Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-05-26

was "unser Kronprinz," and the
other, a handsome, fine-figured
woman, was "unsere Lilli Leh-
mann" And you were looked at
in surprise for not knowing "our
Lilli Lehman" The BerlinerS
have always spoken in possess
i've sense of this lady-their star
of the opera-eSpecially in that
year when she broke her contract
with the Kaiser to accept an en-
gagement in America. 1t made
great talk there at the time, but
the BerlinerS thought none the
less of her, and the morning after
her debut in New York the first
words that greeted you in the
Vaterland were: Have you heard
the news? The Lilli Lehman
has had great success in Amer
ica." Twelve years later this same
Lilli Lehman was still having "a
great success in America" Her
art is enduring as it is great.
''I was to call upon Nine. Leh-
mann at $50 am, and this after
a great and long performance the
evening before. I had visions of
the prima donna still in bed, re-
ceiving her caller in neglige, and
slipping her coffee, served by a
French maid, while a parrot and
pet dog and flowers and the
morning mail and newspapers
combined to form an effect OF
artistic confusion. This makes a
pleasing picture, but it is not Lilli
lehman. There was no sense of
artistic confusion about her,
from her gray-tinged hair to her
grand, true voice.
I'm answer to the visitors knock
at her room in the Hotel Neither
lands she opened the door her
self and shook hands with true
German cordiality. The bed in
the adjoining room was already
made and there was no sign of a
late breakfast; all this at an hour
when it is safe to say half her
hearers of the evening before were
not yet up.
"And Lilli lehman, who in the
eyes of the public is majestically
arrayed in flowing robes and
breastplates and silver shields,
wore on this occasion, over her
plain serge dress, the typical little
fancy apron-So dear to the Ger
man 'hauSfrau.' The Berliners
may we'll call her Our Lilli Leh-
Manu. for she is as unaSSuming
to this day as the least of them.
"But, although she impreSSes
one, as unpretentiouS, one also
feels at once her great force and
energy. It shows in her every
word and movement, and also in
her businesslike method of being
interviewed.
eyes, am quite tired was her
first remark as she seated herself
at a little writing desk and her
visitor near by. The opera lasted
so late; I did not get to bed until
2 o'clock. But I was waiting for
you this morning and had just
prepared to write down some
items you might wish to know
Then she took a pencil and paper
and what do you suppose she
wrote first? These are the exact
words and she read them aloud as
she wrote:
"'Born Wuerzburg, November
"a, 1848.'
st could not conceal some sur
prise and was obliged to explain:
The American ladies so seldom
give their age that your frankneSs
is revelation
1.-THE Lilli lehman smiled and
said: Why not? One is thereby
no younger. I was brought
up in Prague, where I made by
debut when 18 years of age. My
mother was my first teacher and
constant companion. She was
herself a dramatic soprano, we'll
known as Marie Loew, and my
father, too, was a singer
"'In what opera did you first
"' It was the Magic Flute" and
I appeared in one of the lighter
roles, but two weeks later, during
the performance, the dramatic
soprano was taken ill, and I then
and there went on with her role,
trusting to my memory after
hearing it so often. My mother,
who was in the audience and
knew I had never studied the part,
nearly tainted when she saw me
come on the stage as Pamina.'
"Mme. Lehmann'S featS Of
memory have more than once Gre
ated a sensation. Recurring
to her life in Prague, Nine. Leh-
mann further said: L appeared
not only in many operas, but also
as an actress in many plays. In
those days opera singers were eX-
pected to be as proficient in the
dramatic side of their art as the
musical, and we were called upon
to perform in all the great TRACE
dies . AS the visitor men
toned Bellini, Nine. lehman as
Sented: Yes, we are to give
Norma" next MONTH Incident
ly, it was Nine. Lehmann's ex-
ouisite Interpretation of this role
that remained the standard, with
no competition until Rosa PonSelle
made her sensational success in
the revival of that opera a year
ago this season. To continue with
Miss Wagnalls' interview: Among
Wagner's works, Isolde" is one
character to which Nine. Leh-
mann's temperament and ply
sique are strikingly fitted.
For Is years Lilli lehman sang
in Berlin, with an occasional flight
to Baireuth, under the Kaiser'S
permission, where she sang for
Wagner himself. She was the
first Forest Bird in the premiere
Of the opera 'Siegfried.'
when Nine. Lehman was
asked: How do you keep your
splendid health and the strength
to work so much?' she had as