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Elisabeth Schumann (13 June 1888 – 23 April 1952) was a German soprano who sang in opera, operetta, oratorio, and lieder. She left a substantial legacy of recordings.

Career

This section does not cite any sources. (June 2020)

Born in Merseburg, Schumann trained for a singing career in Berlin and Dresden. She made her stage debut in Hamburg in 1909. Her initial career started in the lighter soubrette roles that expanded into mostly lyrical roles, some coloratura roles, and even a few dramatic roles. She remained at the Hamburg State Opera until 1919, also singing during the 1914/1915 season at the Metropolitan Opera, New York.

From 1919 until 1938, she was a star of the Vienna State Opera. Her most famous role was that of Sophie in Richard Strauss's Der Rosenkavalier, but she also excelled in Mozart, taking the roles of Pamina in The Magic Flute, Zerlina in Don Giovanni, Blonde in Die Entführung aus dem Serail and Susanna in The Marriage of Figaro.

Despite her glittering operatic career, she excelled in lieder. Lotte Lehmann, in many ways her rival, paid her the tribute of saying that she represented perhaps the purest singing style of German lieder. The production of her voice, which was not particularly powerful, was so good; and enabled her to continue giving recitals long after many singers retire. This technique sustained her in dramatic operatic roles like Der Rosenkavalier. her careful use of vibrato, never coarse, gave volume and sonority.

The conductor Karl Alwin was her second husband from 1920 until 1938. In 1938, she emigrated to New York City where she lived until her death on 23 April 1952, aged 64. During World War II she gave recitals but mainly taught singing, privately and at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia. One of her pupils at Curtis was soprano Florence Kirk. After the war she gave many recitals in Europe, making a particularly successful comeback in England.

She was a much-loved artist, admired for her vivacity, elegance, and beauty. She was closely connected with Richard Strauss, Otto Klemperer, Lotte Lehmann, Bruno Walter, Wilhelm Furtwängler, and other leading musicians of the first half of the 20th century.

Death

Elisabeth Schumann died in New York City, New York. She was buried in St Martin's Church, Ruislip, England. Her son is also interred in the same plot.

Honors

• Honorary Member of the Vienna State Opera and the first female Honorary Member of the Vienna Philharmonic.[1]

Opera roles

In a career spanning 28 years, Schumann sang 91 roles. Her debut role was the Shepherd Boy in Tannhäuser on 2 September 1909 in Hamburg; on 1 November 1937 her last role was the First Flower maiden in Parsifal in Vienna.[2]

Biography

• Elisabeth Schumann: a Biography by (her son) Gerd Puritz, edited and translated by her granddaughter, Joy Puritz, published 1993 by André Deutsch, London, ISBN 0-233-98794-0 (out of print); revised paperback edition published 1996 by Grant and Cutler, London, ISBN 9780729303941

Recordings

• Great Voices of the Century sing Exotica, SCSH 005[3]
• "Elisabeth Schumann: Silver thread of song", EMI Classics, 2011, digitally-remastered 6-CD set, 5099991848024.

References

External links

• Media related to Elisabeth Schumann at Wikimedia Commons
• Elisabeth Schumann website, discography, photographs (2003)
• Elisabeth Schumann at Find a Grave

На других языках

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- [en] Elisabeth Schumann

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[es] Elisabeth Schumann

Elisabeth Schumann, nacida en Merseburg (Turingia) el 13 de junio de 1888 y fallecida en Nueva York el 23 de abril de 1952, fue una soprano lírica alemana muy apreciada por la pureza de su voz cristalina y expresiva. Comenzó cantando como soprano soubrette para evolucionar hacia roles de líricos pasando a papeles de coloratura, y en ocasiones a roles dramáticos.

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[ru] Шуман, Элизабет

Элизабет Шуман (нем. Elisabeth Schumann; 13 июня 1885, Мерзебург — 23 апреля 1952, Нью-Йорк) — немецкая певица (сопрано). К её предкам принадлежала певица Генриетта Зонтаг.

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