This is a listing in progress of Lehmann CDs. Incomplete now, but we'll be working to bring it up to date. It is alphabetical by record company.

CBS MPK 44840, Schumann's Frauenliebe und -leben and Dichterliebe with Bruno Walter at the piano. Classic recordings, but the sound isn't better than LPs. Not easily available in the US.

CLAREMONT CD GSE 78-50-57, Lotte Lehmann Sings 26 Lieder; Recorded between 1928-1941. Early Schmann songs with chamber orchestra accompaniment, as well as Bist du bei mir and the wonderful Wolf songs recorded in 1939 make this CD worthwhile. Some R. Strauss and Brahms Lieder recorded on Columbia not easily found on other CDs are beautifully sung. Note the legato line of Wie bist du meine Königin or the light-hearted touch on Sonntag.

CLAREMONT CD GSE 78-50-64 Richard Tauber....This CD includes Tauber's recordings of folk songs, opera, operetta and Lieder. Lehmann sings the duet from Korngold's Die tote Stadt. No notes, no text, no translations.

DACO CD317-318, Wagner's Die Walküre, Acts I & Il, again the famous studio recording of 1935, including the second act in which Lotte Lehmann is brilliant. Sonically superior to 78 rpm or LP incarnations. High-priced, but worth it!

DANTE LYS 231-234 Lotte Lehmann Schubert: a four CD set of all the Schubert Lieder Lehmann recorded. This includes studio and live performances, the complete Die schöne Müllerin and Winterreise. The early Schubert recordings with café orchestra as well as the test pressing of Nacht und Träume are combined in one beautiful set. Some of the live recordings are new to this writer and need patience to listen through the noise of the original recordings. The notes by André Tubeuf are a joy; there are photos and good discographical data. One error: the An den Mond that Lehmann recorded in 1947 is to poetry by Hölty, not Goethe and begins "Geuss lieber Mond..."

DANTE LYS 326-327 Richard Strauss: Der Rosenkavalier in a live broadcast performance from the Metropolitan Opera in 1938 with Bodanzky conducting. This two CD set features Thorborg as Octavian; Suzanne Fischer, the Sophie; List is Ochs; and Schorr as Faninal. Sound? French and English notes, no text, no translations.

EKLIPSE EKR CD 18, Lotte Lehmann, The Complete 1941 Radio Cycle. A two CD set, this is essential to the Lehmann collector. Not only are there some songs that Lehmann did not record elsewhere, but she provides spoken introductions to the songs and gives a sad farewell on Christmas eve 1941 as the US entered World War II. That she was singing so much German repertoire until this point is a tribute to the American public and administration. The sound is excellent; Ulanowsky is the pianist.

EKLIPSE EKR CD 20, Lotte Lehmann in Concert 1943-1950; this is listed here only for the sake of completeness. Lehmann is not at her best, poor quality sound and duplications make this a senseless disc. There is a second CD: the infamous interview of 1962 with Lehmann and Jeritza. The less said on that, the better.

EKLIPSE EKR CD 25, Richard Strauss: Der Rosenkavalier Act III. A live broadcast of the San Francisco Opera in 1945 right at the end of Lehmann's opera career. Since this is only the last act, there isn't a lot of Lehmann. Sadly, by this point of her life she didn't feel secure enough to sing the high B flat at the outset of the trio, but she is certainly secure about the words and the expression! Boxy, but decent sound. The CD is filled with a 1973 interview with Lehmann on her 85th birthday.

EKLIPSE EKR CD 35, Lotte Lehmann's Santa Barbara Farewell Recital, 7 August 1951. A true historic record: the last peformance recorded of Lehmann as a singer. There is the obvious and oft mentioned extra breathing, but there is also much great singing and some songs not elsewhere recorded: Hahn's L'enamourée, Offrande, Pholoe, Phyllis, Le Rossignol des Lilas and Si mes vers avaient des ailes; Schubert's An mein Klavier, Fischerweise, Seligkeit; Brahms' Lerchengesang. The pianist is Gwendolyn Koldofsky who Lehmann used on the West Coast. She had the same understanding of Lehmann's style, breathing and rhythmic irregularities as Paul Ulanowsky. For the live recording condition, the sound is ok.

