Born in
Merano, Ellmenreich made her stage debut as Marguerite in Gounod's
Faust in 1908 at the
Hoftheater Stuttgart (court theatre). She was a member of the company from 1909 to 1924. It was named Württembergisches Landestheater from 1918, and later Staatstheater (State theatre). She appeared as a guest artist, for example in 1910 at the
Cologne Opera and in 1916 at the
Frankfurt Opera. In Stuttgart, Ellmenreich took part in numerous premieres. On 25 October 1912 she appeared as Echo in
Ariadne auf Naxos by Richard Strauss. The production was part of the opening festivities for the new theatre building, staged in the (small hall) by
Max Reinhardt, with
Maria Jeritza in the title role. In 1917 Ellmenreich performed the part of the Märchenfrau in Siegfried Wagner's fairy-tale opera
An allem ist Hütchen schuld!, and in 1919 in
Ture Rangström's
Die Kronbraut (
Kronbruden) after a play by
August Strindberg. On 4 June 1921 she appeared in two roles in one-act operas by Paul Hindemith, the Woman in
Mörder, Hoffnung der Frauen (Murderer, Hope of Women) after a play by
Oskar Kokoschka, and the Empress Bangsa in
Das Nusch-Nuschi. The first presentation of the two short operas by Hindemith, conducted by
Fritz Busch and with
Oskar Schlemmer responsible for stage, costumes and choreography, caused a scandal. Ellmenreich's operatic parts included Mozart's Cherubino in
Le nozze di Figaro and Dorabella in
Così fan tutte, and Silla in Hans Pfitzner's
Palestrina. She performed the title roles of
Mignon by Ambroise Thomas and Bizet's
Carmen, of both
Der Rosenkavalier and
Salome by Strauss, and Puccini's
Madama Butterfly. After leaving the Stuttgart opera, Ellmenreich performed as a guest artist. She also had a career as a concert singer. She died in Berlin. ==References==