Inge Borkh (born Ingeborg Simon, 26 May 1921 – 26 August 2018) was a German operatic dramatic soprano. She was first based in Switzerland, where she received international attention when she appeared in the first performance in German of Menotti's The Consul, in Basel, in 1951. In 1952, Borkh became a member of the Deutsche Oper Berlin and the Bavarian State Opera in Munich. She appeared at leading opera houses in Europe and the Americas, and at festivals such as Bayreuth and Salzburg. Trained first as an actress, she was admired for both singing and stage presence, especially in the Richard Strauss roles Salome and Elektra. She also performed in contemporary opera, such as the premiere of Josef Tal's Ashmedai in Hamburg in 1971. Her recordings include complete operas and recitals. Borkh was awarded the Hans-Reinhart-Ring, the highest honour for theatre professionals in Switzerland. Early life and education Borkh was born Ingeborg Simon in Mannheim, in 1921. Some sources, including Oxford Music Online, give her year of birth as 1917. Her father, a diplomat, was Jewish. The family left Germany in 1933 and moved to Austria. She trained to be an actress at the Max Reinhardt Seminar in Vienna and also had some training in dance, both of which served her well in opera, as she became known both for her voice and for her dramatic intensity. She appeared at the Burgtheater in Vienna while still studying. Borkh worked as an actress, first at the Landestheater Linz in Austria from 1937. The family moved to Switzerland in 1938, where she was engaged by the Theater Basel. Career Borkh studied voice in Milan, Italy, with Vittorio Moratti and later at the Salzburg Mozarteum, and made her operatic debut in 1940, in Lucerne as Czipra in the operetta Der Zigeunerbaron by Johann Strauss, now under her stage name Inge Borkh. She then appeared as Agathe in Weber's Der Freischütz. She remained in Switzerland throughout World War II, performing in Basel, Lucerne and Zürich. In 1951 she sang the role of Magda in the first German-language performance of Menotti's The Consul in Basel, leading to international recognition. From 1952 she was a member of the Deutsche Oper Berlin and the Bavarian State Opera in Munich, having appeared at both houses as a guest from 1950. Also in 1952, she appeared at the Bayreuth Festival, as Freia in Wagner's Das Rheingold and as Sieglinde