Ludwig made her stage debut in 1946 at the age of 18 as Orlovsky in
Die Fledermaus by Johann Strauss at the
Oper Frankfurt, The performance was recorded by
Deutsche Grammophon, and reissued on CD by Amadeo and later Orfeo. She first performed in the U.S. at the
Lyric Opera of Chicago as Dorabella in Mozart's
Così fan tutte in 1959. The same year, she appeared at the
Metropolitan Opera (Met) in New York City as Cherubino in
The Marriage of Figaro, conducted by
Erich Leinsdorf. Louis Biancolli wrote in his review for the World Telegram and Sun: {{blockquote|... the new Cherubino – Berlin-born Christa Ludwig, a leading mezzo at Darmstadt, Salzburg and Vienna since her debut as Prince Orlofsky in "Fledermaus" in 1946. She is a valuable acquisition. Gifted with a bright, warm voice; Miss Ludwig was a lively and believable Cherubino. Her singing was precise and even, each tone clear and true, and her Italian rippled along like a second music. The ovation was fully deserved.}} She subsequently sang 121 performances in 15 roles with the Met, where she quickly became one of the audience's favourites. Her next role, again in trousers, was Octavian in
Der Rosenkavalier by Strauss, in a live broadcast conducted by Leinsdorf, with
Lisa Della Casa as the Marschallin,
Elisabeth Söderström as Sophie, and
Oskar Czerwenka in his Met debut as Ochs. Her repertoire there also included The Dyer's Wife in the Met's first performances of
Die Frau ohne Schatten by Richard Strauss, then (in 1969) the Marschallin in
Der Rosenkavalier, Klytemnestra in
Elektra, Ortrud in Wagner's
Lohengrin, Brangäne in
Tristan und Isolde, Fricka in both
Das Rheingold and
Die Walküre, Waltraute in
Götterdämmerung, Kundry in
Parsifal, the title role in Beethoven's
Fidelio, Didon in
Les Troyens by Berlioz, Charlotte in Massenet's
Werther, and Amneris in Verdi's
Aida. She performed as a soloist with orchestras, including works by
Schubert,
Schumann,
Brahms,
Wolf,
Mahler and Strauss. She was one of few women to tackle and record Schubert's
Winterreise. and the
Mass in B minor the same year, Karajan's third recording of the work, with
Leontyne Price,
Nicolai Gedda,
Gérard Souzay and her husband
Walter Berry. She recorded Bach's
Christmas Oratorio conducted by
Karl Richter in 1965, with
Gundula Janowitz,
Fritz Wunderlich and
Franz Crass. She performed Mahler's
Second Symphony with Bernstein in 1967. Her final live operatic performance was as Klytemnestra in
Elektra for the Vienna State Opera in December 1994. ==Personal life==