EKLIPSE EKR CD 47, Lotte Lehmann; The Town Hall Recitals; recorded (usually off the air) in 1946, 47, 49, and 50. Bruno Walter and Paul Ulanowsky were the pianists. This series originally appeared on Voce LPs. The recitals offer a unique chance to hear Lehmann live; certainly at the end of her career, but live anyway. The other attraction is the opportunity to sample Lieder that Lehmann didn't record in a studio: Schubert's Auflösung, Dass sie hier gewesen, Schwanengesang etc.; Brahms' Willst du, dass ich geh?, Der Kuss, Wie froh und frisch etc.

EMI CDH 764255 2, Wagner's Die Walküre, Act 2. Because the Nazi craziness made this recording a mixture of orchestras and conductors, it has never received the acclaim of the Act 1 recording mentioned below, but Lehmann's portions with Melchior are conducted by Walter and have the intensity of the crazed Sieglinde that is manic, impressive and a real document to her histrionic genious.

EMI CDH 7610202, Wagner's Die Walküre, Act I, famous studio recording of 1935.

EMI CDH 7610422, Lotte Lehmann Opera Arias. These have been transferred by Keith Hardwick and include many arias made directly from the original metal masters. Superior to any previous LP or 78 rpm recordings and mid-priced. A great introduction to Lehmann, the opera-singer.

EMI CHS 7 64487 2, R. Strauss' Der Rosenkavalier (abridged) plus Strauss Lieder sung by Elisabeth Schumann and Lehmann. This is the famous all-star 1933 recording with Lehmann, Schumann, Maria Olszewska, Richard Mayr, etc. conducted by Robert Heger. Though many portions (especially with Lehmann) have been improved with digital technology, there a some very strident, metallic sounding sections. This is, however, the best available version of this classic recording.

EMI CMS 7 64008 2 Les Introuvables du Chant Wagnérien (Wagner Singing on Record) is a four CD set with many fine historic recordings. Lehmann appears in Euch Lüften recorded in 1930. Biographies are provided but no texts or translations.

GERHARDT JGCD 0023-3 Wagner's Lohengrin, almost complete (standard Metropolitan Opera cuts but missing the ending) with a great cast (Melchior, Schorr, List and Marjorie Lawrence!) and Bodanzky conducting this live 1935 broadcast. The sound is often poor, but it is exciting to hear Lehmann in many of the dramatic moments which she never recorded. Three CDs with the second filled out with Lehmann singing Wagner arias recorded from 1916 to 1924 (acoustic). This CD is for the fanatics among us and difficult to find in the US. This same exact set is available on Melodram.

GEBHARDT 0035 Wagner's Die Meistersinger, excerpts recorded from 1912-1950, some live. It includes recordings by Lehmann and Michael Bohnen from as early as 1916.

GRAMMOFONO 2000 AB 78631: Lotte Lehmann; The International Repertoire: Opera Arias by Mozart, Weber, Gounod, Tchaikovsky, Wagner, Bizet, Massenet, Thomas, Puccini. recorded between 1914-1917 a remastered using the CEDAR sound system. These are cleaner sounding than the Preiser "The Young Lotte Lehmann" discs, but there seems to be some loss is presence and high overtones. There are 20 arias on the Grammofono CD and 48 on the three Preiser CDs.

KOCH 3-1462-2 Y4, Edition WIENER STAATSOPER LIVE: Vol. 12: Lotte Lehmann/Helge Roswaenge/Maria Jeritza; Excerpts from Der Rosenkavalier, Tannhäuser, Die Meistersinger, *Faust, *Salome, Die Walküre, Andrea Chenier, *Cavalleria Rusticana, *I Pagliacci. (*= operas in which Lehmann does NOT sing); This is one volume of a set of 48 produced by Koch of backstage recordings made "live" during performances at the Vienna State Opera between 1933-1944. Though some of Lehmann's excerpts from this series have been available on Teletheater (see complete discography), these have been "improved" for CD. Speaking of Rosenkavalier performances available in this series, Michael Tanner writes in the Summer 1997 edition of ICRC: "The most valuable is that in Voume 12, with Lehmann and Schumann: the trio on this occasion is slow, emphatic and quite marvellous. This volume, in which Lehmann appears as Elisabeth, Eva, Sieglinde and Madeleine (Andrea Chénier), and her great rival Jeritza as Salome, is altogether desirable." I would only add "for collectors".

LEGATO CLASSICS LCD 133-1, Wagner's Die Walküre, Act Il, with all-star cast (including Flagstad), but poor sound recorded originally on acetates from the radio. Recommended to the committed. Better sound on Music & Arts, but this one has the introductory on-air comments by author Marcia Davenport.

MELODRAM MEL 37049, Wagner's Lohengrin, almost complete (standard Metropolitan Opera cuts but missing the ending) with a great cast (Melchior, Schorr, List and Marjorie Lawrence!) and Bodanzky conducting this live 1935 broadcast. The sound is often poor, but it is exciting to hear Lehmann in many of the dramatic moments which she never recorded. Three CDs with the second filled out with Lehmann singing Wagner arias recorded from 1916 to 1924 (acoustic). This CD is for the fanatics among us and difficult to find in the US. Its exact duplicate is available on the Gerhardt label in Germany.

MEMOIR CDMOIR 408, Great voices of the Century: Great Sopranos: Lehmann, Leider, Teschemacher, Flagstad etc. Includes the 1930 recording Lehmann made of Dich teure Halle from Tannhäuser by Wagner. Acceptable sound.

MEMOIR CDMOIR 419 Vienna Nights: The Golden Age of Operetta. Lehmann sings Wien du Stadt meiner Traume (Vienna City of My Dreams) with Ulanowsky at the piano. The rest of the CD is really operetta with Elisabeth Schumann, Tauber, Rethberg, Anders, Korjus, Patzak and Wittrisch.

MINERVA MN-A10, Lotte Lehmann: Her Early Records (1914-1917). This duplicates several other releases; acceptable sound.

MINERVA MN-A34, Wagner's Die Walküre, Act 2, with all-star cast (including Flagstad), but poor sound recorded originally on acetates from the radio. This CD has better sound than the others (Legato and Minerva), but take what you can find. This is committed singing! Slightly better sound on Music & Arts.

MET CD REO3, The Met Centenarians: Lotte Lehmann. New issue includes selections fromLohengrin, Tannhäuser, Walküre, Mignon, Rosenkavalier, Fidelio, Tosca and songs by Beethoven.

MET 207CD, Sunday Night Concert at the Met. This 2 CD set includes many opera stars singing a wide variety of music (many songs). Lehmann sings Ständchen by R. Strauss.

MET 216 CD, Met Stars in the New World; many singers in American folk, pop and art song. Lehmann sings Irving Berlin's, God Bless America. Worth the price of the 2 CDs!

MET 515CD, Great Operas at the Met: Strauss: Der Rosenkavalier. Excerpts from recordings from 1911 to 1990. Excerpts from the studio HMV recording of 1933 with Lehmann, Schumann and Olszewska. A 2 CD set for those who want a wide range of recorded performance excerpts.

MUSIC & ARTS CD-1048, Wagner's Die Walküre, Act 2, with all-star cast (including Flagstad), but poor sound recorded originally on acetates from the radio. This CD has better sound than the others (Legato and Minerva), but take what you can find. This is committed singing!

MYTO 992.H027 Die Walküre, Wagner. The Metropolitan Opera on tour in Boston performed the opera with an all-star cast. Besides Lehmann, there's Melchior, Lawrence, Thorborg, Shorr and List. Leinsdorf conducts this 1940 live broadcast. This recording was orginally made on acetates and so there's surface noise, but with this intense "live" performance, such imperfections are quickly forgotten. Same recording on Walhall.

