Lilli Lehmann

Lilli Lehmann, born in 1848, spent her childhood in Prague learning how to sing from her mother Marie Loewe, a former leading soprano and long-time personal friend of the controversial composer, Richard Wagner. At the age of sixteen, Lehmann debuted as the First Boy in Mozart s The Magic Flute, and in 1870 she joined the Berlin Royal Opera. The Kaiser banned her operatic performances until 1891 as a penalty for her having overstayed her leave in New York, but she triumphed as an international soprano with 170 memorable roles.