Born: 9 December 1915, Poland
Died: 3 August 2006
Country most active: International
Also known as: Elisabeth Legge-Schwarzkopf
The following is republished from the Library of Congress. This piece falls under under public domain, as copyright does not apply to “any work of the U.S. Government” where “a work prepared by an officer or employee of the U.S. Government as part of that person’s official duties” (See, 17 U.S.C. §§ 101, 105).
A German born in Jarotschin (now Poland), Elisabeth Schwarzkopf was one of the outstanding sopranos of the period after World War II. Her delicate instrument kept her in minor roles in Berlin after her 1938 debut. More successful in Vienna, Salzburg, and Bayreuth, she was idolized in London and appreciated in Milan. Her American debut occurred at San Francisco in 1955, as the Marschallin in Der Rosenkavalier, a role with which she was particularly associated. Schwarzkopf sang in Chicago in 1959 and briefly at the Metropolitan Opera from 1964 to 1966 at the outset of her decline. Her last stage appearance was in 1971 in Brussels, again, as the Marschallin. A most musical and artistic singer, Schwarzkopf was best in Mozart and Strauss.