The Opera Roles of Elisabeth Schumann

 

Elisabeth Schumann's opera career lasted 28 years. She sang 91 roles. Her debut was as the Shepherd Boy in Tannhäuser in Hamburg on 2 September 1909. Her last performance was as the First Flower Maiden in Parsifal in Vienna on 1 November 1937. She was then 49.

 

After the performance she left for America, returning to Vienna on 6 March 1938. Six days later she left for France, expecting to return for performances in April. That same day, 12 March 1938, German troops marched into Austria. Her operatic career was over and she didn't return to the city until 1946.

 

The following list of roles includes details of performances at the Hamburg Opera 1909-19 (first dates only) and the Vienna Opera 1919-37 (first and last dates, and number of performances), the Metropolitan Opera, New York 1914-15 (all dates) and the Royal Opera House, London 1924-31 (numbers of performances and season dates only).

 

 

Abisag in Daniel in der Löwengrube [Weigl?]: Hamburg (no dates available)

 

Adele in Die Fledermaus (Strauss, Johann): Hamburg from 31 Dec 1918; Vienna from 26 Dec 1920 to 28 Feb 1937 (43 performances); London 6, 14, 19, 21 May 1930, 5, 11 May 1931

 

Albertine in Die Brautwahl (Busoni), premiere: Hamburg, 13 April 1912 

 

Amore in Orfeo ed Euridice (Gluck): Hamburg 15 Oct 1911, 22 Sept 1915

 

Anna in L'Africaine (Meyerbeer): Hamburg from 9 Jan 1910

 

Ännchen in Der Freischütz (Weber): Hamburg from 17 Oct 1909; Vienna from 7 Sept 1919 to 4 Oct 1932 (16 performances)

 

Annina in La traviata (Verdi): Hamburg from 31 Oct 1909

 

Antonia in Les contes d'Hoffmann (Offenbach): Hamburg from 16 Oct 1910; Vienna from 11 Sept 1919 to 6 Oct 1933 (5 performances)

 

Arsena in Der Zigeunerbaron (Strauss, Johann): Hamburg from 6 May 1911

 

Arsinoe in Die toten Augen (d'Albert): Hamburg from 18 March 1916

 

Barbarina in Le nozze di Figaro (Mozart): Hamburg from 20 Jan 1911

 

Bastienne in Bastien und Bastienne (Mozart): Hamburg (no dates available)

 

Benjamin [unidentified opera. Perhaps Joseph in Ägypten by Méhul?]: Hamburg (no dates available)

 

Bianca in Der widerspänstige Zähmung (Goertz): Hamburg (no dates available)

 

Blonde in Die Entführung aus dem Serail (Mozart): Hamburg from 14 Sept 1918; Vienna from 19 April 1920 to 10 May 1936 (33 performances); London, 4, 16 May 1927

 

Blumenmädchen (Flower Maiden) in Parsifal (Wagner): Hamburg (no dates available); Met, New York, 26 November 1914, 1 January, 22 February (matinée), 2 April 1915; Vienna from 31 Oct 1920 to 1 Nov 1937 (9 performances)

 

Bronislawa in Der Bettelstudent (Millöcker): Hamburg (no dates available)

 

Cäcilie in Cäcilie [unidentified opera], premiere: Hamburg from 10 April 1919

 

Cherubino in Le nozze di Figaro (Mozart): Hamburg from 28 Dec 1913

 

Chorknabe (chorus boy) in Le Prophète (Meyerbeer): Hamburg from 15 March 1910

 

Cornelia in Meister Grobian (Winternitz, Arnold), premiere: Hamburg from 4 Feb 1918

 

Cupidon in Orphée aux enfers (Offenbach): Hamburg from 23 April 1910

 

Despina in Così fan tutte (Mozart): Hamburg (no dates available); Vienna from 20 Jan 1921 to 3 Sept 1926 (14 performances)

 

Dianora in Mona Lisa (von Schillings, Max): Hamburg from 23 Oct 1915

 

Dunyazade in Schaharazade [unidentified opera], premiere: Hamburg from 21 Oct 1918

 

Edelknabe (Page) in Lohengrin (Wagner): Hamburg from 5 Sept 1909

 

Edelknabe (Page) in Tannhäuser (Wagner): Hamburg from 6 Sept 1910

 

Erster Knabe (First Boy) in Die Zauberflöte (Mozart): Hamburg from 10 Sept 1909

 

Eva in Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg (Wagner): Hamburg from 7 Sept 1918; Vienna from 14 Sept 1919 to 19 Oct 1937 (22 performances); London, 9 June 1925, 21 May 1926, 7, 23 May 1930

 

Frasquita in Carmen (Bizet): Hamburg from 14 Jan 1911

 

Friedensbote (messenger of peace) in Rienzi (Wagner): Hamburg from 28 Sept 1909

 

Friederike in ? [unidentified, possibly role in Ein Walzertraum (Strauss, Oscar)] : Hamburg (no dates available)

