Lilli Lehmann, born Elisabeth Maria Lehmann, later Elisabeth Maria Lehmann-Kalisch was a German operatic soprano of phenomenal versatility.
Background
Lilli Lehmann was born on 24 November 1848, in Würzburg, Germany. Her father, Karl-August Lehmann, was a singer (Heldentenor) while her mother, Maria Theresia Löw (1809–1885), was a soprano, who had been a prima donna under Spohr at the Cassel opera.
Career
Lilli Lehmann first won fame as a brilliant coloratura but later became identified with Wagnerian roles, several of which she created; she was also unsurpassed in lieder and oratorio singing.
Her repertoire comprised 170 operatic roles, numerous oratorio parts, and more than 600 songs.
Lehmann sang in the first Bayreuth Festival in 1876, singing in the first complete performances of The Ring Cycle as Woglinde and Helmwige. She performed in London in 1884, and appeared at the New York Metropolitan Opera in 1885–1899.
Lilli Lehmann appeared at London's Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, in 1899 and sang in Paris and Vienna in 1903 and 1909 respectively. In 1905, she sang at the Salzburg Festival, later becoming the festival's artistic director. Lehmann was also renowned as a Lieder singer. She continued to give recitals until her retirement from the concert stage in the 1920s.