She trained as an actress and dancer in Vienna. She studied voice in Milan and at the Mozarteum in Salzburg. She made her operatic debut in 1940 in Lucerne as Czipra in Johann Strauss's Der Zigeunerbaron.
Her father was a Jewish diplomat, and the family left Germany for Austria and then Switzerland in 1933.
She was an operatic soprano who was considered one of the best interpreters of Strauss and Wagner. Her repertoire also included Turandot and other verismo roles. Her performances as Salome and Elektra were legendary.