An Interview with Lotte Lehmann

Interview with Lotte Lehmann

Today, we are interviewing one of the most acclaimed and prestigious opera performers and teachers of our time. I took some time and sat down with Lotte Lehmann, and I really got to know her well enough to feel as though I was with her through every step of her amazing life.

NR: What events in your early life made you interested in the arts?

LL: When I was very young, whenever we would have visitors stay, my mother would call my brother Fritz and ask for him to sing to our guests. He had a lovely voice, but the school singing teacher let him sing while his voice was weak, and his beautiful voice was eventually broken. My mother could sing fairly well, as could my father. My mother was a beautiful soprano, before her illness, and my father was a charming tenor. I remember sitting in the parlor as my father told me of his sister, Tante Lenchen. She was very ill and died at a very young age, but was said to have the voice of an angel. I suppose you could say that singing ran in the family. I remember always wanting to please my mother, and I admit to some jealousy towards Fritz. I was always secretly yearning to let my voice be heard. During my very early years, my voice was only used to sing lullabies for my dolls (Lehmann, 1938).

During my school years, I had adjusted to “high-school life” fairly well, and found friends, and eventually found my voice. My sensational soprano had become the delight of my singing class. There was a school performance of Queen Louise, and I was given the solo part of the Queen, the main role. It was a big honor, considering I was in the higher level singing class. When I sang my part in the crowded room, many opinions were emerging. My parents told me as we arrived home that night, that people were muttering things like, “She should have her voice trained..” and, “Perhaps she could become a professional singer.” My father insisted that I train to be something sensible, and something that could provide for a family. My mother, however, was all over the idea of me becoming a singer (Lehmann, 1988).

NR: As far as developing the interests and talents you have as an artist, did you have any mentors?

LL: I have always admired my mother, in every way. My closeness to her was a dominating factor in my life (Glass, 1988). Whenever I would sing a new role, my mother would “hold her thumbs” (European way of crossing fingers) until they were sore. My mother was always very ill, so I was always looking out for her, the poor thing. Even when I moved from place to place, I still wrote her many letters.

I also found a mentor in my first private lesson teacher, Fraulein Tiedke. My mother paid her two marks for each lesson behind my father’s back, which wasn’t the best idea at the time, but I feel that my mother somehow knew the wonderful woman I would become. I admired Fraulein Tiedke, and thought, “She loved behaving like a prima donna...” and, “She was a door to door wonderland...” (Lehmann, 1938). I had many other mentors later on in life like Richard Strauss, Richard Wagner, and many other friends in the music business that helped me on my way to greatness. But I have to say that the overall inspiration came from my mother, the poor, meek, Marie Lehmann.

NR: What was the world of art like when you first became an opera singer?

LL: When I was in Hamburg, I was the “spoiled darling” of opera. Everyone knew my name, and knew my voice. But when I moved to Vienna, I was “the new girl”. I felt like an outsider, an alien on a different planet. Many great stars were among me. Maria Jeritza, Selma Kurz, Lucy Weidt, and Marie Gutheil-Schoder were some of them (Lehmann, 1964). All very talented, and all wanting the same thing as me. The competition was hard to beat. Luckily for me, I took very a very serious approach to each role I was ever given. I did a very precise character analysis for each role, and I feel that made me stand out as a performer. I beat out the competition with my depth and total involvement in my art. I even wrote a book entitled My Many Lives, in which I wrote whole chapters on specific roles I have had the privilege to play (Lehmann, 1948). Opera was very popular at the time. Many people enjoyed going to the opera to hear the angelic voices bounce off against acoustics of music halls. 

Along with opera singers, composers were flourishing in the arts. As a child, I wasn’t familiar with classical music. Once I was involved in the music business, I was introduced to it. Composers were so very talented! They wrote music for ballets, operas,   orchestras, recordings, and many other various things. I admired their talent. I had many composer friends, all who were exceptionally talented. Richard Strauss composed operas especially for me to perform! What an honor! To have a role written for you, let alone a whole opera, is a very rare thing. My dear friend pulled me out of the midst of hopeful dreamers, and helped me become who I am today.

