Elchlepp was born in Strasbourg (France, at the time annexed to Germany by the Third Reich),[1] grew up in Karlsruhe[2] and went to college in Brighton, England.
At the request of her mother, Elchlepp first studied fashion graphic design in Munich, and simultaneously undertook voice training.
[3] She began with hits and scored her first success with the protest song "Der ewige Soldat", based on "The Universal Soldier" by Buffy Sainte-Marie/Donovan, with German lyrics by Max Colpet.
[1] She appeared in small roles at the Bavarian State Opera, such as Kate Pinkerton in Puccini's Madama Butterfly in 1973[2] and in Der Rosenkavalier by Richard Strauss in 1975.
[6] Her roles included Venus in Wagner's Tannhäuser, Brünnhilde in Der Ring des Nibelungen, Kundry in Parsifal, Azucena in Verdi's Il trovatore, Santuzza in Mascagni's Cavalleria Rusticana, Marie in Alban Berg's Wozzeck and Hekabe in Aribert Reimann's Troades,[1] also works by Haydn, Mozart and Orff.