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Ludwig as born in Berlin to a musical family; her father, Anton Ludwig, was a tenor and an operatic administrator, her mother, the mezzo-soprano Eugenie Besalla-Ludwig who sang the Aachen Opera during Herbert von Karajan's period as conductor. Ludwig's first voice teacher was her mother.
Ludwig made her debut in 1946 at the age of 18 as Orlovsky in Die Fledermaus at Frankfurt , where she sang until 1952. She was a member of the Darmstadt Oper from 1952 to 1954, then sang the 1954-1955 season at the Staatsoper Hannover. She joined the Vienna State Opera. in 1955, where she became one of its principal artists and was appointed Kammersängerin in 1962 and performed with the company for more than thirty years. In 1954, Ludwig made her debut at the Salzburg Festival as Cherubino and appeared there regularly until 1981. Ludwig made her debut as Brangäne at the Bayreuth Festival in 1966.
Ludwig made her American debut at the Lyric Opera of ChicagoThe Lyric Opera of Chicago is one of the leading opera companies in the United States. It was founded in Chicago in 1954. The company's permanent home is the Civic Opera Building, a 1929 structure with an Art Deco interior. Its 3,563-seat capacity makes i as Dorabella in 1959. That same year, she made her debut at the Metropolitan OperaThe Metropolitan Opera is located at Lincoln Center in New York, New York. It was founded in April, 1880. The first Metropolitan Opera House opened on October 23, 1883, and was located between 39th and 40th Street on Broadway. The original Metropolitan Op in as Cherubino, and subsequently returned there regularly until 1990. Ludwig first appeared at the Royal Opera HouseThe Royal Opera House at Covent Garden, London, is arguably the most significant opera house in the UK. The current edifice is the third theatre on the site. It is also home to The Royal Ballet . History In 1728, John Rich, an actor and manager, commissio, Covent GardenCovent Garden is an area of central London most noted for its flower, fruit and vegetable market (now moved to Nine Elms, Vauxhall) and for the Royal Opera House to its north. Covent Garden' is properly the area of London bounded by High Holborn, Kingsway in 1969 as Amneris in AidaSee also: AIDA, an acronym used in marketing; there is also a town and district in Japan called Aida. Aida is an opera by Giuseppe Verdi, which tells the story of Aida, an Ethiopian princess captured into slavery in Egypt. A military commander, Radames, s.
As Ludwig's voice matured, she expanded her repertoire from lyric and spinto mezzo-roles to dramatic roles. Her vast repertory eventually grew to encompass Carmen, the Marschallin, Ulrica ( Un Ballo in MascheraUn Ballo in Maschera or A Masked Ball is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi with text by Antonio Somma. It is based on the libretto Gustave III by Eugene Scribe (originally set by Daniel Auber), who was inspired by events surrounding the assassinati), Beethoven's Leonore, Monteverdi's Octavia, Dido in Les Troyens, Kundry, Klytemnestra. and contemporary roles by von Einem and Orff. She also ventured briefly into the soprano repertory with performances of Verdi's Lady Macbeth and Strauss's Dyer's Wife.
In addition to her opera performances, Ludwig regularly gave recitals of Lieder and a solist with orchestras. Her performances of Schubert, Schumann, Brahms, Wolf, Mahler and Strauss are much admired. She also sang Bach and performed and recorded most of his major vocal works.
From 1957 to 1970, Ludwig was married to the bass-baritone Walter Berry; the couple performed together frequently. In 1972, she married the French stage-manager Jean-Emile Deiber.
In 1993-94, Ludwig gave a series of farewell recitals in many cities and made her farewell appearance at the Met singing Fricka in Die Walküre.
In 1994, Ludwig published a memoir, "...und ich wäre so gern Primadonna geworden".