Lilli Lejo by Krziwanek

Lilli Lejo (1868-1953); Hungarian soprano.
At the age of fifteen she was already singing at the Arenatheater in Bratislava. After further vocal training she got her first engagement in 1886 at the Theater von Salzburg, which was followed by an engagement at the Theater am Gärtnerplatz in Munich for the season 1887/88. Here she performed as operetta singer and from 1888/91 she was engaged as such at the Friedrich Wilhelmstädtische Theater Berlin. In 1891 she appeared at Vienna in the Theater an der Wien and was very successful in operettas by Johann Strauss and Carl Millöcker. After a performance as Marie in Smetana's "Die verkaufte Braut" she decided to continue her career as opera singer. She went to study in Italy and in 1894 she had a major success at the Teatro Lirico in Milan as Nedda in "I Pagliacci". In the season 1894/95 she was engaged at the Teatro Liceo in Barcelona. After successful guest appearances at a number of Spanish and Italian opera houses she returned to Vienna in 1897. She also often appeared at the Budapest Opera and in the later part of her career she frequently performed as a concert and church singer.