Hildegard Behrens (born 1937) was a German soprano noted for her highly dramatic performances, especially as Wagnerian heroines. She developed a vocal technique called "chest singing" which audiences and critics outside of Italy occasionally found disturbing and controversial.

Hildegard Behrens was born in Varel, a small town in northern Germany on February 9, 1937. Both her parents were doctors, and she was the youngest of their six children. She studied piano and violin as a child, but she had no professional aspirations. Instead, she went to the University of Freiburg in southern Germany to study law. Despite her intended career, she found herself spending most of her time at the school of music in the school chorus. She sat in on master classes as a spectator and had a boyfriend who was studying the violin and who later played with the Berlin Philharmonic.

Early Tutoring

Behrens decided upon a singing career...