NR: How did major cultural, economic, and political situations of the time period impact your work as an artist?

LL: In 1934, I made my Metropolitan Opera debut in New York City. I sang my absolute favorite role: Sieglinde in Die Walküre. Problems with the Nazis had prevented me from singing for years in Germany, and just before Austria was annexed in 1938, I left Vienna (The Lotte Lehmann Foundation, 2011). The war made it very difficult for me to perform in Germany because many folks weren’t coming out to support the arts. There was political crisis everywhere you looked. In the streets, propaganda posters were all over. I had found my artistic home in Vienna, but I wasn’t performing to much of an audience. 

In Vienna, I began to perform Lieder, which is German art song. I feel as though I didn’t do justice to Lieder at the time (Oron, 2010). But my recordings were praised by many critics, so I must have done something right!

I became an American citizen in 1945, and I was thrilled to call myself an American. I decided to do this because of all the political, cultural, and economic problems that were happening in Europe. After my farewell concert in 1951, I decided to teach master-classes and private vocal lessons. I had no need to sing anymore. I had lost my voice, and I had lost it entirely. But I was still spreading my knowledge and “wisdom”, I guess you could say. Being in very bad economic situations as a child and a struggling artist,I wanted to share what I had learned with others. I now live a modest life, which is a big difference from what life was like during the first world war. The world was full of greed at that time, and the German culture unfortunately suffered. But with my voice, I hoped to spread my German culture throughout America when I finally became a citizen. 

NR: What were your major accomplishments, and what methods did you use in your art to achieve?

LL: The year of 1916 was a very important and crucial year in my life. Moving to Austria was rough in the sense that we had no more food than our regular ration cards entitled us to (Lehmann, 1964). Food was scarce, and life was hard. The Vienna Opera was not the same as in Hamburg, where I was known as the prima donna, the star. I felt like an alien there. I was the new girl among many other artists, and wasn’t noticed much. Through all the troubles I was going through, I kept my head held high in hopes of everything paying off in the long run. Excitement spread throughout the Opera, because Richard Strauss had written a new version of Ariadne auf Naxos. The premiere was to take place in October. I was cast as the understudy of the Composer, which was a great role, but being the understudy, I didn’t get to play it. Marie Gutheil-Schoder was cast as the Composer, and my only job was to step in if she should cancel. I knew this would never happen. I had accepted my role, and had been living with it, but during one of our last rehearsals, Marie was sick and was told to rest her voice. Richard Strauss was planning on attending the rehearsal to hear me now sing as the Composer. I sang my heart out, as I always did, and after the rehearsal Strauss asked me to meet him for another rehearsal. After this meeting, he declared that I would sing at the premiere. My role as the Composer turned out to be one of the reasons leading to my future success. My first accomplishment, was one of my greatest.

I made my début in Hamburg in 1909 as the 3rd Boy in Die Zauberflöte. I sang many leading roles in Wagner, Strauss, Mozart, Puccini, and even Beethoven’s works. I was the first to sing successfully all three soprano roles in Der Rosenkavalier (Sophie, Oktavian, and Marschallin), and I eventually became the outstanding Marschallin of my time. I made my London début in 1914, and my American début in Chicago in 1930 (Kennedy and Bourne, 1996). These are among many of my accomplishments, and I am proud of them all.

As far as my methods go, I am a very passionate artist, and sing with every emotion I have. When I sang Sieglinde for Richard Wagner, I remember using every emotion available in my body. The lyrics translated into English say, “The father returned home only! With the boy he still dwells in the forest. Mother! Mother! I am afraid of courage: Not seem friendly and peaceful serving strangers! Black vapors, gay Gedun, fiery flames licks out after us, it burns the house to help, brother! Siegmund! Siegmund! Siegmund! Ha!” They have a very powerful meaning, and whenever I sing, I use all my power to act the way the character singing would actually feel (Lehmann, 1954). I apply this method to every performance.  

