Biographies of Lotte Lehmann

(In the chonological order of their publication)

Lotte Lehmann...mehr als eine Sängerin, Berndt W. Wessling; Residenz Verlag, Salzburg, 1969. In German; a kind of biography with input from many (including Lehmann), a wide range of photos; reproduced letters from composers, colleagues and conductors; programs and other memorabilia.

Lotte Lehmann: A Life in Opera and Song, Beaumont Glass; Capra Press, Santa Barbara, 1988. A complete biography, the "official" biography. This official status allowed Glass access to original sources in the Lehmann Archives at UCSB and many interviews with Lehmann's friend Frances Holden in Orplid where they lived. Many photos. Includes a complete discography by Gary Hickling.

In "Fanfare" Ralph Lucano writes: "Fans of Lehmann will find Glass' lengthy and loving encomium fascinating and worthwhile."

Christopher Hatch reviewed Beaumont Glass' Lehmann biography in the Winter 1988-89 of The Opera Quarterly: "Glass faithfully chronicles the chief events in Lehmann's richly episodic life; everything from her meeting with Hermann Göring to her tours in Australia is included.... The appendix alone—a Lehmann discography by Gary Hickling, encompassing all commercial and noncommercial recordings —makes the volume worthwhile. As for the main text, Glass's contribution is particularly notable in telling much more about personal matters, loves and friendships, than the singer herself cared to disclose...The author's account of Lotte Lehmann's life shows...how self-absorption, self indulgence, and ambition work in mysterious ways to nurture the highest degree of artistic discipline and enable a performer to subjugate self to a controlling musical and dramatic ideal."

Not in print, but copies available from the author by writing to us by our email contact.

Lotte Lehmann: 1888-1976 A Centenary Biography, Alan Jefferson, Julia MacRae Books, A Division of Walker Books, London, 1988. A fairly complete biography. Since Jefferson didn't have access to the Lehmann Archives, his book relies more on testimony of students and colleagues. Some photos, good statistical tables of Lehmann's opera performances. An excellent discography by Floris Juynboll; doesn't include much information on the non-commercial portion of Lehmann's legacy.

For those interested in purchasing Jefferson's biography, write: Margaret Flores, 124 South Alameda St., Compton, CA 90221. The cost: $35 (shipping within the US included; outside US add $5 for shipping.)

Lotte Lehmann: Eine Biographie, Alan Jefferson, trans. into German by Ulrike and Manfred Halbe-Bauer, Schweizer Verlagshaus, Zürich; 1991. Essentially the same as the English version. An updated discography by Juynboll, again with a short version of the non-commercial material.

Review of the German Translation of Jefferson's Lehmann Biography

For those interested in reading Lehmann's biography in German, Alan Jefferson's has been published by Schweizer Verlagshaus, Zurich. In the March 1992 "Fono Forum", a German magazine, Thomas Voigt writes that Jefferson compiled a "sometimes too detailed, but always pleasantly factual (account), never with the effusions of a glowing fan."

The biggest failure, according to Voigt, is that there is too little from Lehmann herself. Until the last chapter Jefferson omits "the disarming candor found in her writings and especially in interviews". Jefferson is also criticized for not disclosing the sources for some of the detailed historical passages.

The book includes the excellent discography by Floris Juynboll which has been corrected since its appearance in the English version. It doesn't list the complete "noncommercial" items. -GH

Lotte Lehmann: "Sie sang, dass es Sterne rührte": Eine Biographie, Berndt W. Wessling, P.J. Tonger Musikverlag, Köln-Rodenkirchen, 1995. A complete biography in German, which includes much of the same material used in Mehr als eine Sängerin such as the good photos, reproduced letters, memorabilia etc. A bit more of the sordid side of diva battles etc.