Richard Tauber
Richard Tauber remains, for many, the quintessential Viennese operetta tenor. As well as a performer, he was a composer, his works displaying his understanding of the operetta and song genres if not the genius of a Lehár or Johann Strauss, Jr. He did not have a perfect voice; his Bs and Cs were labored and his habit of using falsetto to reach the rest of the upper range, while producing some ravishing results, could become mannered and overly applied. That said, his graceful charm of expression and lyrical warmth made him one of the most beloved singers of his time.
He was the son of an actor and theater director and an actress, and was raised by his father after the age of seven, thus increasing his exposure to music and the theater. His early studies at the Frankfurt Conservatory focused on conducting and composition, his voice studies instead taking place at Freiburg under Carl Beines. He made his opera debut at the Chemnitz Neues Stadt-Theater in March, 1913, as Tamino in Mozart's The Magic Flute. He was almost immediately given a five-year contract by the Dresden Opera where he became the established lyric tenor. As his career continued to develop throughout Germany, he was strongly associated with Mozart; when he appeared as Tamino, Mozart's opera was often jokingly renamed Die Tauberflöte. Astonishingly, however, his 1915 Berlin Opera debut was as Bacchus in Richard Strauss' Ariadne auf Naxos (a role that many heroic tenors find incredibly taxing), sung with 48 hours' notice and only one rehearsal! Tauber became known for his fast learning and musicianship, and was often called upon for such emergencies. He once took over as conductor for a tour with the London Philharmonic Orchestra.
In the 1920s, he began to specialize in operetta and song, and became best known for those roles and for recitals, recordings, and film work. Lehár wrote the operettas Paganini, Der Zarewitsch, Friederike, and The Land of Smiles with him in mind, and in each, made sure to include a showpiece (soon known as the Tauberlied) for his talents. In 1931, he made his debut in England at the Drury Lane Theater in Lehár's The Land of Smiles, and he remained in England for fear of Nazi persecution (he was of Jewish extraction), becoming a naturalized citizen in 1940. Like most singers, his career was interrupted by the war, but he made his operatic farewell in 1947 as Don Ottavio in Mozart's Don Giovanni. Though already seriously ill with the lung cancer that was to kill him the next year, according to critics and documented by air check recordings, it would have been a creditable performance for a singer in the best of health.
Tauber owed much of his fame to his then-prodigious 725 recordings; rivaled only by the recorded output of John McCormack. Tauber's catalog unquestionably displays the most variety, including songs by Jerome Kern and Irving Berlin, arias and duets from Verdi's Il trovatore and Aida, Offenbach's The Tales of Hoffmann, German lieder, and even the Neapolitan and Irish songs in which Caruso and McCormack were the main exponents. He also appeared in several movies, including a film of Leoncavallo's Pagliacci, Blossom Time, Heart's Desire, and Forbidden Music. Today, his operetta Old Chelsea (which he wrote to celebrate his naturalization as an English citizen) is still sometimes performed.
© TiVo
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Six Play: Richard Tauber - EP
Pop - Released by Play Digital on 12 Mar 2012
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Legends (Remastered)
Pop - Released by Play Digital on 28 Jan 2011
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Tauber: Old Chelsea
Vocal Music (Secular and Sacred) - Released by Int - Bertus on 7 Oct 2016
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The Masterful Tenor RICHARD TAUBER
Classical - Released by Summer Music on 26 Jul 2018
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Dies Bildnis Ist Bezaubernd Schön (London Recordings of 1937 & 1939)
Richard Tauber, Orchestra Walter Goehr, Orchestra G. Walter, Orchestre
Classical - Released by Casta Diva on 31 Aug 2021
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Ständchen (Berlin Recordings of 1925 - 1927)
Classical - Released by Casta Diva on 31 Jul 2021
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All the Things You Are (London Recordings of 1939 - 1941)
Classical - Released by Casta Diva on 31 Aug 2021
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The Richard Tauber Collection: German & International Popular Songs, Vol 2 (Recordings 1923 - 1938)
Vocal Music (Secular and Sacred) - Released by Jube Classic on 1 Apr 2014
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Franz Lehár Conducts Richard Tauber
Opera - Released by MVE on 20 Jan 2017
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Liebe, Goldener Traumen
Pop - Released by P4Y Music on 28 Mar 2016
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The Golden Voice of Richard Tauber, Vol. 2
Classical - Released by P4Y on 25 Nov 2015
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Expressive and loveable lieder
Lise Arseguest, Maureen Forrester, Richard Tauber
Vocal Music (Secular and Sacred) - Released by Music Manager on 30 Nov 2015
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The Richard Tauber Collection, Vol. 29: Popular International Songs in German (Remastered 2015)
Vocal Music (Secular and Sacred) - Released by Jube Classic on 4 Sep 2015
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The Richard Tauber Collection, Vol. 23: Popular German Songs, Vol. 2 (Recorded 1928-1933)
Vocal Music (Secular and Sacred) - Released by Jube Classic on 1 Jul 2014
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The Richard Tauber Collection, Vol. 21 (Recorded 1919-1926)
Vocal Music (Secular and Sacred) - Released by Jube Classic on 6 May 2014
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The Richard Tauber Collection, Vol. 17: Popular German Songs, Vol.1 (Recordings 1927 - 1932) (Richard Tauber)
Vocal Music (Secular and Sacred) - Released by Jube Classic on 7 Jan 2014
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The Richard Tauber Collection, Vol. 4 Early Opera Scenes: Strauss, Wagner, Verdi, Rossini, Puccini, Wolf-Ferrari
Opera - Released by Jube Classic on 5 Mar 2013
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Schlager und Filmmelodien von Walter Jurmann, Vol. 2 (Recordings 1929-1936)
Classical - Released by Jube on 5 Feb 2013
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Airs d'opérettes, chantés en allemand (Mono Version)
Miscellaneous - Released by BNF Collection on 1 Jan 1957
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Meister Tenöre
Joseph Schmidt, Richard Tauber, Peter A.G.
World - Released by Delta on 18 Aug 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo