cover image Elisabeth Schumann: A Biography

Elisabeth Schumann: A Biography

Gerd Puritz. Andrea Deutsch, $45 (375pp) ISBN 978-0-233-98794-1

In this engaging book, Puritz recounts the life of his mother, the renowned German soprano Elisabeth Schumann (1888-1952), who rose to fame with her interpretation of Strauss's Rosenkavalier , first sung in 1911, and went on to a triumphant operatic and concert career. Though she seemed to breeze through life (and husbands), Purtiz demonstrates that Schumann's seemingly fairy-tale existence was often maintained through extraordinary courage, especially late in her career when age began to take its toll of her voice. During WW II, Schumann lived in New York City, supporting her third husband, as well as his sisters and his son. After the war, she lent financial assistance to her son and his family. These responsibilities required extensive concertizing late in life, including a tour of South Africa the year before her death. Nevertheless, she always appeared lighthearted and optimistic, concealing her financial worries from those around her. Photographs and extracts from her letters enhance the portrait of this extraordinary woman. (May)