Lehmann with Malice?

An article entitled "Lotte Lehmann a secret life?" appeared in a recent edition of Opera magazine. The writer is Alan Jefferson, the same auchor who so responsibly wrote a Lehmann biography in 1988. It is hard to understand the motivation for this article in which he reports on one Eugenie who purports to be Lehmann's illegitimate daughter.

There is much speculation and though Jefferson himself admits having to discount her birthdate and place and though other aspects of the story are taken from the "mixed bag of 'evidence', some completely unacceptable, some feasible, some extraordinary," Jefferson nonetheless presents the stories, not much more important than gossip, in a way that gives them credibility. The only piece of evidence he provides is that Eugenie had a copy of Lehmann's will, to which supposedly only relatives have access. But I've been told that any historical researcher knows how to get copies of wills. Though it is often believed that getting into print is better than being forgotten, the tone of this article makes me doubt the maxim. There are many interesting and important things to write about Lehmann's life: her opera, Lieder, teaching, and writing careers are all fascinating. It is wonderful to witness the interest in the positive and inspiring aspects of her life that is evinced in the many responses to these Newsletters. -GH