Christa Ludwig, who has died aged 93, was one of the outstanding singers of her generation, acclaimed alike in lieder and opera, where she was highly regarded for her matchless interpretations of an impressively wide range of roles.
Making her debut at the Vienna State Opera in 1955, she remained with the company for more than 30 years, giving 769 performances of 42 roles. There she won the undying affection and admiration of the public, the whipped-cream quality of her voice possibly reminding the Viennese of their favourite Schlagsahne.
She habitually named three conductors from whom she had learned everything she needed to know about music: Karl Böhm for precision, Herbert von Karajan for beauty of sound and legato, and Leonard Bernstein for the expressive quality and joy of music.
In the early days in Vienna, before her voice had matured into the gloriously voluptuous instrument it was to become, it had a slightly tangy edge that made her an appealing Cherubino in The Marriage of Figaro and Dorabella in Così Fan Tutte. When she sang the latter role alongside Elisabeth Schwarzkopf’s Fiordiligi, as she frequently did in Salzburg, the result was an ideal and affecting contrast of tonal qualities.
She did not make her official debut at Covent Garden until 1976 as Carmen, though had appeared there in 1968 as Amneris in Aida, deputising at short notice for Grace Bumbry. Among the many roles she took to great acclaim in leading houses all over the world were Eboli in Don Carlos, Marie in Wozzeck and Prince Orlofsky in Die Fledermaus.
The solid technique that underlay her versatility allowed her to shine not only in standard mezzo roles but also in taxing soprano ones such as Leonore in Fidelio, where in the showpiece aria Abscheulicher! she could nail the climactic top B with an exhilarating mien that unforgettably radiated the character’s sense of hope.
That physicality also facilitated her countless successes in a variety of Straussian roles. In Ariadne auf Naxos, for example, she progressed from a winningly vulnerable Composer to a superbly poised assumption of the title role. In Der Rosenkavalier she moved from a sophisticated, appealing Octavian to a Marschallin of warm, sumptuous tone and immensely dignified bearing. Her Clairon in Capriccio was also notable, but it was as the Dyer’s Wife in Die Frau ohne Schatten that she was at her most accomplished, both vocally and dramatically.
She took all the major mezzo Wagner roles too. In George Solti’s recording of the “Paris” version of Tannhäuser, with its Tristanesque rewriting of the part of Venus, she offered as alluring and sensual an account of the role as one could ever hope to hear. In Rudolf Kempe’s 1963 recording of Lohengrin the characterisation by Ludwig and Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau of the villainous pair Ortrud and Telramund has arguably, in terms of sheer musical intelligence, never been bettered.
To the roles of Brangäne, Kundry, Fricka, Waltraute and Adriano (Rienzi) she similarly brought incomparable artistry and psychological penetration. She appeared as either Fricka or Waltraute in recorded Ring cycles by Solti, Karajan and James Levine.
Christa was born in Berlin. Her father, Anton Ludwig, was a Viennese tenor who later went into management and was for some years intendant of the Opera at Aachen. Her mother, Eugenie Besalla-Ludwig, was a contralto who became one of the most sought-after singing teachers in Vienna.
Although Christa was always destined for a career as a singer, she was given an all-round musical education, learning the piano, cello and flute as well as theory. From an early age she delighted in accompanying herself at the piano in songs by Brahms and Schubert.
The family moved from Aachen to Hanau and thence to Giessen, and in the last of these she sang in local concerts. During the second world war the family home was destroyed in an allied bombing raid and they were allocated an abandoned flat with a piano that had been used by soldiers.
She auditioned for the Frankfurt Opera and in 1946 was accepted there as a contralto. In addition to a number of small roles, she appeared as Prince Orlofsky, a part that was to bring her acclaim later, though at this stage she needed patient work with her mother’s encouragement on her upper register. After six years in Frankfurt, she joined the Darmstadt State theatre for two seasons, and from there in 1954 went to Hanover.
At Böhm’s invitation she joined the Vienna Opera, making her debut there as Cherubino. High notes in certain roles still eluded her, but with her mother’s help she developed the seamless transition into the soprano register that was to characterise her range. While acknowledging the central role her mother played in training her voice and continuing to coach her throughout her career, she also came to find the relationship a suffocating one.
In 1957 she married the Austrian baritone Walter Berry, who had joined the Viennese company at about the same time as her: he sang Escamillo to her Carmen there. After their divorce in 1970 they continued to perform together; Berry died in 2000. Her second husband was the French director Paul-Emile Deiber, who died in 2011.
Ludwig was also a popular figure on the recital platform, appearing regularly in Vienna, Salzburg, Berlin and New York. The precise attention to detail demanded by lieder undoubtedly enhanced her strongly characterised portrayals on the operatic stage. Schubert’s Winterreise was a particular favourite, despite being written for a male singer. She also took the mezzo roles in such works as Mahler’s Das Lied von der Erde, Verdi’s Requiem and Bach’s St Matthew Passion.
She was almost obsessively careful of her vocal cords, often communicating by whistles or by writing on a pad on days of performance. Despite such attention she suffered damage to the cords in the early 1970s, obliging her to cancel numerous performances.
Her no-nonsense approach was evidenced in her masterclasses, where she could be sharp-tongued as well as keen-eared.
She is survived by her son from her first marriage, Wolfgang, a grandson and a stepson, Philippe.
• Christa Ludwig, mezzo-soprano, born 16 March 1928; died 24 April 2021
• This article was amended on 29 April 2021. It originally said Ludwig made her official Covent Garden debut as Amneris in Aida in 1973. Although this appearance was announced at the time, the singer cancelled it, and her debut came as Carmen in 1976.
