CHAPTER 18 A Look into the Mirror On May 9, 1945, Germany surrendered, unconditionally; on August 14, 1945, V-J Day, World War II was over. The devastation in much of Europe was indescribable. Block after block of what had been Berlin was nothing now but piles of...
CHAPTER 17 The Mountains Were on Fire It was not just the glorious view from 3,000 feet above Santa Barbara. The house itself, made of redwood and stone, was something special. An eccentric millionaire, who loved to do the impossible and had the cash to do it, built...
CHAPTER 16 Nothing but an Earthquake SOBBING DIVA FAINTS ON STAGE DIVA STRICKEN WHILE SINGING LOTTE SEASICK, COLLAPSES ON STAGE HYSTERICAL, SHE STOPS OPERA DIVA FLEES STAGE, NEAR COLLAPSE Such were the headlines that appeared the next day, May 5, 1938, in...
Chapter 15 Above All, a Woman For the moment, Lotte’s new family presented no problems. Their mother had left them well-provided for, and there was a well-to-do uncle. The three athletic young men were Ludwig (always called “Pucki”), 21; Hans, 18;...
CHAPTER 14 Like a Flow of Lava When Lotte returned to America in the fall of 1934, she brought her brother, Fritz, with her. She hoped to help him establish himself in New York, as a dramatic coach for singers. They arrived November 6 in New York. Constance Hope put...
CHAPTER 13 The Lioness Was Less Dangerous What singer has not dreamed of a Metropolitan Opera contract, the sweetest confirmation of operatic success? There are a few great singers who made a name in opera during the past hundred years without ever having appeared at...
