Opera Singer. Though she sang a wide variety of soprano roles, she shall probably be best remembered as an interpreter of the operatic works of Mozart and of Richard Strauss. Raised in Mannheim, she studied at its Musikhochschule with Erika Mueller. She made her professional debut at Koblenz in 1943 and bowed at the Hamburg State Opera in a 1946 production of Verdi's "Un Ballo in Maschera", singing the role of Oscar; she would be a regular at Hamburg through 1973. The Vienna State Opera (begining in 1954) and other leading houses of Europe saw her frequently in the lighter parts that became her signature, Adele in Johann Strauss II's "Die Fledermaus", Sophie in Richard Strauss' "Der Rosenvavalier", and Zdenka from the same composer's "Arabella". Rothenberger was also praised for her Mozart characterizations, among them Fiordiligi from "Cosi fan tutte", both Blonde and Konstanze of "Die Entfuhrung aus dem Serail", Susanna and Cherubino in "The Marriage of Figaro", and Pamina of "The Magic Flute". She was quite able to sing more modern, and heavier, operas; Hamburg saw her in Alban Berg's "Lulu" as early as 1947, she made her Salzburg Festival bow in 1954 as Telemachus in the world premiere of Rolf Liebermann's "Penelope", while the same venue saw her create the title role in Liebermann's "Die Schule der Fraun" in 1957. As late as 1967, she was to give the world premiere of Heinrich Sutermeister's "Madame Bovary" in Zurich. Both La Scala Milano and Teatro Colon, Buenos Aires, first heard her as Sophie, while Zdenka was to be the vehicle for her 1960 New York Metropolitan Opera debut; singing at the Metropolitan until 1965, she also performed there as Oscar, Musetta in Puccini's "La Boheme", Adele, Sophie, Susanna, and as Amore in Gluck's "Orfeo ed Eruidice". Rothenberger continued touring throughout Europe, Asia, and the Americas, published her autobiography, "Melodie Meines Lebens", in 1972, and through the 1970s was star and hostess of a popular German television show. She left opera in 1983 and the concert stage in 1989, declining a musical comeback despite a full recovery from colon cancer. Appearing on television as late as 2009, she died at her Lake Constance home following a short illness, leaving a large recorded legacy, much of it remaining in print. Some sources give her birth year as 1926, though "Grove's" lists the earlier date. Asked to explain her retirement while still in good voice, she said: "People said to me on the street 'It's a shame you don't sing anymore'. I thought to myself that was preferable to people saying 'That old woman is still singing!'".