Ljuba Welitsch
Ljuba Welitsch (Veličkova; 10 July 1913 – 1 September 1996) was an operatic soprano. She was born in Borisovo, Bulgaria, studied in Sofia and Vienna, and sang in opera houses in Austria and Germany in the late 1930s and early and mid-1940s. In 1946 she became an Austrian citizen. Welitsch became best known in the title role of Richard Strauss's Salome, in which she was coached by the composer. Her international career was short, its start delayed by the Second World War and its end hastened by vocal problems. It took off in 1947 in London and continued in New York from 1949, but her starring days were over by the mid-1950s. Her international career was just before the days when complete studio recordings of operas were common, and although some live recordings survive from broadcasts, her recorded legacy is not extensive. From the mid-1950s, Welitsch sang character roles in operas and acted in stage plays. She died in Vienna at the age of 83. Life and career Early years Welitsch was born in Borissovo, Bulgaria, and grew up on her family's farm with her two sisters. Her interest in music began as a young girl; when she was eight one of her sisters gave her a violin, and for a while she considered becoming a professional player. After leaving high school in Shumen she read philosophy at Sofia University, gaining a PhD. In Sofia she sang in choirs, and studied music with Georgi Zlatev-Cherkin. With funding from the Bulgarian government she moved to Vienna to study with Theo Lierhammer, professor of singing at the State Academy. Welitsch made her operatic debut in Sofia in 1936, in a small part in Louise. Her first major role was Nedda in Pagliacci at the Graz Opera in the same year. She learned her craft with the Graz company over the next three years, singing an unusually wide range of soprano roles, in operas by composers from Mozart to Wagner, Humperdinck, Puccini and Richard Strauss. Between then and the end of the Second World War she was a member of opera companies in Hamburg (1941–1943), Munich and Berlin (1943–1946). While in Berlin she played the role of the young Composer in Richard Strauss's Ariadne auf Naxos. Strauss saw her and was impressed; he arranged for her to sing the title role in a new production of his Salome at the Vienna Volksoper in 1944 to mark his eightieth birthday. He helped her prepare the part, and it became the one with which she was most closely associated. They worked on the piece for six weeks before the performance; Strauss attended rehearsals every day. Welitsch took Austrian citizenship in 1946. She became a key member of the group of singers the opera manager Franz Salmhofer gathered around him as he strove to rebuild the Vienna State Opera company at the end of the war. In Vienna she further extended her repertoire, adding roles in French, German, Italian and Russian operas. As well as Salome,