Erika Köth

She made her debut at the Munich State Opera and the Vienna State Opera in 1953, and at the Berlin State Opera in 1961. She appeared regularly at the Salzburg Festival (1955–64), as the Queen of the Night and Konstanze and Sophie, and in Bayreuth (1965–68), as the Woodbird. She also made guest appearances in Milan, Paris, London, etc. Her repertory included: Susanna, Zerlina, Sophie, Despina, Queen of the Night, Lucia, Gilda, Stravinsky's Le Rossignol, and The Rake's Progress. She had a small but piercing voice with a high extended range. She can be seen on black-and-white video in the role of Rosina in a complete German performance of The Barber of Seville with Fritz Wunderlich, Hermann Prey, and Hans Hotter, and in a German performance of Don Giovanni, with Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Donald Grobe, Walter Berry, and Josef Greindl. Her discography also includes many operetta and lieder recordings.

• Name — Erika Köth • Born — 15 September 1925 • Birthplace — Darmstadt, Weimar Republic • Years Active — 1947–1978 • Died — 20 February 1989 • Place of death — Speyer, West Germany • Occupation — Opera singer • Illustration — Erika Köth • Illustration — Grave of Erika Köth in the Alter Friedhof (old cemetery) in Darmstadt