NAXOS 8.110191-92, R. Strauss' Der Rosenkavalier (abridged) (See EMI listing for details)

NAXOS 8.110250-51, Wagner's Die Walküre, Act I and Act II, famous studio recording of 1935 with Melchior etc., conducted by Bruno Walter.

NIMBUS NI 7802, Divas 1906-1935, Prima Voce. Lehmann is heard in the 1927 recording of Komm, O Hoffnung from Beethoven's Fidelio. See the next listing for a discussion of the Amisonic process.

NIMBUS NI 7819, Covent Garden 1909-1939, Prima Voce. Not recorded at Covent Garden, Nimbus chooses the 1933 recorded trio from the final act of Rosenkavalier by Richard Strauss. Lehmann, Schumann and Olszewska are the singers.

NIMBUS NI 7822, Great Singers in Mozart, Prima Voce. Though Lehmann wasn't happy with her Mozart opera legacy, there's no denying the beauty of her performance of Heil'ge Quelle, (better known as Porgi Amor) from Act 2 of Mozart's Marriage of Figaro.

NIMBUS NI 7873, Lehmann in Opera Volume 1 1916-1921, Prima Voce, using their own method of digital transfers from 78rpm discs. Early recordings of operas such as Oberon, Der Freischütz, Don Giovanni, Mignon, Tannhäuser, Lohengrin, Eugene Onegin etc. These same recordings are duplicated on either the Preiser "Young Lotte Lehmann" or the Grammofono CD. The Preiser set of three CDs is most complete, but the sound isn't as ingratiating as with Nimbus. Though their Ambisonic process doesn't electronically remove noise as the Cedar sound system does on the Grammofono CD, the 78 rpm's are obviously played in an acoustically reverberant ambiance and that is recorded. So there is a bit of "aura" around the sound that one associates with performances in a lively hall.

PEARL GEMM 0033 Die Winterreise. Lehmann's intense recording, originally split between RCA and Columbia, now available in decent sound. Good notes, but no text or translation.

PEARL GEMM CD 9119, Schuman Lieder: Hüsch, Lehmann, Schorr. Dicherliebe with Hüsch, Liederkreis, Op. 39 with Schorr and the seldom encountered first recording that Lehmann made of Frauenliebe und -leben, sadly with a slushy instrumental ensemble, though Lehmann's voice is rich and youthful in 1928.

PEARL GEMM CDS 9365, R. Strauss' Der Rosenkavalier. Two CDs made from poor 78 rpm recordings with lots of surface noise. Most LPs are superior. One section, "O, sei er gut, Quinquin...Die Zeit, die ist ein sonderbar Ding" that Lehmann recorded in 1927 was omitted from the HMV release and is here in order to help fill the HMV 'abridged' version. Other than that, there is little to recommend this. The filler on the second CD includes excerpts from Die Aegyprische Helene (no Lehmann) and Strauss accompanying Robert Hutt in two of his own songs. Again the sonics are poor.

PEARL GEMM CD 9409, Puccini, J. Strauss and Godard arias, and songs by Jensen, Von Eulenberg and Werner. The original 78 rpm surfaces here are much better than the Pearl CD listed above and the songs are published for the first time since the 78 rpm versions. 71 minutes of great singing; high-priced, but recommended. (See Wahl's detailed article on the Rosenlieder in the Newsletter portion of "News").

PEARL GEMM CD 9410, Offenbach, Wagner, D'Albert, R. Strauss, Giordano, Lehar arias, and songs by Wagner, R. Strauss, Meyer-Helmund and Ketelby. The original 78 rpm surfaces that Pearl uses are better than the Rosenkavalier listed above. As in the above listing there are some selections that were never issued in the LP format and are very welcome. My personal favorite is 'The Magic Song" by Meyer-Helmund. Again, over 71 minutes of wonderful singing, worth the high price. (See the review of both of these CDs in the Newsletter portion of "News").