NR: What were the main opportunities you had that led to turning points in your life and art?

LL: My best opportunity I feel would be that I was able to give my London debut performance in 1914 at the Royal Opera House, and my 1951 farewell performance in the same location. It was a huge honor, and many people showed to support me and my career. I was so flattered when I read this newspaper article about my performance, the comments were splendid. “Wellington has fallen captive to the charms, the incomparable artistry, the glorious voice, and the generosity of the world-famed prima donna, Lotte Lehman.” (Current Entertainment, 1939).

Another great opportunity I had was when I received admission into the Royal Hochschule. I remember standing in Professor Schulze’s office with my father, when he informed me that my teacher was Fraulein Helene Jordan. My father was inquiring about a possible scholarship, but when the professor said that I could be the best of the best, my father gave in. I learned so much at the Royal Academy. I learned to sing in different languages, and how to prefect my art. And what excited me the most, was that I could call it my art. This gave me a very good amount of confidence as I continued to learn.

NR: Were there any personal choices you had to make in order to become successful?

LL: I had to leave my family, which was hard for me. Being away from my mother was especially hard, considering how much she meant to me. I always kept in touch however, and wrote her letters often. I also sacrificed some love interests. I don’t really like to talk about them much, but I did have a lover named Otto. We couldn’t be together because of my schedule, and his parents also wanted him to marry someone else. We were hopelessly in love. I remember crying on the telephone with my parents over Otto. He meant the world to me (Kater, 2008). 

I also had to devote all of my time to singing and opera. What most people don’t know, is that I have a love for painting as well. As a child, I remember painting with my brother and playing in the garden. I always had artistic traits, so my mother told me. She and my father always knew that art would be in my future no matter what, and they were right. I devoted my entire life to opera, and I loved every minute of it, but I always ask myself, what if I hadn’t decided to sing? What would my life be like now? I’m sure my fans would be disappointed, but I have always wondered, what it would be like to be normal for a day. One day where I don’t see “Lotte Lehmann, Happily Retired, Has No Real Feeling for the Met” in headlines of newspapers (Thomas, 1963).

NR: What hardships did you have to overcome in order to be a world famous artist?

LL: When I was younger, my family was very poor. We didn’t have much, and life wasn’t easy. On top of this, my mother was always ill, and very fragile. This made my home life difficult for everyone. My father struggled to support our family financially, and yet we still had very little to survive on. I was lucky to receive voice lessons, because truly, we couldn’t afford them. My mother paid my teachers without my father knowing. I didn’t know it at the time, but it was a pretty big burden on my family. I’m glad that my mother and father saw the talent in me and believed in it, otherwise I wouldn’t be where I am today: A world-famous opera singer. 

Another hardship would be the fact that I had to travel and leave my family in order to pursue my dreams. It wasn’t easy to leave. When I first went to study in Vienna, I was trying to support myself as well as my family. This left me poor, and my family not any better than me. But of course my hard work paid off, and I had audiences of thousands that helped me support my family. I remember one Tuesday night, where at least 13,000 people were there, all to hear me (Halline, 1938). That same night, I sent a letter and money home to my parents. The satisfaction of being able to live your dream and make someone else’s life better, is more than money could buy.

NR: What kind of limitations did you run into as both an artist and a person?

LL: When I was just starting out in the business, I wasn’t always in the spotlight. The hardest thing for me wasn’t staying in, but getting in. I was a shy girl when I started, and that showed at auditions and classes. But once I let myself go as the character I was portraying, it didn’t matter who was watching me perform. I was a different person on stage. Once I got over the ‘shyness’, I was noticed more by teachers and directors. When I auditioned for Das Rheingold in 1910, all my fears had gone. When I auditioned, I wasn’t Lotte Lehmann, I was Freia (Britannica, 2011). When I studied at the Berlin State Conservatory, I also started to let my true colors show by becoming more of a true artist at heart.(Columbian Encyclopedia, 2008).

