A decade later, on May 21, 1924, she premiered her definitive interpretation of the Marschallin at Covent Garden in London with Walter conducting. Commentators praised Lehmann’s instinctual gift for communicating the many psychological layers of Hugo von Hofmannsthal’s libretto. The 1933 studio recording featuring Elisabeth Schumann as Sophie, Richard Mayr as Ochs, and Robert Heger conducting the Vienna Philharmonic is widely cherished, despite several cuts needed to accommodate 78-rpm records. Especially memorable is Lehmann’s performance of the Marschallin’s act 1 monologue that dwells on the passage of time (“Da geht Er hin”). At once heartbreaking and dignified, Lehmann had a remarkable ability to convey the emotional substance of every line, setting the standard in the early recording era.

Leonore. Ludwig van Beethoven’s Leonore was one of Lehmann’s most challenging roles and one for which she received some of her highest praise. She premiered the part at the Salzburg Festival under the baton of Franz Schalk on March 26, 1927, the centenary of the composer’s death. Lehmann quickly became a perennial favorite at the festival, and over the next ten years, she performed Leonore with many renowned conductors, including Walter and Arturo Toscanini. Her appearances with Toscanini in particular garnered tremendous critical acclaim; excerpts from a live performance in 1936 and a complete studio recording from 1944 capture Lehmann’s insightful interpretation. Her vivid renditions of the famous act 1 aria “Komm, Hoffnung” are touchingly sung and admirably portray Leonore’s struggle to liberate her imprisoned husband. The visceral emotion and heroism with which Lehmann sings the aria’s final line, “I will not waver, strengthened by the duty of true conjugal love,” perfectly embody Beethoven’s “angel of freedom.”

Musical Legacy

With long-term engagements in Germany, Austria, England, and the United States, Lehmann achieved true international fame in a career that spanned the 1910’s to the 1940’s. She is inextricably linked to five of Strauss’s operas, and she played a central role in establishing his status as one of the most important opera composers of the twentieth century. Though she may be best known for her operatic roles, Lehmann’s lieder recitals were highly respected for their warmth and meticulous attention to the text. In retirement, her master classes helped to advance the careers of innumerable singers, including Grace Bumbry and Marilyn Horne. The first to admit imperfections in her vocal technique, Lehmann always emphasized expression over mechanics in both her writing and teaching. She left an impressive recorded legacy that will inspire audiences and performers for generations.

Bibliography

Glass, Beaumont. Lotte Lehmann: A Life in Opera and Song. Santa Barbara, Calif.: Capra Press, 1988. The official centenary biography draws upon original manuscripts held at the Lehmann Archives in Santa Barbara. Includes photographs and discography.

Jefferson, Alan. Lotte Lehmann, 1888-1976: A Centenary Biography. London: Julia MacRae Books, 1988. Compiled from opera house archives in Vienna and Hamburg as well as from Lehmann’s memoirs. Photographs, discography, performance history.

Kater, Michael H. Never Sang for Hitler: The Life and Times of Lotte Lehmann, 1888-1976. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2008. A thoroughly researched biography of wide scope. Revelations on Lehmann’s relationship with the Nazis debunk the notion that she was a victim of the Third Reich.

Lehmann, Lotte. More than Singing: The Interpretation of Songs. Translated by Frances Holden. New York: Boosey & Hawkes, 1945. A guide for performing songs by Beethoven, Johannes Brahms, and Strauss, among others. A unique window into Lehmann’s creative mind and warm personality.

Principal Works

operatic roles: Sophie in Strauss’s Der Rosenkavalier, 1911; Elsa in Richard Wagner’s Lohengrin, 1912; Ariadne in Strauss’s Ariadne auf Naxos, 1913; The Composer in Strauss’s Ariadne auf Naxos, 1913; Octavian in Strauss’s Der Rosenkavalier, 1914; Eva in Wagner’s Die Meistersinger, 1914; Sieglinde in Wagner’s Die Walküre, 1914; Dyer’s Wife in Strauss’s Die Frau ohne Schatten, 1919; Marschallin in Richard Strauss’s Der Rosenkavalier, 1924; Christine in Strauss’s Intermezzo, 1924; Leonore in Ludwig van Beethoven’s Fidelio, 1927; Elisabeth in Wagner’s Tannhäuser, 1930; Arabella in Strauss’s Arabella, 1933.

writings of interest:Anfang und Aufstieg, 1937 (Wings of Song, 1938); More Than Singing: The Interpretation of Songs, 1945; My Many Lives, 1948; Five Operas and Richard Strauss, 1964.