Irma Beilke

Irma Beilke (24 August 1904 – 20 December 1989) was a German operatic soprano, concert singer and academic voice teacher. A member of the Städtische Oper Berlin for decades, and also a member of the Vienna State Opera, she appeared in leading roles of the coloratura soprano and lyric soprano repertoire at major opera houses and festivals internationally, such as Mozart's Blonde and Verdi's La traviata. She took part in world premieres, including Capriccio by Richard Strauss. In 1945, she appeared in the first opera performance in Berlin after World War II, as Marzelline in Beethoven's Fidelio.

Born in Berlin, the daughter of a businessman, Beilke received her musical education in Berlin from H. T. Dreyer and Gertrud Wirthschaft. She made her stage debut as a bridesmaid in Weber's Der Freischütz at the Städtische Oper Berlin in 1926, where she remained until 1928. She then moved to the Oldenburgisches Staatstheater and further in 1930 to the Leipzig Opera. Besides coloratura soprano roles, she took roles from the lyric soprano repertoire. In 1936, she returned to Berlin. She appeared in the opening performance after World War II, as Marzelline in Beethoven's Fidelio, conducted by Robert Heger, on 4 September at the Theater des Westens, where the Städtische Oper had to play because the opera house had been destroyed. She gave her final performance there in 1958 as Mimì.