Lehmann in Other Books

Some of the books are still in print, others you will have to find in second hand bookstores, mail order book lists, or from book "search" services on the internet.

Bloomfield, Arthur (1978), The San Francisco Opera, Comstock Editions, Sausailto, California. This paperback book traces the history of the opera company from 1922-1978 with many LL references and quotations from contemporary critics: "Lehmann, of course, was the Sieglinde of all time, tremendously warm and, in her harrowing second act scene, chillingly intense."

Busch, Max W. and Dannenberg, Peter (Editors), Die Hamburgische Sraatsoper, M&T Verlag AG, Zurich. In German. This handsome book, with many color, as well as black and white photos, devotes an important chapter to LL written by Busch. Many unfamiliar photos and precise information on roles and salaries make this an interesting look at Lehmann's first engagement. (She earned 15,000 Marks in her [final] 1915/16 season there.)

Christiansen, Rupert (1984), Prima Donna, Penguin, Harmondsworth, Middlesex, England. Also available in hardback from Viking, this history devotes considerable space to LL in a chapter entitled: "Strauss and the Prima Donna in Vienna". Christiansen writes of LL "Her recordings are still extraordinarily vivid documents which communicate something of what everyone who witnessed her recalls as a radiant exultant intensity. There was no posing, no faking, no imposition of false effect..."

Crichton, Kyle (1939), Subway to the Met: Risë Steven's Story, Doubleday & Company, Farden City, New York. The great mezzo told her srory to the aurhor, and LL comes in for a few mentions: "Opera buffs still cherish individual Lehmann performances as jewels of perfection. There was never a cheap or tawdry or careless Lehmann appearance. There were great performances that are still spoken of with reverence by opera lovers."

Davenport, Marcia (1967), Too Strong for Fantasy, Chas Scribner's Sons, New York. A personal memoir by Davenport who counts LL as one of the best singers she ever heard as well as a personal friend. LL is frankly described as a person, and her impact as a singing actress in the role of Sieglinde evokes the following: "No voice had ever hit me in that way... the voice, the artist, the personality were all of a piece... She was both feminine humanity and total dramatic illusion... "

Davenport, Marcia (1936), Of Lena Geyer, Grosser & Dunlap, by arrangement with Chas Scribner's Sons, New York. A novel inspired by LL's performance as Fidelio. A well-written novel, it doesn't pretend to follow LL's life, but is modeled on such dedicated artists as Lehmann represented to Davenport. "I could see myself... in the balcony at the opera house, and feeling, so acutely that the sensation has never diminished, the first glorious impact of that unforgettable sound."

Hall, David (1978), The Record Book: a Guide to the World of the Phonograph, Greenwood Press, Westport Conn. This book provides information about the whole field of recorded sound, so naturally Lehmann can only be briefly sited: "Lotte Lehmann has well deserved her reputation as one of the great vocal artists of our time; for every work she sings she brings a warm understanding and humanity that makes us overlook occasional weaknesses such as lapses of intonation, too pronounced aspiration, or a strained delivery of a high passage." He mentions the famous Rosenkavalier and Walküre recordings.

Hirschmann, Ira (1994), Obligato, Fromm International Publishing Corporation, New York. His strong impressions of Lehmann, expecially her performance of Winterreise.

Horne, Marilyn with Jane Scovell (1984), Marylin Horne, My Life, Atheneum, New York. Probably the most readable singer's autobiography that I've ever encountered and LL has a whole chapter to herself, as Horne appeared in master classes at the Music Academy of the West. LL comes in for a mixture of praise and condemnation. (See "An Archivist Checks History" elsewhere in the Newsletter portion of this Website,) "Fair is fair, though. If I tell you of Lehmann's dark side, then I must also tell you that she opened the doors of singing Lieder for me. Her instruction is inextricably woven into my own interpretations. As exponent and teacher, she was incomparable and inspirational."

