Inge Borkh, one of the finest Strauss and Wagner singers, whose repertoire also encompassed Turandot and the heavier verismo roles, has died in Stuttgart at the age of 101. A visceral stage animal, her legendary performances as Salome and Elektra thrilled audiences in the 1950s and 60s, and while for some she was eclipsed by the rise of Birgit Nilsson, many would consider her dramatic interpretations to have been second to none, with the possible exception of her fellow countrywoman Martha Mödl.

Inge Borkh, in later years a noted juror at vocal competitions

Born in Mannheim on May 26, 1917 to a Jewish diplomat father, the rise of Nazism forced Ingeborg Borkh’s family to leave Germany for Austria and then Switzerland in 1933. Trained initially as an actress and dancer in Vienna, Borkh was performing in Linz at the age of 19 and then in Basel at 20. Later, she would claim to have been born in 1921, but like many singers post-WWII, she most likely found it prudent to shave a few years off of her actual age in order to restart an interrupted career.

Traveling to Milan in order to study voice...