Anny Schlemm

Anny Schlemm
Studio, black and white headshot of an unsmiling young woman with long, dark hair tied up in a bun, in light makeup, wearing theatrical costume.
Schlemm, in the 1950s
Born(1929-02-22)22 February 1929
Neu-Isenburg
Died20 August 2026(2026-08-20) (aged 97)
Graz, Austria
Occupations
  • Soprano
  • Mezzo-soprano
  • Contralto
Organizations
TitleKammersängerin
AwardsJoana Maria Gorvin Prize
Websiteannyschlemm.de

Anny Schlemm (22 February 1929 – 20 August 2026) was a German soprano and later mezzo-soprano and contralto. She was a member of the Komische Oper Berlin from 1949, working with Walter Felsenstein. She premiered one of her signature roles there, Boulotte in Offenbach's Barbe-bleue in 1963, performing it 257 times until 1992. Schlemm was for decades a member of the Oper Frankfurt and performed major roles also internationally as a guest. She performed 135 roles, including world premieres such as the Bride in Fortner's Bluthochzeit.

Life and career

Schlemm was born in Neu-Isenburg on 22 February 1929;[1][2][3] her parents ran a hairdresser salon there.[2] Her father, Friedrich Schlemm, also sang in the chorus of the Oper Frankfurt.[1][4] He was sent to a voice teacher in Frankfurt by the tenor Franz Völker who also lived in Neu-Isenburg. He then moved with the family to Halle to be a chorister at the Halle Opera House, while his wife worked in the administration of the opera house. Schlemm studied voice in Halle,[2] and in Berlin with Erna Westenberger.[4]

Schlemm made her debut in 1946 at the Halle Opera,[2] as Bastienne in Mozart's Bastien und Bastienne[1] (Other sources name Nanette in Lortzing's Der Wildschütz.)[3] In 1949 she joined both the Staatsoper Berlin and the Komische Oper Berlin (KOB),[4] At the KOB, she participated in productions by Walter Felsenstein including Desdemona in Verdi's Otello[4] and in 1963 one of her signature roles there, Boulotte in Offenbach's Barbe-bleue,[2][4] that she would perform 257 times during her career.[1] She toured with the company to Moscow, Stockholm and Prague.[4]

Schlemm was also a member of the Cologne Opera in the 1951/52 season.[4] She participated there in 1957 in the world premieres of Fortner's Bluthochzeit, as the Bride. She then became a member of the Oper Frankfurt, engaged by Christoph von Dohnányi.[5] She took part in the world premiere of Wimberger's Dame Kobold there in 1964.[4] Her roles also included both Cherubino[5] and Susanna in Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro, the title role of Smetana's The Bartered Bride, Elvira in Mozart's Don Giovanni,[4] Micaela in Bizet's Carmen, Agathe in Weber's Der Freischütz,[5] and the title roles in Puccini's Manon Lescaut, Der Rosenkavalier and Arabella, both by R. Strauss among others.[4]

Schlemm made guest appearances at other opera houses in Germany and abroad. She performed in Germany at the Hamburg State Opera, Staatsoper Dresden, Staatsoper Stuttgart and the Bavarian State Opera in Munich.[4] In 1954 she performed as Zerlina at the Glyndebourne Festival.[4] She sang as a guest at the Teatro di San Carlo in Naples in 1954, at the Royal Opera House in London, the Paris Opéra, and the Holland Festival, among others.[4] At the Bayreuth Festival, she appeared as Mary in Der fliegende Holländer from 1978 to 1985.[4]

Later, as her voice darkened,[2][5] she took mezzo-soprano roles such as Klytemnästra in Elektra and Herodias in Salome, both by R. Strauss, and Janáček roles, Káťa Kabanová and Kostelnicka in Jenůfa. Her last role in Frankfurt was Mamma Lucia in Mascagni's Cavalleria rusticana in the 2002/03 season.[1] She performed even longer at the Vienna State Opera, as the Old Buryja in Janáček's Jenůfa until 7 October 2003.[6]

Personal life

Schlemm was married to the conductor Wolfgang Rennert.[4] They had a son, Uli Rennert, who became a jazz musician, composer and academic teacher.[5] She was an honorary citizen of Neu-Isenburg in 1999.[2]

Schlemm lived from 2007 in Graz, where her son lived and taught.[1][5] At that time she left her archive to the Franz-Völker-Anny Schlemm-Gesellschaft in Neu-Isenburg.[1][2] She returned regularly to her hometown for an annual public reading of Christmas stories[7] at the Protestant church at the market square, a tradition that began in 2001.[5]

Schlemm died in a senior citizen's home in Graz on 20 August 2026, at the age of 97.[1][8]

Awards and honours

Schlemm was a honorary member of the Halle Opera, the KOB and the Oper Frankfurt.[5]

Schlemm's hometown established the Anny Schlemm Prize in 2009 to be awarded every fifth year to a promising young opera singer.[10] In 2010, the first recipient was mezzo-soprano Paula Murrihy.[2] Further recipients were Julia Dawson and Bianca Andrew.[11] The prize was abandoned in 2024.[12]

On the occasion of her 97th birthday, the town held an exhibition about the career of her and Völker, ending with a concert.[3]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Nagel, Eva-Maria (22 February 2024). "Opernsängerin Anny Schlemm gestorben". Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (in German). Retrieved 22 August 2026.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Doebel, Cornelia (22 February 2024). "Herzlichen Glückwünsch zum Geburtstag, liebe Anny Schlemm". Neu-Isenburg (in German). Retrieved 22 August 2026.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Postl, Leo (25 February 2026). "Eine Konzert-Matinee feiert den 97. Geburtstag von Anny Schlemm". Offenbach-Post (in German). Retrieved 22 August 2026.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 "Anny Schlemm". Bayreuth Festival (in German). 2026. Retrieved 22 August 2026.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Mroz, Juliane (17 December 2012). "Stadt ehrt Anny Schlemm". Frankfurter Rundschau (in German). Retrieved 22 August 2026.
  6. ↑ "Vorstellungen mit Anny Schlemm". Spielplanarchiv der Wiener Staatsoper (in German). Retrieved 22 August 2026.
  7. ↑ "Meisterin der Erzählkunst". Offenbach-Post (in German). 17 December 2012. Retrieved 22 August 2026.
  8. 1 2 Stangl, Andreas (20 August 2026). "Kammersängerin Anny Schlemm in Graz verstorben". Kleine Zeitung (in German). Retrieved 22 August 2026.
  9. ↑ Klemm, Holger (22 February 2019). "Operndiva Anny Schlemm aus Neu-Isenburg: Ehrenbürgerin feiert 90. Geburtstag". Offenbach-Post (in German). Retrieved 22 August 2026.
  10. ↑ Harder, Claudia (3 July 2024). "Neukonzeption Franz-Völker- und Anny-Schlemm-Preis". Neu-Isenburg (in German). Retrieved 22 August 2026.
  11. ↑ Postl, Leo (14 November 2021). "Hochkarätiger Anny-Schlemm-Preis in Neu-Isenburg" (in German). op-online.de. Retrieved 22 August 2026.
  12. ↑ Klemm, Holger (19 July 2024). "Neu-Isenburg schafft Preisverleihung ab und will Opernabend etablieren". Offenbach-Post (in German). Retrieved 22 August 2026.

Further reading

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