Erna Berger

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Erna Berger (born October 19th, 1900 in Dresden, Germany; died June 14th, 1990 in Essen, Germany) was a German soprano of the coloratura style. Along with Elisabeth Grümmer, Hilde Gueden, Lotte Lehmann, Martha Mödl, Gundula Janowitz, Dame Elisabeth Schwarzkopf and Anja Silja, she joined the ranks of the prominent German sopranos of the 20th century. She was very highly thought of by the conductor Wilhelm Furtwängler.

As a child, she spent some years in India and South America. She spent some time there later as well, working as a clerk and a piano teacher, before borrowing enough money for the trip back to Germany. At the age of 26, she was able to secure a position as a soubrette at the Semper Opera in Dresden, but her talent soon outgrew this position. She later held positions at the Vienna State Opera, the Berlin State Opera, and the Deutsche Oper Berlin. She also gave concerts in Japan, America, and Australia (with special songs written by Hugo Wolf). In her discography are complete recordings of Die Zauberflöte (as the Queen of Night, conducted by Sir Thomas Beecham) and Rigoletto (with Leonard Warren, conducted by Renato Cellini).

At 60 years of age, she took her leave of the stage and taught as a professor in Hamburg and Essen. In 1992, the Bästleinstraße in Dresden was renamed the Erna-Berger-Straße in her honour.