Anny Schlemm

Anny Schlemm (born February 22, 1929 in Neu-Isenburg) is a German operatic soprano, and later mezzo-soprano. Her father, Friedrich Schlemm, was a chorister at the Oper Frankfurt, and she studied in Berlin with Erna Westenberger. She made her debut at the Halle Opera House in Halle an der Saale, as Nanette in Lortzing's Der Wildschütz, in 1946. In 1949 she joined the Komische Oper Berlin, where she remained until 1961, during that period her roles included Susanna, Marenka, Donna Elvira, Desdemona, Manon Lescaut, Octavian, Arabella, etc. She also sang at the opera houses of Cologne, Hamburg, Dresden, Frankfurt, Stuttgart, Munich, and at the Bayreuth Festival, etc. She made guest appearances at the Vienna State Opera, the Royal Opera House in London, the Glyndebourne Festival, the Paris Opéra, the Holland Festival, etc. Later, as her voice darkened, she became a famous exponent of roles such as Clytemnestra in Elektra, Herodias in Salome, Kabanicha in Káťa Kabanová, and Kostelnicka in Jenůfa, etc. A superb singing-actress and highly versatile artist, she was equally at home in comic and dramatic roles. She was married for a time to conductor Wolfgang Rennert.