Elisabeth Rethberg

Elisabeth Rethberg was a German soprano who made her debut with the Dresden Opera in 1915 and stayed with the company seven years before her Metropolitan Opera debut as Aida in 1922, where she remained the leading soprano for 21 consecutive seasons. She returned to Dresden regularly, sang at Covent Garden and the Salzburg Festival, and created the title role in Richard Strauss's Die ägyptische Helena at its 1928 Dresden premiere. Her repertory ranged from Verdi's Desdemona and both Leonoras to the 'youthful-dramatic' Wagner soprano roles, Elisabeth, Elsa, Eva and Sieglinde, and she was also admired as a Mozart singer.