PEARL GEMM CD 9500, Lauritz Melchior: Wagner/Verdi/ Leoncavallo. A portion of the second act of Wagner's Die Walküre features Lehmann with Melchior. This is the 1936 live broadcast from San Francisco with Reiner conducting.

PEARL GEMM CDS 9925, Covent Garden on Record--Vol. III, 1910-1925; a 3 CD set of studio recordings. Lehmann is represented in the 1928 recording of Sie atment leicht...Es gibt ein Reich from Ariadne auf Naxos by Richard Strauss.

PEARL GEMM CDS 9926, Covent Garden on Record--Vol. IV, 1926-1939; a 3 CD set of famous singers who sang at Covent Garden. None were actually recorded there; these are studio recordings. Lehmann is represented by her performance of Mein Herr, was dächten sie? from Die Fledermaus. Recorded in 1931 with Weissmann conducting, this aria catches Lehmann at her lightest.

PEARL GEMM CDS 9934, Lotte Lehmann: Opera and Lieder. A two CD set of Lehmann singing a wide variety of arias, songs and even two Christmas carols. Two Robert Schumann cycles with Bruno Walter as pianist are included: Frauenliebe und -leben and Dichterliebe. Two of the Schumann duets with Melchior are also included. A wide-ranging sampling of Lehmann's art.

PREISER PR 89302, The Young Lotte Lehmann; a 3 CD set of the acoustic recordings (including Lieder) from 1914-1924. Good discographical data, no texts, German language notes. These CDs have surface noise one expects from acoustic 78 rpm recordings; there is no filtering process (compare Grammofono's CEDAR sound system on their release AB 78631). The Preiser is obviously more complete and the sound brighter and, though not as easy to listen to, repays attention with the chance to participate in the innocence and joy of Lehmann's early days in the recording studio. http://www.preiserrecords.at/detail.php?artikelid=900200000243

PREISER PR89404, Richard Wagner on Record is a four CD set that includes many great Wagner singers. The Lehmann recording is "O Sachs mein Freund" from 1925. http://www.preiserrecords.at/detail.php?artikelid=900200000249

PREISER PR89406, Waldoper Zoppot--Das Bayreuth des Nordens und seine Sänger (Forest Opera of Zoppot--The Bayreuth of the North and its Singers), a four CD set of singers who performed in this outdoor setting, but did not record there, of course. Lehmann sang in Der Freischütz there, so she is represented.

PREISER PR89950, Szenen aus Richard Strauss Opern in historische Aufnahmen (Richard Strauss Opera Scenes in Historic Recordings); Lehmann sings the big aria from Ariadne auf Naxos: Sie atmet leicht...Es gibt ein Reich (Odeon 1928).

PREISER PR89999, Lebendige Vergangenheit: Immortal Voices of the Vienna Opera. Lehmann sings O sei Er gut, Quinquin, the Marscahllin's monologue from Der Rosenkavalier by Richard Strauss, recorded in 1927 with Manfred Gurlitt conducting.

RADIO YEARS RY 70, Salzburg Festival Rarities Vol. 1; Beethoven: Fidelio (Act 1). Live 1936 short wave broadcast with Toscanini conducting the Vienna Philharmonic. The sound is excruciating to hear, even with CEDAR & WEISS processes. But this is a classic, even historic recording. The intensity of the performance is palable.

RCA CD 7809-2-RG, mid-priced, high-quality transfers of Wolf, Schubert, Duparc, Brahms, Strauss and other songs in four languages with some recordings never before published. Highly recommended.

RCA CD 7914-2-RG, Lauritz Melchior: Wagner/Schumann. Includes five Schumann duets with Lehmann. Excellent transfers but the orchestrations may disturb some listeners.

