The Frida Leider Society was constituted in Berlin in October 2002. Since January 2003 it is listed among the officially registered societies.

The aim of the society is to commemorate Frida Leider, this outstanding opera singer from Berlin in her life and her work as a teacher as well as to research and to document her biography. The results of this work will be made available to the public.

At the same time the society considers itself as a forum and archive for Berlin opera history and its protagonists. Apart from Frida Leider, personalities of her artistic and private background will also be remembered.

Leider represents an entire period of opera history, the time between the two world wars which in retrospect may be regarded as the most brilliant period of this form of art. Puccini and Richard Strauss were still composing. Leider sung her small amount of Strauss roles under the composer’s baton. Opera houses in Berlin, Vienna, London and Paris, La Scala and the Metropolitan could build up their casts from a wide range of first class singers. The first preserved registrations of this time give an appropriate impression of the intensity of those until today legendary representations. Again in this field the Frida Leider Society takes care to preserve these historically registrations and to make them accessible to a wide public.

Already in 2002 a commemorative plaque was unveiled at the house where Frida Leider was born on Granseer Strasse 9, Berlin Arkonaplatz. It was given by the frida-Leiider-Society. The Frida Leider Society is equally trying to get a public square, a street or a public institution to be called after the name of the singer.

Apart from her artistic achievements Leider has gained reminiscing recognition for her courageous defence of her jewish husband Rudolf Deman as well as for her pioneer work for Berliner Staatsoper at the time of reconstruction after 1945.

We are still looking for people who wish to support our work and who share with enthusiasm the pursuit of our goals. The following famous colleagues of Frida Leider’s are already members of honour of the society:

Inge Borkh, Brigitte Fassbaender, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau (†), Gundula Janowitz, Dame Gwyneth Jones, Waldemar Kmentt, Jochen Kowalski, Julia Varady.