Borkh, Inge (real name, Ingeborg Simon)
Borkh, Inge (real name, Ingeborg Simon)
Borkh, Inge (real name, Ingeborg Simon), famous German soprano; b. Mannheim, May 26, 1917. She first appeared as a stage actress, then decided upon a singing career. She studied at the Milan Cons, and at the Mozarteum in Salzburg. She made her debut as Czipra in Johann Strauss’s Zigeunerbaron at the Lucerne Opera in 1940, remaining a member there until 1944; then sang at the Bern Opera until 1951. She made her American debut at the San Francisco Opera in 1953; on Jan. 24, 1958, she appeared at the Metropolitan Opera in N.Y. as Salome, returning to its roster for the 1960-61 and 1970-71 seasons. In 1959 she made her first appearance at London’s Covent Garden, also as Salome. She made her farewell operatic appearance at the Munich Festival in 1988. Her other notable roles included Le-onore, Eglantine, Lady Macbeth, and Elektra. She wrote Ich komm’ vom Theater nicht los: Erinnerungen und Einsich-ten (Berlin, 1996).
—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire