Lotte Lehmann was born in Perlenberg near Hamburg, Germany. She studied singing and her first role was at the Hamburg Opera in 1910. She later left to Vienna were she became a member of the Wiener Staatsoper (then Hofoper) in 1916. She remained in Vienna for 23 years. Lotte Lehmann sang in the role of Forbersfrau at the world premiere of Frau ohne Schatten by Richard Strauss. From 1922 on she went on music tours through Europe and the USA gaining international fame. Lotte Lehman performed at the Metropolitan Opera in New York in 1934 and 1935, and at the Salzburg Festival from 1928 to 1935, where she sang under the conductor A. Toscanini. After rhe rise of the Nazi regime in Germany, she was ordered to sing only in her native country- Germany. After her refusal she left Germany while on tour in Austria.
Following the Anschluss (1938), she left Austria and the Vienna Opera and immigrated to the USA. She performed in operas until 1946, and sang in recitals until 1951, when she gave her farewell performance at the New York Town Hall. She taught at Masterclasses for singing until her 73 rd birthday (1961), and a year later she directed the Rosenkavalier by Richard Strauss at the Metropolitan Opera, her last performance.