Irene Eisinger (8 December 1903 – 8 April 1994) was a German and British opera singer and film actress. Her career was closely linked to the foundation and the early years of the Glyndebourne Festival Opera. 　　Her debuts – both in opera and film – took place in 1926. She played a minor role in Frederic Zelniks silent movie Die Försterchristl and started singing leading roles in operas and operettas at the Stadttheater Basel in the north of Switzerland. Already in 1928 she was called to Berlin and within a short period became one of the favorite singers of conductor Otto Klemperer – firstly at the Kroll Opera House, later on at the prestigious Staatsoper Unter den Linden. Although best remembered for her soubrette roles in Mozart operas, especially Despina and Blonde, and as Ännchen in Webers Der Freischütz, she achieved also great successes and admiration in Strauss operetta roles, particularly as Arsena in Der Zigeunerbaron and as Adele in Die Fledermaus. Musicologist Elizabeth Forbes describes her singing in this words: ″Her voice, bright-toned, light and very flexible, and her charming,diminutive appearance, invariably drew adjectives such as 'enchanting' and 'winsome' from the critics.″ 　　The year 1930 can be considered as her break-through in both Germany and Austria as she debuted as Adele in Max Reinhardts version of Die Fledermaus,as Cherubino in Mozarts Le nozze di Figaro at the Salzburg Festivaland again as Adele at the Vienna State Opera.Furthermore, in this year her first sound film was released, the light comedy Two Hearts in Waltz Time – with Eisinger as Anni Lohmeier and with famous and popular actor Willi Forst in a leading role. This film was the first foreign language film to be released with subtitles in the United States.Two further leading film parts followed in 1931: Leopoldine in Die lustigen Weiber von Wien and the title role in another Zelnik-version of Die Försterchristl, now with sound and singing. 　　Cherubino in Salzburg was hers until 1933, and in 1931 she added another role to her Salzburg repertory: Papagena in Die Zauberflöte – again with repeat invitations until 1933. In 1932, Eisinger performed in the Cabaret opera Rufen Sie Herrn Plim by Mischa Spoliansky and sang Luise Matthes in the Kurt Weill opera Die Bürgschaft next to Hans Reinmar and Lotte Lenya at the Städtische Oper Berlin. The conductor was Fritz Stiedry. 　　She appeared in two short films (Kabarett-Programm Nr. 4, 1931, and Eine Johann-Strauss-Fantasie, 1933) and did several recordings with Grammophon, HMV/Electrola, Ultraphon and Orchestrola. Her singing covered a broad repertory spanning from Mozart and Auber to C.M. Weber, Albert Lortzing, Puccini, Lehár and Strauss, including works of Leo Fall, Bruno Granichstaedten, Ralph Benatzky and Robert Stolz. Her male partners in duets were Siegfried Arno, Paul Morgan, Joseph Schmidt, Erik Wirl and Richard Fritz Wolf.