Lilli Lehmann (1848-1929)

Lilli Lehmann

Lilli Lehmann (Elisabeth Maria Lehmann).

Lilli Lehmann's full name was Elisabeth Maria Lehmann. Lehmann sang Woglinde, Ortlinde and Woodbird at the first festival at Bayreuth 1876. In 1882 she was responsible for the Flowermaidens ensemble in the first Parsifal production.

In 1896 Lilli Lehmann sang Brünnhilde in the first Ring at Bayreuth after the premiere in 1876.

Lilli Lehmann at the Bayreuth Festival

1876

Das Rheingold (Woglinde)
Die Walküre (Helmwige; Lehmann's sister sang Ortlinde)
Siegfried (Stimme des Waldvogels)
Götterdämmerung (Woglinde)

See all Ring productions at Bayreuth here

1896

Die Walküre (Brünnhilde)
Siegfried (Brünnhilde)
Götterdämmerung (Brünnhilde)

Richard Wagner's way of addressing Lilli Lehmann in his letters to her

It's not exactly very important, but rather fun all the same, to see how Richard Wagner addressed Lilli Lehmann in his letters to her.

Ach, liebes gutes Kind!
Allerbestes Kind!
Allerliebstes Lehmännerchen!
Allervortrefflichstes Kind!
Beste Freundin!
Geehrtes liebes Kind!
Geehrteste Freundin!
Liebe Freundin!
Liebe Lilli!
Liebste Lilli!
Liebstes Kind und Collegin!
Mein liebstes Kind Lilli!
Oh! Lilli! Lilli! -
Oh, mein gutes liebes Wesen!
Oh, meine beste aller Lilli's!
Werthester Freund!

Selected Biographies

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One of the finest monuments in sound ever to have been raised to the everlasting glory of music. (Claude Debussy on Parsifal)

"The thing about Wagner is that there can be no true success in any production of his operas, only degrees of failure. There is so much in these bloody pieces, all you can do is try to live up to them." (Keith Warner, The Guardian)

"I have never come across an audience with so much hatred, so much anger, such a thirst for revenge. They take everything personally. It makes you a little bit scared, and it's really quite terrifying." (Lance Ryan on the audiences at Bayreuth)

"People sometimes complain that Wagner operas are too long, that they get stiff and sore about 10.30 because they have rushed in to hear one of his works straight from work and are not properly prepared for listening to his music. The audience, as much as the artists, must be prepared for a performance."
(Benjamin Britten to Alan Blyth, Gramophone)

"I was bowled over. It was the year after Wieland Wagner had died; to be able to see his productions was a total knock-out. These bare stagings, where everything was done with lighting. The light changed with the music, and the shadows and patterns seemed as archetypal as the music itself. Nobody had done that on the stage before. I thought it was extraordinary and wonderful."
(Patrick Carnegy to The Guardian)

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