Vera Schwarz (singer)

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Vera Schwarz (born July 10, 1888 in Agram , Croatia , Austria-Hungary , † December 4, 1964 in Vienna ) was an Austrian opera singer ( soprano ).

Life

Vera Schwarz, the daughter of the Hungarian inventor David Schwarz , studied in Vienna with Filip Forstén and made her debut at the Theater an der Wien in 1908 in a small operetta role , still together with Alexander Girardi . From 1908 to 1912 she was engaged at the Graz Opera , and from 1911 to 1913 at the Johann Strauss Theater in Vienna . Here, the great success as Rosalinde in der Fledermaus moved her to make singing her profession.

After a stopover in Karlsbad , she came to the Hamburg City Theater in 1914 . From 1918 to 1922 she was part of the ensemble of the Staatsoper Unter den Linden in Berlin. A guest performance took her to the Vienna State Opera in 1921 , where she participated in eight seasons until 1930. She became the darling of the Viennese public. Here you could hear her in the title roles of Tosca , with Alfred Piccaver as a partner, and of Carmen , as Eva in the Meistersinger , as Sieglinde in Die Walküre , as Countess in Figaro's wedding and as Rachel in Die Jüdin , with her as well their brilliant presentation caused a stir.

Between 1929 and 1933 she was a member of the ensemble of the Berlin Metropolitan Theater and from 1931 to 1933 she was again committed to the State Opera Unter den Linden. She became known to the general public as a partner of Richard Tauber in Lehár operets. In 1926 the duo Schwarz / Tauber helped the Paganini operetta to achieve its final breakthrough with the acclaimed Berlin premiere. In 1927 she achieved another great success at the Deutsches Künstlertheater together with Tauber in the world premiere of The Tsarevich and subsequently appeared again increasingly in the operetta field. In 1929 she was Lisa in the world premiere of The Land of Smiles in Berlin, also with Tauber. At the same time, however, she also continued her opera career. As a guest she sang Tosca in Budapest, Munich, London, Amsterdam and in 1928 at the Opéra-Comique in Paris. In 1929 she was Octavian in the Rosenkavalier at the Salzburg Festival .

In 1933, due to her Jewish descent , Schwarz had to leave Nazi Germany and return to Vienna, where she then worked again at the Vienna State Opera. She had guest appearances in Budapest and Belgrade. In 1935 she took part in the premiere of the opera Die Dame im Traum by Salmhofer at the Vienna State Opera . In one of her last performances, she sang here in the first performance of Das Land des Smiles at the Vienna State Opera on January 30 , 1938, again with Tauber, of course.

Two months later, after the annexation of Austria in 1938, she also had to flee the German Reich. She first emigrated to England, where she appeared in the same year at the Glyndebourne Festival as Lady Macbeth in Macbeth . Since 1939 she lived in North America , where she still appeared at the Chicago Opera and the San Francisco Opera , as well as at opera performances in Hollywood, but mostly only worked as a concert singer.

In 1948 Schwarz returned to Vienna and concentrated primarily on teaching, giving master classes in Vienna and at the Salzburg Mozarteum . The singer, who was awarded the title of chamber singer, was praised by contemporaries for her lyrical soprano, which, with a light but sustaining voice, was a “wonderful addition” to Richard Tauber. Her grave is in the urn grove of the Simmering fire hall (Dept. MH, No. 359).

In 2011, Vera-Schwarz-Gasse in Vienna- Liesing (23rd district) was named after her.

Vera Schwarz's grave

literature

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personal data
SURNAME Black, Vera
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Austrian opera singer
DATE OF BIRTH July 10, 1888
PLACE OF BIRTH Zagreb
DATE OF DEATH 4th December 1964
Place of death Vienna