Moran, William (Ed) (1990), Herman Klein and the Gramophone, Amadeus Press, Portland, Oregon. Moran provides a biography and edits Klein's essays, reviews and other writings from the Gramophone magazine. LL comes in for frequent, if brief, notice. Here in reference to her Desdemona: "--and I have heard nearly all of them—the performance of Lotte Lehmann will remain a fragrant and delicious memory.... It was in that most difficult scene of all, the elaborate ensemble that follows after the Moor has struck Desdemona before his whole court—it was in this trying episode that Lotte Lehmann did so magnificently both as singer and actress, that she rose to heights never attained here before, at least in my experience."

Preven, André (1991), No Minor Chords, Doubleday, New York. In a brief mention, Previn discusses Lehmann's role in the MGM movie Big City. He was a young pianist on the set at the time.

Rasponi, Lanfranco (1982), The Last Prima Donnas, Alfred A. Knopf, New York. Many interviews with great singers including one with LL from 1936, where he quotes LL "'Inaccuracy in the notes here and there—that they can accuse me of; but of betraying the text, never. I have given of my voice with no restraint, and I am fully aware that this has to be paid for dearly. But I cannot restrain myself, for I become tremendously involved with a characterization or a song, and the reason for my success has always been that the public knows I am handing it all I have."' The chapter devoted to LL is mainly comprised of the interview, but includes Rasponi's own remarks and summary of her impact after her death: "Will we ever again hear Leonore's declaration in the second-act trio sung so expressively, a mixture of terror and faith? There have been many more perfect singers, but few have been more intense and honest than Lotte Lehmann."

Seebohm, Andrea (Ed. and contributor), (1987), The Vienna Opera, Rizzoli, New York. Also available in German: Die Wiener Oper: 350 Jahre Glanz und Tradition. This is a beautiful book, with many color, as well as black and white photos; Lehmann appears in photos and ensemble lists, but little text. But Egon Seefehlner does write "I am not embarrassed to say that Lehmann could move me to tears when she began to sing....Lehmann (was) a great musician who was a triumphant success both on the stage and in the concert hall... "

Vincent, Sheean (1957), First and Last Love, Victor Gollancz Ltd., London. This very personal memoir was dedicated to Mme. Lehmann and has many enthusiastically positive appraisals of her and her work. At one point he writes that Toscanini declared to Lehmann "... at the end of a difficult passage in rehearsal 'You are the greatest artist in the world.'" Sheean continues: "Well, she was...every note of her voice conveyed the meaning of the part. Her speaking voice (in Beethoven's Fidelio)...had a tenderness...which extended the beauty of the music even to that part of the drama which is now...so often omitted."

Schwarzkopf, Elisabeth (1982), On and Off the Record, A Memoir of Walter Legge, Charles Scribner's Sons, New York. Legge was a visionary record producer and husband/manager of Schwarzkopf who writes about him and quotes him extensively. Lehmann has a chapter to herself: "Her impact was, is, and, through her best records, will remain irresistible and engulfing. Lotte sang and acted as if she were inviting, urging every member of her audiences to enjoy her generous heart and her very self."

Steber, Eleanor, Eleanor Steber: An Autobiography. Both colleague and student of Lehmann, Steber recalls many Lehmann performances that moved her and reprints a letter from Lehmann in which the balance between the music and poetry in a song is discussed.

Walter, Bruno (1946), Theme and Variarlons, An Autobiography, Alfred A. Knopf, New York. (In German: Thema und Variationen: Erinnerungen und Gedanken, S. Fischer Verlag, Frankfurt am Main 1988) An immensely readable book. Walter has cause to mention LL several times. Once regarding LL's first appearance with him in a Covent Garden performance early in her career: "... as for Lotte Lehmann's work as the Marschallin, it was even then surrounded by the brilliance which has made her portrayal of that part one of the outstanding achievements on the contemporary operatic stage. Here, indeed, was that rare phenomenon of an artist's personality becoming wholly merged with a poetic figure, and of a transitory theatrical event being turned into an unforgettable experience."