* En anglais uniquement
Sabine Aufrichtig, who took the stage name Kalter, made a strong career in German opera theater that lasted 20 years. She made her debut at the Vienna Volksoper at the age of 21, where she had gone to study. She joined the roster of the Hamburg Opera in 1915. She was a dramatic mezzo-soprano, specializing in roles such as Delilah in
Saint-Saëns' Samson and Delilah, the title role of Gluck's Orfeo, Marina in the Rimsky-Korsakov version of Mussorgsky's Boris Godunov, and Fidès in Meyerbeer's Le prophète.
However, she became most closely identified with the major Wagner and Verdi mezzo soles. She was one of the best known names in what has come to be regarded as a "Golden Age" of Wagner singing, and appeared as Brangäne in the legendary 1936 complete recording of Tristan und Isolde with
Lauritz Melchior and Kirsten Flagstad.
She remained with the Hamburg Opera for 20 years, when Goebbels and Hitler expelled Jews from participation in opera. She left Germany in 1935 and successfully debuted at London's Covent Garden the same year as Ortrud. There she rapidly became a favorite in Wagnerian roles, in addition to the parts of Herodias in Strauss' Salome and Háta in Smetana's The Bartered Bride.
She left Covent Garden in 1939, but remained active on the recital stage, where she was treasured for the beauty of her voice and the use of her effective veteran dramatic skills to portray the story of the songs. She also had a notable career as a voice teacher in London.