 

Gänsemagd (Goose-girl) in Königskinder (Humperdinck): Hamburg from 16 Sept 1912

 

Gerhilde in Die Walküre (Wagner): Met, New York, 11 December 1914, 13, 24 February, 8 March 1915

 

Gorli in Zwergnase [unidentified opera]: Hamburg from 8 Dec 1910

 

Gretel in Hänsel und Gretel (Humperdinck): Hamburg from 11 Dec 1910; Met, New York, 25 December 1914, 19 January (Act II only: benefit matinée), 6 February, 11 March, 9 April 1915; Vienna from 23 Dec 1922 to 9 May 1932 (14 performances)

 

Hannerl in Das Dreimäderlhaus (Berté): Hamburg from 28 Sept 1918

 

Heimchen, Das (the cricket) in Das Heimchen am Herd (The Cricket on the Hearth) (Goldmark, Karl): Hamburg from 14 Oct 1911

 

Ida in Die Fledermaus (J Strauss): Hamburg from 31 Dec 1909

 

Ilia in Idomeneo (Mozart): Vienna from 16 April 1931 to 15 Sept 1931 (5 performances)

 

Junger Hirt (Shepherd Boy) in Tannhäuser (Wagner): Hamburg from 2 Sept 1909

 

Komponist (Composer) in Ariadne auf Naxos (Strauss, Richard): London, 27, 31 May 1924

 

Knappe (Esquire) in Parsifal (Wagner): Hamburg from 18 April 1919

 

Laura in Der Ring des Polykrates (Korngold): Hamburg from 10 Feb 1917; Vienna, 28 Dec 1919 and 20 Nov 1920

 

Lehrbube (apprentice) in Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg (Wagner): Hamburg from 13 Nov 1909

 

Lola in Cavalleria Rusticana (Mascagni): Hamburg from 6 Feb1910

 

Louise [unidentified opera. Louise by Charpentier? Die Abreise by D'Albert? Der Bärenhäuter by Siegfried Wagner?]: Hamburg (no dates available)

 

Luise in Ferdinand und Luise (Zaiczek-Blankenau, Julius): Hamburg from 15 Nov 1916

 

Magd (maid) in Martha (Flotow): Hamburg from 10 Oct 1909

 

Malgherita in Meister Andrea (Weingartner, Felix von), premiere: Vienna State Opera, 13 May 1920

 

Marenka in The Bartered Bride (Smetana): Vienna 27 Sept 1926

 

Margiana in Der Barbier von Baghdad (Cornelius, Peter): Hamburg (no dates available); Vienna from 9 Dec 1920 to 8 March 1932 (9 performances)

 

Marguerite in Faust (Gounod): Hamburg from 19 Sept 1918

 

Marie in Zar und Zimmermann (Lortzing): Hamburg from 5 March 1910; Vienna from 27 Dec 1919 to 15 March 1936 (10 performances)

 

Marzelline in Fidelio (Beethoven): Hamburg from 15 Feb 1919, also 21 Nov 1927; Met, New York, 30 January, 15 February, 3 March, 16, 22 April 1915; Vienna from 8 Dec 1919 to 8 Oct 1937 (59 performances); Salzburg 13, 18, 24, 28 August 1927; Paris 5 May, 5 June 1928

 

Micaëla in Carmen (Bizet): Hamburg from 3 Sept 1918; Vienna from 6 Sept 1919 to 20 Oct 1936 (24 performances)

 

Mignon in Mignon (Thomas): Hamburg from 28 Oct 1910; Vienna 11 Dec 1920

 

Mimi in La bohème (Puccini): Hamburg from 3 Feb 1919, also March 1925 also 5 March 1932; Vienna from 19 April 1920 to 24 Oct 1937 (21 performances)

 

Musetta in La bohème (Puccini): Met, New York: 21 November 1914, 8 January, 25 February, 29 March, 17 April 1915

 

Najade (Naiad) in Ariadne auf Naxos (Strauss, Richard): Vienna from 14 April 1920 to 16 Sept 1936 (16 performances)

 

Nanette in Wildschütz (Lortzing): Hamburg from 14 Feb 1911

 

Nannetta in Falstaff (Verdi): Hamburg (no dates available)

 

Nedda in I Pagliacci (Leoncavallo): Hamburg from 11 Jan 1919; Vienna from 19 Sept 1921 to 10 May 1937 (30 performances)

 

Norina in Don Pasquale (Donizetti): Vienna ? Dec 1921 (2 performances)

 

Nuri in Tiefland (d'Albert): Hamburg (no dates available); Vienna from 8 Nov 1922 to 11 Oct 1932 (6 performances)

 

Octavian in Der Rosenkavalier (Strauss, Richard): Hamburg, 28 Nov 1912

 

Pamina in Die Zauberflöte (Mozart): Hamburg (no dates available); Vienna from 27 Sept 1919 to 22 Oct 1937 (40 performances)

