Lilli Lehmann was a German operatic soprano and lieder singer who was born on November 24, 1848 in Wurzburg, Germany and she died on May 17, 1929 in Berlin. Ms. Lehmann was widely known for her performances as Isolde in Richard Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde. In addition to being a stellar singer, she was a renowned vocal teacher. Lilli was born to musical parents, her mother being Maria Theresa and her father was August Lehmann, a well-respected dramatic tenor who died young and alone, only seeing Lilli and her sister occasionally after both parents divorced. Lilli’s career was a vast one which encompassed over forty-one years. Her repertoire included 170 roles in 119 operas. She sang many lyric and coloratura parts. Some of these operas were Les Huguenots, Mignon, Il barbiere, Oberon, The Magic Flute, to name a few. Later in her career, she incorporated bigger repertoire that included Tannhauser, Lohengrin and Tristan und Isolde, all Wagnerian operas. She sang all over the world in major opera houses including Berlin, The Metropolitan Opera, London, Vienna and Paris amongst others. Lilli began to record when she was 58 years young, a total of 37 selections. Ms. Lehmann was a very strong and respected woman who possessed a loving and compassionate heart and adored teaching singers even though she rivaled a few sopranos in her day. Her book “How to Sing” was published first in 1902 and is the teaching manual that Heidi Skok utilizes and from which she has adapted her own REST Vocal program. The book now lies in the public domain for the everyone to use to learn and enjoy. Lilli deserves a rich come-back and Heidi Skok champions the work she did with singers technically and her amazing career. Lilli possessed tremendous discipline, such an important quality in a singer. Heidi Skok was first introduced to the teachings of Lilli Lehmann by her foremost vocal teacher in NYC,mezzo-soprano, Trish McCaffrey.
