Perleberg Collection Growing Rapidly

As we reported in the last newsletter, there is interest in expanding the Lehmann collection in the City Museum of Perleberg, Germany, which is housed in the very building in which Lehmann attended school. We received a letter from the museum's director, Reinhard Spiess: "For the future I plan to face the art and the person of Lotte Lehmann more intensively to the public than it has been done during the last years...We have a lot of newspaper articles, some photographs, a few letters and one record: Sterne der Gesangskunst; Odeon 0-6950."

Within a few days, I searched my collection and sent to Perleberg my duplicate recordings, books and framed photos in a large, carefully packed box. Since many readers may wish to respond similarly to Perleberg's need, I'll list what I have sent so that duplication can be avoided.

• Books: More Than Slnging by LL; Lotte Lehmann, A Life In Opera & Song by Beaumont Glass.
• 10" 78rpm recordings: Die Toten Augen/ Marriage of Flgaro (arias) PO158; Tannhauser (arias) Be 8883; Lohengrin (arias) PO 152;"D'une Prison/Tonerna" (songs) 1972-A.
• 12" records Fidelio (aria) PXO1013;
  "Träume/Im Treibhaus" (songs) 74169-D;
  Die Walküre Act I (8 records).
• LPs: Presier LV 94 & LV 180 (arias);
  LL Centennial Album (3-record set of songs),
  Frauenliebe und -leben and Dichterliebe, Odyssey 32160315; Arias & Songs, Seraphim 60060;
  Songs of Brahms & Wolf, Victor VICS 1320e;
  LL Sings Lieder, Camden CAL 378;
  LL Die Lyriken der Gesangskunst, Da Capo C 147-29 116/117 (2 disks);The Art of LL, Seraphim 18-6105 (2 discs); In Memoriam LL (songs & arias) BWS 729;
  Die Goldene Stimme (arias and LL speaking in German) Odeon 083 396.

This package arrived in Perleberg on August 26, the 16th anniversary of Lehmann's death.

"It was an enormous joy, and I thank you wholeheartedly," wrote Director Spiess. The local newspaper ran an article about the museum with two photos of the books, photos and records shipped.

I wrote the Lotte Lehmann Archive at the University of California Santa Barbara about the Perleberg project, and the head of Special Collections, David Tambo, answered with interest "to establish contact with the Perleberg Museum and see what form such a liaison might take."

He also included a thought that many of our readers might like to know: "In resonse to your questions whether we want photocopies of articles about Lehmann, ...we are happy to accept such materials, which are housed in a subject verticle file in the collection."

So--when you run across LL newspaper or magazine clippings, old or new, memorabilia, programs, personal recollections, etc., by all means send them to the Lotte Lehmann Archive, Special Collections, Library, UCSB, Santa Barbara 93106.

And send the LL League copies as well. We especially appreciate copies of reviews of new CD issues.

And remember Perleberg: Reinhard Spiess, Museum Perleberg, Mönchort 7-10, 0-2910 Perleberg, Germany.