Open Features: Elizabeth Schwarzkopf
Peter Wintersgill presents an outline of the career of Elizabeth Schwarzkopf, a lyric soprano who made her operatic debut in Berlin.
Born
9th. December 1915 in Jarotschin, Germany.
Adolescence
Studied in Berlin with Maria Ivogun.
Adult life
Opera debut as Flower Maiden in Parsifal Berlin 1938, Vienna debut 1942 as Zerlinetta in Strauss' Ariadne Auf Naxos.
Salzburg debut 1947, also Covent Garden debut as Elvira in Don Giovanni. Milan debut 1948 as Mozart's Countess.
She created role of Anne Truelove in Stravinsky's The Rake's Progress 1951. New York Met debut as Marschallin 1964. Walton wrote Cressida for her, but she never sang it on stage.
With her lustrous lyric soprano, with rare insight, & intelligent approach to each song, she was the foremost female singer of her day, especially in Mozart and Strauss opera and in Schubert and Wolf lieder.
