Lotte Schoene (soprano) - Mein Herr, was dachten sie von mir ('Die Fledermaus' - Strauss) (1928)

Lotte Schoene sings - delightfully - 'Mein Herr, was dachten die von mir,' with the Berlin State Opera Orchestra conducted by Dr Leo Blech, recorded on 22 October 1928.

I decided to keep the spelling as 'Schoene' for present purposes. Both 'Schöne' and 'Schoene' were used. Of the two photographs in the slide show, the singer signs her name using the former version, but the 1928 photograph with Bruno Walter shows a poster displaying the variant. Record labels I have seen invariably use 'Schoene.'

From Wikipedia: Lotte Schöne, née Charlotte Bodenstein (December 15, 1891 – December 22, 1977) was an Austrian soprano.

Born in Vienna, Schöne studied music in that city and made her debut in 1912 at the Vienna Volksoper as a bridesmaid in Der Freischütz. From 1917 until 1925 she was on the roster of the Vienna State Opera where she sang all the major light lyric parts. Between 1922 and 1934 she was also a regular at the Salzburg Festival, singing Zerlina, Blonde, and Despina. From 1925 to 1933 she also sang regularly at the Berlin State Opera in roles such as Manon, Mimi, and Cio-Cio-San. For London she created Liù in 1927, her only season at the Royal Opera House. With the rise of the Nazi Party, Schöne moved to Paris and joined the Opéra-Comique, where she was especially noted for her Mélisande. After performances as Marcellina and Zerlina under Bruno Walter at the Paris Opera in 1937, she retired almost completely from the stage.

Schöne was of Jewish extraction, and was forced to hide during the German occupation of France during World War II. When she emerged, in 1945, she returned to singing, but almost exclusively in concerts. She retired for good in 1953 and became a voice teacher in Paris. She died in Bobigny.

Schöne was especially noted for her performances in the works of Mozart and Richard Strauss...


I transferred this from a solid stock Sydney pressing of HMV D 1733 which, fortunately, has responded particularly well.

[denispowell]

When I was a teenager I listened to my LP set of "Die Fledermaus" over and over. Lots of lovely, and quite clever, melodies, lush orchestral sounds and wonderful singing. Sadly, it's in store along with almost all my other LPs and I've not purchased a digital version so this is very welcome indeed.

[georgejohnson]

To listen to this sung is interesting. Never previously encountered. But to hear it sung this well is a blessing!

Another Bullseye!

Best wishes from George

[hrbooksmusic]

Schön singt sie, die Schöne - pun intended! ✨✨✨ Please excuse my comment written in German; this time it was absolutely necessary (because of the pun... 😉)
Thank you very much for sharing this delightful recording! 🙏🍀