Biografi
Ljuba Welitsch was born on July 10, 1913, in Borissovo, Bulgaria. After her musical talents were recognized, she moved to Sofia, which led to her admission to the Academy of Music in Vienna. She began her career singing minor operatic roles in provincial opera houses. Seeking to distinguish herself, Welitsch dyed her hair bright red, which drew public attention. She pushed her high, lyric soprano voice into a range that was somewhat unsuitable, resulting in rapid vocal deterioration. Despite this, during her peak years—unfortunately coinciding with World War II—she achieved legendary status. Welitsch performed at the Vienna State Opera, London's Covent Garden, and New York's Metropolitan Opera. Her schedule was so full she had to decline an invitation to La Scala in Milan.
Her most celebrated role was Richard Strauss' Salome, which she first performed in 1944 in Vienna for Strauss’s 80th birthday, with Strauss himself coaching her. Subsequent performances of Salome took place at Covent Garden in a famous production designed by Salvador Dali and directed by Peter Brook. In 1949, she captivated New York audiences in Salome, with tickets being scalped at unprecedented prices of $100 each.
At the Metropolitan Opera, she once performed Musetta in La Bohème, attempting to overshadow the rest of the cast by executing jumps and backflips without underwear. This stunt led the general manager to ban her from singing the role there again. In a notable 1950 performance of Puccini’s Tosca at the Met, she sang opposite the legendary baritone Lawrence Tibbett, who stepped in last minute for an ill colleague. With no rehearsal, their heated confrontation in Act II resembled a real fight. She sang "Vissi d’arte" on her knees, landing there after Tibbett threw her, and at the act’s climax, she stabbed Tibbett’s character repeatedly and kicked his "lifeless" body, much to the audience’s amusement.
By taking on roles heavier than suited for her voice and performing them frequently, Welitsch’s voice deteriorated quickly, a decline likely worsened by surgeries to remove vocal cord nodules. By the late 1950s, her voice was severely damaged. She retired from opera but continued acting on stage and in films, and performed lighter operetta roles until her death in 1996.
Ljuba Welitsch passed away on September 1, 1996. She is buried in Vienna’s City Cemetery in the "Graves of Honor" section, alongside luminaries such as Ludwig van Beethoven, Franz Schubert, and Richard Strauss.