ROMOPHONE CD 81013-2, high-quality transfers by Mark Obert-Thorn of the complete song recordings Lehmann made for RCA between 1935-1940. The first CD includes many of the recordings on RCA 7809-2-RG. But the second CD includes the RCA Winterreise recordings as well as the orchestrated Schumann duets with Melchior. This issue has the valuable asset of being complete. Another CD of Lehmann's final years with RCA will be released in January 2000.

ROMOPHONE CD 81033-2, excellent transfers by Mark Obert-Thorn of the complete song recordings Lehmann made for RCA between 1947-1949. The Zigeunerlieder by Brahms and other Lieder are combined in these last commercial recordings with Christmas songs, the songs released with the MGM film "Big City" and some delightful French songs by Hahn, Duparc etc. Some critics complain that Lehmann's voice wasn't in its best condition, (she was 61 by 1949), but the joy of interpretation is very evident.

SONY MPK 47682, Songs & Waltzes from Vienna. Originally recorded for Columbia, this CD includes orchestral waltzes conducted by Bruno Walter. Lehmann sings songs associated with Vienna such as Dostal's Heut' macht die Welt Sonntag für mich, Leopoldi's Wien, sterbende Märchenstadt and Sieczynski's Wien, du Stadt meiner Träume. As an unexpected bonus there's Mendelssohn's Auf Flüglen des Gesanges, and French folk songs. This is prime Lehmann: lots of fun play with the Viennese dialect and wonderful diction. Paul Ulanowsky is the pianist.

SONY SMK 45919, Schumann: L'essentiel; Volume 1; Schumann's instrumental works as well as excerpts from the Lehmann/Walter recordings of Dichterliebe and Frauenliebe.

SONY SMK 48139, Schubert: L'essentiel; Volume 3; Schubert arrangements and the "Death and the Maiden" string quartet as well as excerpts from Lehmann's recording of Die Schöne Müllerin with Ulanowsky. See below.

SONY S3K 48136, Schubert: Die Meisterwerke; a 3 CD set with a variety of instrumental compositions and four songs from Lehmann's recording of Die Schöne Müllerin: Das Wandern, Wohin? Morgengruss, and Die liebe Farbe. Paul Ulanowsky is the accompanist.

VOCAL ARCHIVES VA 1195, Lotte Lehmann: Schubert: Die schöne Müllerin. Quiet surfaces that don't make the sound cramped. This is a good way to hear this cycle if you don't want to buy all the Schubert Lehmann recorded on DANTE. Ulanowsky is the pianist in this 1942 recording. Though there are some problems with flexibility, get past the first songs and into the drama and there are great rewards.

WALHALL RECORDS WHL 1, Die Walküre, Wagner. The Metropolitan Opera on tour in Boston performed the opera with an all-star cast. Besides Lehmann, there's Melchior, Lawrence, Thorborg, Shorr and List. Leinsdorf conducts this 1940 live broadcast. Don't expect geat sound, but this is the only place to hear Lehmann's ecstatic "O Hehrstes Wunder" in the third act. Same recording on Myto.

WALHALL RECORDS WHL 10, Der Rosenkavalier, Strauss. A 1939 broadcast from the Metropolitan opera on 2 CDs. A cast list that was ok: Lehmann, List, Stevens, Marita Farell as Sophie, Schorr (singing Faninal!) with Bodanzky conducting. The sound is supposed to have been improved in the Nimbus CD that I have yet to hear.

WELTBILD/HISORY 701920 F2 Lotte Lehmann: Szenen aus Opern, Operetten und Schlager (Scenes from Operas, Operettas and Pop Hits). Though not always the best sound, there are some recordings here that are not elsewhere available. The wonderfully lighthearted "Eine kleine Liebelei" (A Little Flirtation) is alone worth the price of the whole CD. And there are other gems: a tango-like pop piece called "Wenn Du einmal Dein Harz verschenkst" (When You Give Me Your Heart), German folk songs, "Es waren zwei Königskinder" (There Were Two King's Children) and "Es stieß ein Jäger wohl in sein Horn" (A Hunter Blew into his Horn) and operetta excerpts from Der Zigeunerbaron, Die Fledermaus and Eva.