Schöne, Lotte (real name, Charlotte Bodenstein)
Schöne, Lotte (real name, Charlotte Bodenstein)
Schöne, Lotte (real name, Charlotte Bodenstein), admired Austrian-born French soprano; b. Vienna, Dec. 15, 1891; d. Paris, Dec. 22, 1977. She studied in Vienna. She made her debut at the Vienna Volksoper in 1912, and continued to appear there until 1917, then sang at the Vienna Court (later State) Opera (1917–26). She also appeared at the Berlin Städtische Oper (1926–33), and made many appearances at the Salzburg Festivals (1922–35). After leaving Germany in 1933, she went to Paris, became a naturalized French citizen, and made guest appearances at the Opéra and the Opéra-Comique; she was compelled to go into hiding during the Nazi occupation, but resumed her career after the liberation, and sang in Berlin in 1948; she retired in 1953. Among her many notable roles were Cherubino, Papagena, Susanna, Despina, Pamina, Zerlina, Sophie, Mimi, Liù, and Mélisande.
—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire