In Leipzig, she portrayed the Nurse in Strauss' Die Frau ohne Schatten, directed by Joachim Herz, from 1963, and the Kostelnička in Janáček's Jenůfa from 1968, conducted by Václav Neumann.

In Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen directed by Herz, a production from 1973, she appeared as Fricka in Das Rheingold and as Brünnhilde in the other parts.

[1][a] After obtaining her Abitur in Arnstadt, Kehl first studied piano, voice and pedagogy at the conservatory of Thuringia in Erfurt from 1948 to 1951.

[2] Other beginners' roles included Mamma Lucia in Mascagni's Cavalleria rusticana, Widow Browe in Lortzing's Zar und Zimmermann and Mrs Quickly in Verdi's Falstaff, directed by Joachim Herz.

[3] In 1964 she first performed the challenging role of the Nurse in Strauss' Die Frau ohne Schatten, directed by Herz and conducted by Paul Schmitz.

[1] Kehl had a guest contract with the Berlin State Opera from 1971, making her debut as the Nurse in a production by Harry Kupfer.

[2] She also performed at the Komische Oper Berlin, as Penelope in Monteverdi's Il ritorno d'Ulisse in patria directed by Götz Friedrich.

She performed the title role of Elektra by Strauss first at the Theater Hagen in 1977, as a substitute at a few hours' notice, saving the premiere of the new production.

[2][9] She performed as Isolde at the Lausanne Opera in 1983,[2] at the Opernhaus Graz, as Fricka in Wagner's Das Rheingold at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow,[2] in Prague, Budapest, Sofia and Varna.

Performed by Thomanerchor and the Gewandhausorchester, with Elisabeth Breuel, Peter Schreier and Günther Leib, conducted by Erhard Mauersberger, it became a historic document when the church was demolished.

Some recordings were reissued on CD, including Mercedes in Carmen in a 1960 complete recording with Soňa Červená and Rolf Apreck, conducted by Herbert Kegel,[11] Zenobia in Handel's Radamisto,[2][12] Preziosilla in Verdi's La forza del destino[13] and Princess Eboli in Don Carlos, both in excerpts with Hanne-Lore Kuhse and Martin Ritzmann [de], conducted by Heinz Fricke.