On Aug. 2, famed soprano Elizabeth Schwarzkopf died peacefully in her sleep at her home at Schruns, Austria, near the Swiss border. Schwarzkopf was 90. Born in 1915, in the German city of Jarotschin (now Jarocin, Poland), she studied at the Hochschule für Musik, which is now part of the Berlin University of the Arts. Her first teacher thought she was a contralto, but her mother, who would later travel the world with her, insisted that she was a soprano and found a new teacher for her daughter.
In 1937, Schwarzkopf sang in the chorus for the Sir Thomas Beecham recording of Mozart’s The Magic Flute. The following year she made her stage debut as a Flower Maiden in Wagner’s Parsifal at the Deutsche Oper in Berlin. After that, the Vienna Opera signed her to a contract, but she did not appear there until some time later because of a bout with tuberculosis. She debuted there just a few weeks before bombs demolished the house in World War II.
After the war her career blossomed, and she began to sing in major opera houses all over Europe. She sang in London’s Covent Garden and Milan’s La Scala, as well as with important German and Austrian companies. U.S. audiences did not immediately accept her, however, because, as a very young singer, she had joined the Nazi Party.
At La Fenice in Venice, in 1951, Schwarzkopf created the role of Anne Trulove at the world premiere of Igor Stravinsky’s The Rake’s Progress. Two years later, she married recording producer Walter Legge, with whom she recorded extensively. Many of her performances are available on CD; some are available on DVD.
Schwarzkopf made her American debut in 1955 at San Francisco Opera as the Marschallin in Richard Strauss’s Der Rosenkavalier. It was not until 1964 that she finally sang her first performance at the Metropolitan Opera. Altogether, she sang 74 roles in 53 operas during a career that encompassed more than three decades.
Not only did she sing opera at the world’s most important theaters, Schwarzkopf also toured many countries singing recitals of German Lieder. She was justly renowned for her interpretations of songs by Hugo Wolf and Richard Strauss. Speaking of the singer’s own opinion of her work, Gerald Moore, her longtime accompanist, said Schwarzkopf was the most cruelly self-critical person imaginable.
In addition to her live performances and wonderful recordings, Schwarzkopf is also remembered for her pungent remarks. Speaking of modern opera in 1990, she told a reporter from Newsweek magazine that, “many composers don’t know what a human throat is.” With regard to modern opera stage direction, she quoted her husband as having said that some directors were spraying graffiti over masterpieces.
After her official retirement in 1975, Schwarzkopf continued to tour as a teacher, giving masterclasses at conservatories and universities. On New Year’s Day, 1992, Queen Elizabeth II raised her to the rank of Dame Commander of Most Excellent Order of the British Empire.
Elizabeth Schwarzkopf was an unforgettable artist whose silvery tone and physical beauty will be remembered for decades to come.
