Background
Her father, Friedrich Schlemm, was a chorister at the Frankfurt Opera, and she studied in Berlin with Erna Westenberger.
Her father, Friedrich Schlemm, was a chorister at the Frankfurt Opera, and she studied in Berlin with Erna Westenberger.
She made her debut at the Halle Opera House in Halle an der Saale, as Nanette in Lortzing"s Der Wildschütz, in 1946. In 1949 she joined the Komische Oper Berlin, where she remained until 1961, during that period her roles included Susanna, Marenka, Donna Elvira, Desdemona, Manon Lescaut, Octavian, Arabella, et cetera She also sang at the opera houses of Cologne, Hamburg, Dresden, Frankfurt, Stuttgart, Munich, and at the Bayreuth Festival, et cetera
She made guest appearances at the Vienna State Opera, the Royal Opera House in London, the Glyndebourne Festival, the Paris Opéra, the Holland Festival, et cetera
Later, as her voice darkened, she became a famous exponent of roles such as Clytemnestra in Elektra, Herodias in Salome, Kabanicha in Káťa Kabanová, and Kostelnicka in Jenůfa, et cetera A superb singing-actress and highly versatile artist, she was equally at home in comic and dramatic roles.