Vera Little

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Vera Pearl Little-Augustithis (born December 10, 1928 in Memphis (Tennessee) , † October 24, 2012 in Berlin ) was an American opera singer who belonged to the ensemble of the Deutsche Oper Berlin for more than four decades.

As a mezzo-soprano , she sang all the important roles in her field. In 1950 she won a Munich opera competition. After graduating from Talladega College in Talladega , Alabama in 1952, she came to Paris to study on a Fulbright scholarship . In 1958 Carl Ebert brought her to Berlin to the house in Kantstrasse, which was then still known as the “Städtische Oper Berlin”. There she made her debut in the title role of Carmen . She appeared as the first colored singer at the invitation of Vittorio Gui in the Vatican before Pope John XXIII , which made her internationally known. Her interpretation of the Begonia in The Young Lord by Hans Werner Henze , premiered in 1965, and the Beroe in Henze's Die Bassariden also attracted particular attention .

In 1970 she was awarded the title of Chamber Singer . After many negotiations and complications, she first appeared in her hometown of Memphis in 1973 in the role of Ulrica in the masked ball . In addition to music, literature was particularly close to her heart. She wrote poems, some of which were set to music by Boris Blacher . Hans Wollschläger made some translations .

literature

  • Vera Little: A touch of warmth / A touch of warmth . Helvetia-Verlag, Berlin 1988, ISBN 3-9801987-0-7 .
  • Vera Little: Tears in my eyes . Vantage Press, 1978.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Chamber singer Vera Little-Augustithis has died. nmz, November 1, 2012, accessed February 21, 2019 .
  2. ^ The first black woman at the Deutsche Oper. BZ, November 6, 2012, accessed February 21, 2019 .
  3. ↑ German Music Students Boo Soprano Vera Little, p. 59. Jet, February 20, 1958, accessed on February 21, 2019 .
  4. ↑ SALZBURG FESTSPIELE ARCHIVE. Retrieved February 21, 2019 .
  5. ↑ Vera Little 1988, p. 4
  6. ↑ Gerri Major's Society World, p. 36. Jet, February 15, 1973, accessed February 21, 2019 .
personal data
SURNAME Little, Vera
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Little-Augustithis, Vera Pearl (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American opera singer
DATE OF BIRTH December 10, 1928
PLACE OF BIRTH Memphis (Tennessee)
DATE OF DEATH October 24, 2012
Place of death Berlin