Lilli Lehmann

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Lilli Lehmann (1848-1929) was a German operatic soprano, born in Würzburg. Her first lessons were from her mother who was a prima donna under Spohr at Cassel. After singing small parts on the stage she made her debut in 1870 in Berlin as a light soprano in Meyerbeer's Das Feldlager in Schlesien in 1870 and became so successful that she was appointed Imperial chamber singer in 1876. She sang in the first Bayreuth Festival, in 1876, sang in London in 1884, and appeared at the New York Metropolitan Opera from 1885-1890. It was there that, together with Fischer, Alvary, Brandt, and Seidl, she helped accomplish the final triumph of Wagner's music. By remaining in America beyond the leave granted her by the Berlin Opera, she faced a ban following her return to Germany. After the personal intervention of the Emperor, the ban was lifted. Her voice, of superb quality and volume, gained for her the reputation of being not only one of the greatest Wagnerian singers of her day, but also an ideal interpreter of Mozart. She was unsurpassed in the rôles of Brühilde and Isolde. Lehmann, also known for her lieder singing, became a noted teacher after retiring from her concert career. Among her pupils were Geraldine Farrar and Olive Fremstad. In 1888 she was married to the tenor Paul Kalisch.

Publications

L. Andro, Lilli Lehmann (Berlin, 1907)
Lilli Lehmann, Mein Weg (Leipzig, 1913); English translation by Alice B. Seligman, My Path through Life, New York, 1914)

This article incorporates text from an edition of the New International Encyclopedia that is in the public domain.

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