Opera and German Society

 

"Out of silence comes a music, and I can hear her song" -- From Mozart, Don Giovanni, Act II)

(All images on this page, unless otherwise credited, are part of "A Voice Silenced," an exhibition of documents and photographs about the life of Leonore Schwarz Neumaier.)

About 1905, French dramatist Romain Rolland, on a visit to Berlin to discuss one of his plays, grew weary of the never-ending procession of concerts, operas and other performances in the capital. "There is too much music in Germany," he grumbled in his journal. But to the German people in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, music and opera were to their culture what Shakespeare had become to the British. The fundamentals of behavior, the myths of a people, all the grandeur and tragedy of life could be found in their classical compositions of the great composers and in their opera. No major German city was without its ornate opera house and its symphony orchestra, and the directors of these were as well known to the public as the names most popular German writers and government leaders. Wagner's life was a staple of everyday conversation. And the bold innovations of Richard Strauss formed the core of modern German opera.

It was at the height of German opera that Leonore Schwarz began her career in Germany.

(left -- Leonore Schwarz as Carmen, 1916)

Leonore performed with the opera companies of Graz, Nuremberg, and Magdeburg, then joined the renowned troupe of Frankfurt on Main's opera company. Her career encompassed a wide variety of roles, winning praise from critics and audiences. She seemed destined to become a fixture in German opera. However, in 1920 Leonore decided to marry Otto Neumaier, a Frankfurt businessman. When her son Hans was born in 1921, she gave up her opera career. German custom at the time dictated that even a rising opera star had to devote her energies to motherhood, and Leonore agreed to follow tradition. She would continue to sing, but only in special concerts and radio performances.

A partial list of Leonore Schwarz's Roles in Opera

(for plot and character summaries of these operas, visit
the Synopses section of the New York Met web site)

 

Composer & titles

Character performed

--By Richard Wagner:

  

Tristan and Isolde

 Brängane
Lohengrin Ortrude
Das Rheingold Erda, Fricka, Flosshilde
Die Walküre Erda
Siegfried Erda
Götterdammerung Flosshilde
   
--By Giuseppe Verdi:  
Aida Amneris
Rigoletto Maddalena
Il Trovatore Azucena
   
--By Georges Bizet:  
Carmen Carmen
   
--By Engelbert Humperdinck:  
Hänsel und Gretal Hänsel
Königskinder The Witch
   
--By Heinrich Marschner:  
Hans Heiling Königin der Erdgeister
   
--By Pietro Mascagni:  
Cavalleria Rusticana Lucia
   
--By Giacomo Meyerbeer
The Prophet Fides
   
--By Wolfgang Mozart
Die Zauberflöte Dame der Königin der Nacht
   
--By Giacomo Puccini
Madame Butterfly Suzuki
   
--By Gioacchino Rossini
Wilhelm Tell Hedwig
   
-- By Johann Strauss (the younger)
Die Fledermaus Count Orlovsky
Der Zigeunerbaron Czipra
   
--By Richard Strauss
Der Rosenkavalier Annina
Adriadne Auf Naxos Dryade

Advertisement from 1916 performance of Carmen -- Leonore Schwarz is third performer in the cast list.
Publicity photograph of Leonore as Carmen.