Dorothee Manski grew up in Berlin. She studied there at the Prox School and the Conservatory of Music during which time she sang in 335 performances. Her major roles there included both Elsa and Ortrud in Wagner's
Lohengrin, Venus in
Tannhäuser, Gutrune in
Götterdämmerung, Chrysothemis in
Elektra by Richard Strauss, Herodias in
Salome, Marianne Leitmetzerin in
Der Rosenkavalier, and Giulietta in Offenbach's
The Tales of Hoffmann. In 1933, she stepped in for
Frida Leider as Brünnhilde in Wagner's
Die Walküre. She appeared as a guest at the
San Francisco Opera between 1931 and 1937, as the Witch, Herodias, and as Freia, Gutrune and several other roles in Wagner's
Der Ring des Nibelungen. a role which she also sang at the
Vienna State Opera in September 1934. She was also a guest at the
Chicago Opera in 1938. From 1942, Manski was professor of voice at the
Indiana University in Bloomington, where she lived. Among her students at the
Jacobs School of Music was
Felicia Weathers. Manski was married to the German physician, violinist and composer
Walter Bransen. Their daughter Inge Manski (1920–2001) also became a successful singer. Manski died in
Atlanta. == Recording ==