Opera Singer. Born in Jarotschin, Germany (now Poland), she made her operatic debut as a Flower Maiden in Wagner's "Parsifal" at the Berlin State Opera in 1938. Within two years, she was singing lead soprano parts. Schwarzkopf was considered one of the supreme interpreters of Mozart, Richard Strauss, and Hugo Wolf, and she sang with such famous conductors as Wilhelm Furtwangler, Otto Klemperer, Vittorio de Sabata, and Herbert von Karajan. Her noted operatic roles included Violetta in "La Traviata", Gilda in "Rigoletto", Mimi in "La Boheme", and the title character in "Madame Butterfly". She became a British citizen in 1953, the year she married music producer Walter Legge, who supervised many of her recordings. Retiring from opera in 1971, she continued to give solo recitals until the early 1980s. In 1992 Schwarzkopf was named Dame Commander of the British Empire. Her image was tarnished in her later years by revelations that she had lied about the extent of her association with the Nazis during World War II. She died in Schruns, Austria.
Opera Singer. Born in Jarotschin, Germany (now Poland), she made her operatic debut as a Flower Maiden in Wagner's "Parsifal" at the Berlin State Opera in 1938. Within two years, she was singing lead soprano parts. Schwarzkopf was considered one of the supreme interpreters of Mozart, Richard Strauss, and Hugo Wolf, and she sang with such famous conductors as Wilhelm Furtwangler, Otto Klemperer, Vittorio de Sabata, and Herbert von Karajan. Her noted operatic roles included Violetta in "La Traviata", Gilda in "Rigoletto", Mimi in "La Boheme", and the title character in "Madame Butterfly". She became a British citizen in 1953, the year she married music producer Walter Legge, who supervised many of her recordings. Retiring from opera in 1971, she continued to give solo recitals until the early 1980s. In 1992 Schwarzkopf was named Dame Commander of the British Empire. Her image was tarnished in her later years by revelations that she had lied about the extent of her association with the Nazis during World War II. She died in Schruns, Austria.
Bio by: José L Bernabé Tronchoni
Family Members
Advertisement
See more Schwarzkopf memorials in:
Advertisement
