Lotte Lehmann
Charlotte "Lotte" Pauline Sophie Lehmann (February 27, 1888 – August 26, 1976) was a German-American[1] lyric soprano noted for her successful performances with international opera houses, on the recital stage and in teaching.[2]: 5 She gave memorable appearances in the operas of Richard Strauss, Richard Wagner, Ludwig van Beethoven, Puccini, Mozart, and Massenet. The Marschallin in Der Rosenkavalier, Sieglinde in Die Walküre and the title-role in Fidelio are considered her greatest roles. During her long career, Lehmann also made almost five hundred recordings in both opera and art song.[3]
Personal life[edit]
In 1926 Lehmann married Otto Krause, a former officer in the Austrian army. They had no children. Krause, who died of tuberculosis in 1939, had four children from a previous marriage. Lehmann never remarried.[11][12]
After Krause's death until her own death in 1976 Lehmann shared a home with Frances Holden (1899–1996), a psychologist who specialised in the study of genius, particularly that of classical musicians. The two women named their Santa Barbara house "Orplid" after the dream island described in Hugo Wolf's art song "Gesang Weylas".[13]
She held a long correspondence with numismatist Dorothy B. Waage.[14]
Lehmann helped establish the Music Academy of the West in Santa Barbara, California, where there is a hall named for her.
The Lotte Lehmann Concert Hall on the campus of the was also named in her honor. She had given many master classes there.
University of California, Santa Barbara
The Lotte Lehmann Collection at the UCSB Library's Special Collections contains Lehmann's recordings, papers, photos, etc.
A collection of manuscripts, photos and recordings called the Gary Hickling Collection on Lotte Lehmann is housed at the Stanford Archive of Recorded Sound at Stanford University.
The bulk of Lehmann's private recordings is held at the Miller Nichols Library Marr Sound Archives at the University of Missouri-Kansas City.
Lehmann's friend Hertha Schuch willed her large collection (now in 18 boxes) of Lehmann recordings, correspondence, photos, etc. to the in Vienna (Österreichisches Theatermuseum, Wien).
Austrian Theatre Museum
The 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. It ceased activity in 2011. In 2011, the Lotte Lehmann League developed a website in her honor.[15]
Lotte Lehmann Foundation
In her native city, Perleberg, the Lotte Lehmann Akademie was established in her name in 2009. A summer program for young opera singers wishing to specialize in the German repertoire, the academy's faculty has included and Thomas Moser, both former students of Lehmann.[16]
Karan Armstrong
Lehmann received the title of Kammersängerin (the first singer to receive that designation since the collapse of the monarchy), 1926.
Lehmann was made Ehrenmitglied der Wiener Staatsoper [Honorary Member of the Vienna State Opera], 1928.
The King of Sweden conferred upon her the golden medal Literis et Artibus after a performance of Fidelio in February 1929.
France awarded her the Légion d’honneur (“Offizier der Ehrenlegion”) 1931.
Lehmann earned the Ehrenring der Stadt Wien [the Honor or Dedication Ring of the City of Vienna], 1962.
From Germany, Lehmann received the “Großes Deutsches Verdienstkreuz” [the Great German Service Cross], 8 February 1964.
Salzburg presented Lehmann with the Große Silbermedaille der Stadt Salzburg, [the Great Silver Medal of the City of Salzburg], 1969.
[1]
Eighteen song cycles: studies in their interpretation (London: Cassell, 1971)
Eternal Flight, translated by Elsa Krauch (NY: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1937)
Five operas and Richard Strauss. (New York, Macmillan Co. [1964])
Midway in my Song: The Autobiography of Lotte Lehmann (NY: Bobbs-Merrill Company, 1938)
More Than Singing: The Interpretation of Songs (Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1945)
My Many Lives (NY: Boosey & Hawkes, 1948)
Great Recordings of the Century: EMI: CDH 7610422: Lotte Lehmann: Operatic Arias
Great Opera Recordings: NAXOS: 8.110250-51: Die Walküre: Acts I & II
Immortal Performances: NAXOS: 8.110034-36: Der Rosenkavalier (live 1939)
Great Opera Recordings: NAXOS: 8.110191-92: Der Rosenkavalier (1933)
Great Singers: NAXOS: 8.11244: Lotte Lehmann: Lieder Recordings, Vol. 3
Masterworks Portrait: Sony Music: MPK 47682: Lotte Lehmann: Songs from Vienna
Masterworks Portrait: CBS: MPK 44840: Lotte Lehmann/Bruno Walter: Schumann: Frauenliebe und -Leben, Dichterliebe
Nigel Douglas, Legendary Voices (London: Deutsch, 1992)
Beaumont Glass, Lotte Lehmann: A Life in Opera and Song (Santa Barbara, CA: Capra Press, 1988)
Alan Jefferson, Lotte Lehmann, 1888–1976: A Centenary Biography (London : J. MacRae Books, 1988); German version: Lotte Lehmann: Eine Biographie (1991)
Michael H. Kater, Never Sang for Hitler: The Life and Times of Lotte Lehmann (NY: Cambridge University Press, 2008)
Kathy H. Brown, "Lotte Lehmann in America: Her Legacy as Artist Teacher" (Missoula, Montana: The College Music Society, 2012)
Gary Hickling, (Apple iBook, 2015–2021)