Sigrid Kehl
German mezzo, later soprano and teacher Sigrid Kehl was born in Berlin on 23 November 1929. She studied in Erfurt at the Thuringia conservatory and at the Berlin University of the Arts.
She made her debut at Berlin State Opera as a small role in Prince Igor. Winning second prize in the 1956 Robert Schumann International Competition for Pianists and Singers led to work with Leipzig Opera, where she became a permanent member of the ensemble in 1957 and stayed for more than thirty-five years, singing more than seventy roles at the Leipzig Opera House, ranging from lyrical mezzo to dramatic soprano.
She began singing dramatic soprano repertoire in the 1970s, and had a guest contract with Berlin State Opera from 1971. She also performed at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow, in Budapest, at the Grand Théâtre de Genève, Komische Oper Berlin, La Fenice in Venice, Lausanne Opera, Opernhaus Graz, in Prague, at Semperoper in Dresden, in Sofia, at Stadtteater Bern, Theater Hagen, Teatro Comunale di Bologna, Teatro di San Carlo in Naples, in Varna and at Vienna State Opera.
She also made radio broadcasts and recorded for the Eterna label. From 1979 for ten years, she taught voice at the Musikhochschule Leipzig.
Her last stage role in Leipzig was in 1989 - Kostelnička in Jenůfa, which she first performed in 1968. After retiring, she was involved with opera projects in Leipzig, and was artistic director for a collaborative production of Telemann's comic opera Don Quichotte auf der Hochzeit des Comacho,
Sigrid Kehl died on 18 December 2024, aged ninety-five.