Voice: Mezzo-soprano

Though she was born in Berlin, Christa Ludwig has always identified wit h Vienna as her musical 'home.' And it is in this city of music where she had some of her greatest successes in a long and illustrious career. She is a Kammersängerin of the State Opera and is a beloved artist in Vienna and throughout the world.

Christa Ludwig's first and foremost teacher was her mother, Eugenie. Both Ludwig's parents were singers at the Vienna Volksoper in the 1920's and Ludwig's early thorough training gave her the solid technique that allowed her to have a career which encompassed nearly all the important repertoire in several languages for her rich and thrilling mezzo-soprano voice.

Though she will be remembered for her contribution to German lied and opera, she has also sung with great success Bizet's Carmen and Verdi's Lady Macbeth. It is however her incomparable interpretations of Mozart (Cherubino in Figaro and later Dorabella in Cosi) Wagner (Kundry in Parsifal, Brangane in Tristan and Venus in Tannhäuser) and Strauss (Octavian and the Maschallin in Der Rosenkavalier and indelibly, the Dyer's Wife in Die Frau ohne Schatten) which have set a standard for others to follow.

As a concert artist she has been a favourite of every major post-war conductor. She forged a particular bond with Herbert von Karajan and Leonard Bernstein, both of whom were frequent partners in the recording studio for memorable recordings of Mahler's Das Lied von der Erde, Bernstein's Jeremiah Symphony and much more.

Ludwig has been a prolific recording artist on the Universal labels for over thirty years in song, concert recordings and complete operas. Though now retired from concert life, Ludwig enjoys a rich second career as a teacher and a lively writer. She published her autobiography in 2000.