Born: 24 November 1848, Germany
Died: 17 May 1929
Country most active: International
Also known as: Elisabeth Maria Lehmann-Kalisch
The following is excerpted from Famous Women: An Outline of Feminine Achievement Through the Ages With Life Stories of Five Hundred Noted Women, written by Joseph Adelman, published 1926 by Ellis M Lonow Company.
Lilli Lehmann, a distinguished soprano, born in Würzburg, Bavaria. After singing successfully in various European cities, she was engaged as principal soprano at the Metropolitan Opera House, New York, where from 1885 to 1890 she helped accomplish the final triumph of Wagner’s music. In 1888 she was married to teh tenor, Paul Kalisch.
Lilli Lehmann had a voice of superb quality and volume, and was one of the greatest Wagnerian singers of her day, unsurpassed in the roles of Brünhilde and Isolde.
Her autobiography, My Path Through Life, translated by Alice B. Selgmann, was published in New York in 1914.
The following is excerpted from A Dictionary of Music and Musicians, published in 1900 and edited by George Grove.
LEHMANN, Lilli, born 1848 at Wurzburg, was taught singing by her mother, Marie Lehmann (born 1807), formerly a harp-player and prima donna at Cassel under Spohr, and the original heroine of some of the operas of that master. The daughter made her début at Prague as the First Boy (‘Zauberflöte’), and was engaged successively at Dantzig in 1868 and at Leipzig in 1870. She made her début at Berlin as Vielka (Meyerbeer’s ‘Feldlager in Schlesien’), Aug. 19, 1870, with such success that she was engaged there as a light soprano. She obtained a life engagement there in 1876, and was appointed Imperial chamber singer. The same year she played Woglinde and Helmwige, and sang the ‘Bird’ music in Wagner’s trilogy at Bayreuth. She made a successful début at Her Majesty’s as Violetta June 3, as Philine (‘Mignon’) June 15, 1880, and sang there for two seasons. She appeared at Covent Garden in German with great success as Isolde, July 2, 1884. In passing through England to America, where she has been engaged for the winter in German opera for the last three seasons, she gave a concert with Franz Rummel at the Steinway Hall Oct. 22, 1885. She reappeared at Her Majesty’s as Fidelio in Italian June 1887.