Vera Schwarz

Vera Schwarz (10 July 1888 – 4 December 1964) was an Austrian Soprano, known primarily for her operetta partnership with Richard Tauber.

Vera Schwarz was born in Agram, Croatia, as the daughter of Hungarian-Croatian aviation pioneer David Schwarz. She studied in Vienna with Philipp Forstén and gave her debut in 1908 at the Theater an der Wien. 1908 to 1912 she was a member of the opera in Graz, from 1911 to 1913 she sang at the Johann Strauß-Theater in Vienna. After performing in Karlsbad she came to the Hamburger Stadttheater in 1914. From 1918 to 1922 she was an ensemble member of the Staatsoper Unter den Linden in Berlin.

1921 - 1930 Vera Schwarz appeared often as a guest in Vienna, and became a local star there, performing the title roles of Tosca and Carmen, Eva in Meistersingern, Sieglinde in Walküre, Countess in The Marriage of Figaro and Rachel in La Juive, receiving the title "Kammersängerin"". It was during this time that she taught her Vienna Staatsoper colleague Leo Slezak's daughter, (and Walter Slezak's brother), Margarete. In her book Der Apfel fällt nicht weit vom Stamm Margarete Slezak recounts her meeting Vera Schwarz: "I paid Vera Schwarz a visit, and asked her to test my voice. Frau Schwarz found it would be worthwhile to train my voice, and promised me, while keeping this strictly secret from my family, to give me lessons. She lived with her mother, a delicate yet unbelievably energetic lady. Mama Schwarz missed no performance of her daughter. She sat in the middle of the parquet and influenced the audience's applause particularly loudly. While doing so she would turn left and right claiming loudly: "Charming, magnificent! Who is this God-gifted singer?". One time an acquaintance sat behind,unseen by her. He bent forward and said, for everyone to overhear: "But, gnädige Frau, surely you would know that!"

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