Elisabeth Rethberg

Elisabeth Rethberg was a German operatic spinto soprano singer who was active from the period of the First World War through the early 1940s. After Richard Strauss assigned the role of the Empress in his Die Frau ohne Schatten to her at the Dresden Opera in 1919, she went on to perform as Verdi's Aida at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City and La Scala in Milan, among others. She returned to Dresden often, including to appear in title role of Die ägyptische Helena in the world premiere.