We regret to have to report the death of Christa Ludwig, who according to Kurier died this Sunday in Vienna, her city of residence, at the age of 93. The mythical German mezzo, one of the most prestigious singers in history, had said goodbye to Music in 1994 as Klytämnestra at the Vienna State Opera.
Born in Berlin, she received her first singing lessons from her mother, mezzo-soprano Eugenie Besalla-Ludwig. Her debut came in 1946, playing Orlovsky in Frankfurt, just 18 years old. Then came her debut with the Darmstadt Opera (1952 – 1954), the Hanover Opera (1954 – 1955), and the Vienna State Opera, where she became one of the main artists.
In 1962 she was named Kammersängerin and remained in the cast for more than thirty years. In 1954 he made her debut at the Salzburg Festival as Cherubino and continued to participate until 1981. In 1966 he made her debut at the Bayreuth Festival, as Brangäne conducted by her mentor Karl Böhm with the great Swedish soprano Birgit Nilsson. She made her North American debut with the Chicago Lyric Opera in 1959, as Dorabella, and then at the Metropolitan Opera where she performed regularly until 1990. In 1964 she made her debut at the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires as Judith de Bartok and as Ortrud in Lohengrin alongside Victoria de los Ángeles.
In the same theater, he sang in the Marriage of Figaro, Ariadne in Naxos, The Knight of the Rose and Wozzeck, In 1969 he debuted at the Royal Opera House, as Amneris. She was decorated with the Legion of Honor of the French government and received the Campoamor Lyrical Theater Prize for her career.
Throughout his career, Ludwig has been directed by the most important directors of the last century, among which are Herbert von Karajan, Karl Böhm, Otto Klemperer, and Leonard Bernstein, with whom he faced a huge amount of repertoire, due to their extraordinary lyrical conditions. Christa Ludwig was on the cover of CODALARIO in June 2016.
Amelia Warner
Amelia Warner writes all the Latest Articles. She mostly covers Entertainment topics, but at times loves to write about movie reviews as well.
