The opera community mourns the loss of Christa Ludwig, one of the greatest mezzo-sopranos of the 20th century. She died on 24 April at the age of 93 at her home in Klosterneuburg, Austria.

In a career that spanned almost five decades, Ludwig performed many opera roles. She played everything from Marie in Alban Bergs' modernist Wozzeck to Cherubino in Mozart's Le Nozze di Figaro. This last role was her big breakthrough at the Vienna State Opera on 14 April 1955, and brought her onto the world stage. 
Her technical mezzo voice range also enabled her to sing soprano roles in Strauss' Der Rosenkavalier and Beethoven's Fidelio. She excelled in a wide range of repertoire in Hungarian, Russian, French, Italian and her native German.
Her mother was a mezzo-soprano and her father was an opera administrator. Christa Ludwig made her opera debut in 1946 at the Frankfurt Opera, where she played Prince Orlovsky in Strauss' Die Fledermaus. Ludwig worked with all the great conductors of our time, including Karl Böhm, Herbert von Karajan, and Leonard Bernstein. In 1972, she was made an honorary member of the Vienna State Opera and an Austrian Kammersangerin. She played a total of 769 performances in 42 roles in Vienna and 119 performances in 15 roles at The Metropolitan Opera.
Besides opera, Ludwig regularly sang songs with pianists such as Sebastian Peschko, Gerald Moore, Geoffrey Parsons and Leonard Bernstein. Pianist and IVC jury member Charles Spencer was Christa Ludwig's regular pianist for more than 12 years.
After her active singing career she continued to dedicate herself to the classical vocal profession as a pedagogue.

On the occasion of the commemoration of Richard Strauss' 150th birthday, the International Vocal Competition organised a "Strauss-Mahler Masterclass & Symposium" in The Hague in 2014 in cooperation with the Gustav Mahler Foundation Netherlands and the Royal Conservatoire in The Hague, as well as the Richard Strauss Institut in Garmisch Partenkirchen and the Embassy of Austria. The symposium was combined with master classes by mezzo-sopranos Christa Ludwig and Jard van Nes, and pianist/Mahler specialist David Selig.

54th International Vocal Competition
LiedDuo
's-Hertogenbosch

Remembering Christa Ludwig
With pianist Charles Spencer, who worked with the legendary mezzo-soprano for over 12 years;
And with mezzo-soprano Jard van Nes, who studied with Christa Ludwig
Saturday 20 November 2021
11:00 - 12:00 hrs
North Brabant Museum - Statenzaal
€ 10 | € 5