Opera Singer. She was born in Berlin, and studied at the Sternsches Konservatorium there. After she graduated in 1918, she began a career at the Charlottenburg Opera in Berlin (a forerunner of the current Deutsche Oper). In 1923, she and several other singers (including Alexander Kipnis and Friedrich Schorr, who later became stars at the Metropolitan Opera) formed the Wagnerian Opera Festival company, which toured the United States. After she returned to Germany, she stayed in Charlottenburg until 1925, when she received an invitation from the Dresden Opera. Her first performance there, as Marguerite in Gounod's Faust, was a triumph. She was greatly beloved by the Dresden audiences and, throughout her brief career, she was one of the most famous singers in the company. In 1926, she reached the height of her fame when she sang the role of Leonora in Franz Werfel's translation of Verdi's Forza del Destino. This performance marked the beginning of the so-called "Verdi-Renaissance", when many of Verdi's previously neglected operas were given revivals in German opera houses. In spite of the triumphs of her career in Dresden, her last years were plagued by illness, and she died of leukemia at the age of 34.
Opera Singer. She was born in Berlin, and studied at the Sternsches Konservatorium there. After she graduated in 1918, she began a career at the Charlottenburg Opera in Berlin (a forerunner of the current Deutsche Oper). In 1923, she and several other singers (including Alexander Kipnis and Friedrich Schorr, who later became stars at the Metropolitan Opera) formed the Wagnerian Opera Festival company, which toured the United States. After she returned to Germany, she stayed in Charlottenburg until 1925, when she received an invitation from the Dresden Opera. Her first performance there, as Marguerite in Gounod's Faust, was a triumph. She was greatly beloved by the Dresden audiences and, throughout her brief career, she was one of the most famous singers in the company. In 1926, she reached the height of her fame when she sang the role of Leonora in Franz Werfel's translation of Verdi's Forza del Destino. This performance marked the beginning of the so-called "Verdi-Renaissance", when many of Verdi's previously neglected operas were given revivals in German opera houses. In spite of the triumphs of her career in Dresden, her last years were plagued by illness, and she died of leukemia at the age of 34.
Bio by: Vicki Kondelik
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Die Macht des Schicksals hat es gewollt - die Seele lebt.
The power of fate willed it - the soul lives.
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