In the mid-1970s, a well-known record magazine published an article under the heading "Singing Careers as Victims of War," in a reference to budding careers that remained largely or completely unfulfilled because of the Second World War and its aftermath. The life of the dramatic mezzo-soprano Johanna Blatter offers a particularly glaring example of this. If political conditions had not robbed her of the best years of her career, she could have become world-famous, but her significance remained restricted to the German speaking world. Relatively few records and radio recordings have preserved her voice. She was more of a stage singer than a concert artist, and this was perhaps the reason she showed little interest in studio recordings. In choosing her repertoire, she always tried to focus on roles that seemed to fit not only her voice but also her appearance and mentality. In this wise exercise of self-restraint she was similar to the great Kirsten Flagstad, who also refrained from singing the dramatic Strauss roles such as Elektra, although she was better suited to them than any other singer. Unquestionably Johanna Blatter was one of the most important singers of her time.