Another limitation I came across was that I couldn’t perform in Germany during the war (Oron, 2010). I despised what was going on in Germany, but I am very patriotic, and love being German. The fact that I had to wait as long as I did to perform for my country was pretty upsetting to me. I went elsewhere to show my talent to the world, but when the day came for me to perform for my home, my world, I was thrilled. This limitation helped me in a way, because if Germany was open to performances during the time, I might not have been able to share my talent with the whole entire world.

NR: What personal stories best illustrate how you became successful in the arts?

LL: When I was younger, living in poverty really awakened me to reality. I realized early on that life was hard. This helped me bring emotion to my characters. I really would get into character and would use my personal experiences to portray my version of the character, and what I thought that character would feel. I think this gave a an advantage, because most of my peers in school didn’t struggle with money or family illnesses. They were pretty well off. I wasn’t, and although some of my experiences were grim, the strength they have given me as a person and performer is unbelievable. I am thankful to have lived the life I am living. Without my life experiences, I wouldn’t be who I am today.

If I were to say  that ‘when I got into this opera’ and ‘when I traveled here’ were personal stories, I’d be lying. The thing that makes the story personal, is how it has affected me as a person, as an artist. From the time I was born, until this very day, I am living my life to the fullest extent. And I couldn’t be happier.

Bibliography

1. Glass, Beaumont. Lotte Lehmann: A Life in Opera and Song. Santa Barbara. CA: Capra Press, 1988. Print.

2. Halline, Edward. "The Milwaukee Sentinel-Google." N.p., August 31, 1938. Web. 23 Feb 2011. <http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=SYxAAAAAIBAJ&sjid=Kg0EAAAAIBAJ&dq=lotte%20lehmann&pg=6928%2C4533103 >.

3. Kater, Michael. Never Sang For Hitler: The Life and Times of Lotte Lehmann. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press, 2008. Print.

4. Kennedy, Michael, and Joyce Bourne. "Lehmann, Lotte." Concise Oxford Dictionary of Music 1996: n. pag. Web. 24 Feb 2011. < http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O76-LehmannLotte.html>.

5. Lehmann, Lotte. Five Operas and Richard Strauss. New York, NY: The Macmillan Company, 1964. Print.

6. Lehmann, Lotte. Midway in My Song. Indianapolis, NY: The Bobbs Merrill Company, 1938. Print.

7. Lehmann, Lotte. My Many Lives. New York, NY: Boosey and

   Hawkes Inc., 1948. Print.My Many Lives

8. Lehmann, Lotte, Perf. Bruno Walter: Great Conductors of the 20th Century. IMG Artists: 1954, CD.

9. "Lotte Lehmann." Encyclopedia Britannica. Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, 2011. Web. 24 Feb. 2011. <http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/335196/Lotte-Lehmann>.

10. "Lotte Lehmann." The Columbia Encyclopedia. 6th ed. 2008. Encyclopedia.com. Web. <http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-LehmannLo.html>.

11. Oron, Aryeh. "Bach-Cantatas." Lotte Lehmann (Soprano). N.p., July 15, 2010. Web. 24 Feb 2011. <http://www.bach-cantatas.com/Bio/Lehmann-Lotte.htm>.

12. "Papers Past." Current Entertainment. Evening Post, June 14, 1939. Web. 24 Feb 2011. <http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&d=EP19390614.2.16>

13. "The Lotte Lehmann Foundation." Voxnova Media. N.p., n.d. Web.       24 Feb 2011. <http://voxnovamedia.com/lehmann/biography/index.html>.

14. Thomas, Bob. "The Milwaukee Journal-Google." N.p., April 28, 1963. Web. 23 Feb 2011. <http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=pDsaAAAAIBAJ&sjid=HCcEAAAAIBAJ&dq=lotte%20lehmann&pg=5551%2C5898802 >.