German soprano Rothenberger dies

German opera singer Anneliese Rothenberger has died at the age of 83 after a short illness.

The soprano, who sang at Milan's La Scala and the Metropolitan Opera in New York, died in hospital on Monday near her home in Switzerland.

She was a TV star in her native country where she had her own show, and also appeared in numerous musical films.

Rothenberger last sang publicly in the late 1980s before retiring after being diagnosed with bowel cancer.

She recovered from the illness, but declined to launch a comeback, telling Stern magazine: "People said to me on the street, 'It's a shame you don't sing any more.

"I thought to myself that that was preferable to people saying, 'That old woman is still singing'."