although she kept the role of Sieglinde in her active repertoire from her early 20s until age 62. She avoided offers to sing Isolde in Wagner's Tristan und Isolde despite speculation that the role would be perfect for her. She sang Brünnhilde in Die Walküre in 1950 in Innsbruck but did not return to this role. She stated in interviews that her great respect for her colleague Birgit Nilsson was a factor in her avoidance of that soprano's signature roles. One of her performances in Die Walküre took place in the same week as her appearance as Gilda in Rigoletto. Rysanek sang the title role of Tosca often, and Turandot a few times. She also sang Leonore in Beethoven's Fidelio. In Wagner, she sang Elisabeth in Tannhäuser often, also Elsa and Ortrud in Lohengrin. She is highly regarded for her portrayal of Senta in Der fliegende Holländer for two decades, but the role in which she was most revered, in addition to Strauss's Kaiserin and Chrysothemis, was Sieglinde in Die Walküre. Due to Rysanek's vocal technique and strong vocal endurance she was able to sing many Verdi leads, notably Desdemona in Otello, Lady Macbeth, Amelia in Un ballo in maschera, Elisabetta in Don Carlo, Leonora in La forza del destino, and the title role of Aida. She also sang Abigaille in the Metropolitan Opera's first staging of Nabucco in 1960. She found this last role uncongenial, and the strain of performing it numerous times during that season brought on something of a vocal crisis, from which she successfully recovered. As an Austrian and a Mitteleuropäerin, Rysanek also took an interest in music from Slavic countries, both Russian (Tchaikovsky) and Czech (Smetana, Janáček). Rysanek sang Turandot and was praised in her role of Kundry in Parsifal at the Met, Vienna, and the Bayreuth Festival. Starting her career when Kirsten Flagstad was still alive and Birgit Nilsson and Astrid Varnay at the peak of their vocal abilities. In 1981, Karl Böhm persuaded her to sing Elektra for a Unitel film (with the soundtrack recorded in the studio), not a live production in an opera house. In her later years, Rysanek reverted to dramatic mezzo-soprano roles like Herodias in Salome, Klytemnestra in Elektra and the Kostelnička in Janáček's Jenůfa. Soprano Lotte Rysanek was Leopoldine Rysanek's sister. Officially published recordings Work (composer), role, conductor, year of recording, label. Die Walküre Act III (Richard Wagner),