Born: October 26, 1897 - Metz (German territory after the Franco-Prussian war)
Died: February 5, 1994 - Berlin, Germany

Rich in outstanding soprano singers as Germany was during the inter-war years, one voice stood, and still stands, out for sheer silvery purity and exquisiteness, that of Tiana Lemnitz. She studied with Hoch in Metz and Kohmann in Frankfurt am Main.

Tiana Lemnitz made her operatic debut in Lortzig’s Undine in Heilbronn in 1920. From 1922 to 1928 she sang in Aachen (according to Hugo Wolf Society’s album, her operatic debut was there in 1922). Lemnitz subsequently pursued a distinguished career as a member of the Hannover Opera from 1928 to 1933, the Dresden State Opera from 1933 to 1934, and the Berlin State Opera from 1934 to 1957. She also made guest appearances in Vienna, Munich, Rome, London’s Covent Garden (1936, 1938) and Buenos Aires’s Teatro Colón (1936, 1950).

Tiana Lemnitz' repertoire included many leading roles in German, Italian, French, and Russian operas. Her most admired roles ranged from Mozart’s heroines (such as Pamina), through Weber’s Agathe, Verdi’s Aida and Desdemona, Georges Bizet’s Micaëla, Wagner’s Elsa, Evchen and Sieglinde, to Puccini’s Mimi and Strauss’ Octavian - later she was to become an eminent Marschallin. She retired in 1957, surviving to a hearty old age.

Source: Liner notes to the Album ‘The Hugo Wolf Society 1931-1938’ (EMI, late 1970’s); Baker’s Biographical Dictionary of 20^th Century Classical Musicians (1997)
Contributed by Aryeh Oron (May 2001)

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Günther Ramin

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BWV 244

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