Christa Ludwig, reigning mezzo-soprano of the opera stage, dies at 93

Christa Ludwig, a mezzo-soprano who reigned for decades over opera stages on both sides of the Atlantic, was 17 when World War II ended and gave some of her first performances at an American Officers’ Club in her native Germany. Homesick U.S. servicemen requested Gershwin and paid her in cigarettes.

During a bitter wartime winter, she had kept warm with a coat made from a gray horse blanket. When she found herself with no clothing suitable for her serenades, she again used the materials at her disposal and fashioned a red evening gown, with black sleeves and white shoulder puffs, from old Nazi flags.