 

Papagena in Die Zauberflöte (Mozart): Hamburg from 19 April 1914; Met, New York, 23 November, 10 December 1914, 2 January (matinée), 19 February, 17, 27 March 1915

 

Pepa in Tiefland (d'Albert): Hamburg from 22 Sept 1909

 

Rheintochter (Rhinemaiden) in Götterdämmerung (Wagner): Vienna from 1 Oct 1925 to 16 Sept 1937 (8 performances) [see also Wellgunde and Woglinde]

 

Rose in Lakmé (Delibes): Hamburg from 31 March 1911

 

Rose in Le postillion de Lonjumeau (Adam): Hamburg (no dates available)

 

Sandmännchen (Sandman) in Hänsel und Gretel (Humperdinck): Hamburg from 12 Dec 1909

 

Serpina in La serva padrona (Pergolesi): Salzburg 1926 ; Schlosstheater Schönbrunn (no dates available)

 

Sophie in Der Rosenkavalier (Strauss, Richard): Hamburg from 21 Feb 1911, and March 1925; Met, New York, 20 November, 2, 14 December 1914, 4, 25 March (Act II only: benefit performance), 24 April 1915; Vienna from 11 March 1919 to 13 June 1937 (79 performances); London, 21, 23, 26, 29 May, 2, 3 June 1924, 18, 22, 28 May, 8, 10 June 1925, 2, 10, 12, 18, 27 May 1927, 14, 17 May 1929, 27 April, 1, 7, 12 May 1931; Philadelphia 23 June 1935 (one performance?)

 

Susanna in Le nozze di Figaro (Mozart): Hamburg from 8 Sept 1918, and March 1925; Vienna from 5 Dec 1919 to 6 Sept 1937 (29 performances); London 10, 18, 20 May 1926 (sung in German); Munich 21 Aug 1926 (one performance?)

 

Suschen in Die beiden Schützen (Lortzing): Hamburg (no dates available)

 

Taumännchen (Dew Fairy) in Hänsel und Gretel (Humperdinck): Hamburg from 12 Dec 1909

 

Valentin in La chanson de Fortunio (Offenbach): Hamburg from 30 Nov 1910

 

Veronika in Die Schneider von Schönau (Brandts-Buys, Jan): Hamburg (no dates available)

 

Vertraute (Klytemnästra's confidant) in Elektra (Strauss, Richard): Hamburg from 26 Nov 1909

 

Waldvogel (Forest Bird) in Siegfried (Wagner): Hamburg from 17 April 1910; Met, New York, 9 January (matinée), 12 February, 12 April 1915; Vienna from 23 March 1928 to 12 Sept 1937 (4 performances)

 

Wellgunde in Das Rheingold (Wagner): Met, New York, 28 January 1915

 

Wellgunde in Götterdämmerung (Wagner): Met, New York, 18 February, 18 March 1915

 

Woglinde in Das Rheingold (Wagner): Hamburg from 4 Oct 1918; Vienna from 6 Sept 1927 to 14 April 1936 (7 performances)

 

Woglinde in Götterdämmerung (Wagner): Hamburg from 14 Oct 1918

 

Yvonne in Jonny spielt auf (Krenek): Vienna from 31 Dec 1927 to 3 Dec 1929 (8 performances)

 

Zelmire in Der betrogene Kadi (Gluck): Hamburg (no dates available)

 

Zerlina in Don Giovanni (Mozart): Hamburg from 1 Sept 1918; Vienna from 20 May 1921 to 28 Oct 1937 (40 performances); London 7, 11, 15 June 1926, 27, 30 May, 4 June 1929

 

Zerline in Fra Diavolo (Auber): Hamburg from 17 Oct 1918; Vienna from 15 June 1923 to 23 Feb 1924 (5 performances)

 

[Unidentified role] in Die Strohwitwe (Blech, Leo), premiere: Hamburg from 16 June 1920

 

 

Sources

The Archive, Royal Opera House, Covent Garden

 

Maximilian und Irmgard Drechsler (handwritten), Elisabeth Schumann, Ihr Opernrepertoire an der Wiener Staatsoper 1919 - 1937, nach den originalen Tagesprogrammzetteln eingesehen in der Bibliothek des Theatermuseums Wien am 20. und 21. Juni 1995,

 

Hamburg Theatre Archive (handwritten index card record): Elisabeth Schumann: Werdegang in genauer Folge von 1909-19 in Hamburg

 

The Lotte Lehmann Foundation's Lehmann Chronology (draft)

 

Gerd Puritz, Elisabeth Schumann, A Biography, Grant & Cutler Ltd, London 1996

 

 Joachim E. Wenzel, Geschichte der Hamburger Oper 1670-1978, herausgegeben vom Vorstand der Hamburgischen Staatsoper (History of the Hamburg Opera 1670-1978 published by the management of the Hamburg Opera)

 

Simon Holledge

2 November 2003