Episode 200. Whole Lotta Lotte (Lehmann!)
SOCIAL SHARE
SUBSCRIPTION PLATFORM
Today we observe a significant event in the history of Countermelody, namely, our 200th episode! I decided that there was no better way to celebrate than to devote a full episode to the great Lotte Lehmann (1888-1976), who vies with Claudia Muzio as one of my two favorite singers of all time. Lehmann was originally a conservatory flunkie, but somehow got her act together to become one of the most expressive and imaginative singers, both of opera and of art song, that ever lived. From the first time I heard this warm, enveloping voice allied to a theatrical, emotional style of delivery, I was in love. Though I have frequently featured her in individual cuts on the podcast, this is the first time she has been featured on her own episode. She is heard in live, studio, and radio recordings made between the years 1916 and 1958, all of which reveal her in all aspects of her sublime artistry and in the company of some of the greatest artists of her era, from Arturo Toscanini to Richard Tauber to George Szell, to her preferred accompanist, Paul Ulanowsky. Choosing the selections for this week’s program was like reencountering an old friend. The episode begins with a brief tribute to the late Finnish composer Kaija Saariaho, who died a week ago at the age of 70 and to the evocative singer Astrud Gilberto, who died this past week at the age of 83.
RECORDINGS HEARD IN THIS EPISODE
Sammy Fain, Paul Francis Webster: A Certain Smile. Astrud Gilberto, Walter Wanderley [1966]
Kaija Saariaho, Amin Maalouf: La Passion de Simone [excerpt]. Anne Sofie von Otter, Christian Karlsen, The Royal Swedish Orchestra and Opera Chorus [live 2021]
Franz Schubert, Franz von Schober: An die Musik, D 547. Lotte Lehmann, Paul Ulanowsky [live radio broadcast 08.X.41]
Richard Tauber and Marlene Dietrich
Erich Wolfgang Korngold, Paul Schott [Erich Wolfgang Korngold, Julius Korngold, after Georges Rodenbach]: Glück, das mir verblieb (Die tote Stadt). Lotte Lehmann, Richard Tauber, Georg Szell, Berlin State Opera Orchestra [1924]
Lehmann and Toscanini
Ludwig Van Beethoven, Joseph Sonnleithner [after Jean-Nicolas Bouilly]: Ich folg’ dem innern Triebe (Fidelio). Lotte Lehmann, Arturo Toscanini, Wiener Philharmoniker [live Salzburg 16.VIII.36]
Lotte Lehmann and Gérard Souzay
Robert Schumann, Christian L’Egru: Aufträge, Op. 77/5. Lotte Lehmann, Hermann Weigert [1928]
Ernő Balogh
Anonymous, Ben Jonson: Drink to Me Only with Thine Eyes. Lotte Lehmann, Ernő Balogh [1937]
Lotte Lehmann and Paul Ulanowsky
Johannes Brahms, Klaus Groth: Komm’ bald, Op. 97/5. Lotte Lehmann, Paul Ulanowsky [live Town Hall 27.II.49]
Richard Wagner: Euch Lüften, die mein Klagen (Lohengrin). Lotte Lehmann, unidentified conductor and orchestra [1914]
Richard Strauss, Heinrich Hart: Cäcilie, Op. 27/1. Lotte Lehmann, Orchestra conducted by Bruno Seidler-Winkler [1921]
Richard Strauss, Hugo von Hofmannsthal: Wie kann denn das gescheh’n? (Der Rosenkavalier). Lotte Lehmann, Hermann Weigert, Berlin State Opera Orchestra [1925]
Richard Strauss, Hugo von Hofmannsthal: Die Zeit, die ist ein sonderbar Ding (Der Rosenkavalier). Lotte Lehmann, Manfred Gurlitt, Berlin State Opera Orchestra [1927]
Richard Strauss, Hugo von Hofmannsthal: Er ist der Richtige nicht für mich (Arabella). Lotte Lehmann, Käte Heidersbach, Richard Jäger, Members of the Berlin State Opera Orchestra [1933]
Giacomo Puccini, Giovacchino Forzano, German translation by Alfred Brüggemann: O Blumen, die ihr Gift [Amici fiori] (Suor Angelica). Lotte Lehmann, Orchestra conducted by Bruno Seidler-Winkler [1920]
Giacomo Puccini, completed Franco Alfano, Giuseppe Adami, Renato Simoni [after Carlo Gozzi], German translation by Alfred Brüggemann: Die ersten Tränen [Del primo pianto] (Turandot). Lotte Lehmann, Fritz Zweig, Berlin City Opera Orchestra [1927]
Lotte Lehmann and Jan Kiepura in Das Wunder der Heliane
Erich Wolfgang Korngold, Hans Müller-Einigen [after Hans Kaltneker]: Doch schön war der Knabe (Das Wunder der Heliane). Lotte Lehmann, Manfred Gurlitt, Berlin State Opera Orchestra [1928]
Franz Lehár, Alfred Maria Willner, Robert Bodanzky: Im heimlichen Dämmer… Wär’ es auch nichts als ein Augenblick (Eva). Lotte Lehmann, Hermann Weigert, Berlin State Opera Orchestra [1928]
Robert Stolz, Kurt Robitschek: Im Prater blüh’n wieder die Bäume. Lotte Lehmann, Paul Ulanowsky [1941]
Wilhelm Müller: Die Krähe. Read by Lotte Lehmann [1957]
Lehmann’s illustration for Die Krähe
Franz Schubert, Wilhelm Müller: Die Krähe (Winterreise, D 911/15). Lotte Lehmann, Paul Ulanowsky [1940]
Eduard Mörike: Verborgenheit. Read by Lotte Lehmann [1957]
Hugo Wolf, Eduard Mörike: Verborgenheit. Lotte Lehmann, Paul Ulanowsky [live radio broadcast 26.XI.41]
Franz Schubert, Georg Philipp Schmidt von Lübeck: Der Wanderer, D 489. Lotte Lehmann, Paul Ulanowsky [live Town Hall 10.II.46]
Franz Schubert, Wilhelm Müller: Der Neugierige (Die schöne Müllerin, D 795/6). Lotte Lehmann, Paul Ulanowsky [live Town Hall Farewell Recital 16.II.51]
Rainer Maria Rilke: Rast! Gast sein einmal (Die Weise von Liebe und Tod des Cornets Christoph Rilke). Lotte Lehmann [1958]
Franz Schubert, Franz von Schober: An die Musik, D 547. Lotte Lehmann, Orchestra conducted by Manfred Gurlitt [1927]