Soprano Elisabeth Schwarzkopf dies at age 90.

[CBHagman]

Obituaries:

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,60-2298366,00.html

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/5243696.stm?ls

http://arts.guardian.co.uk/news/obituary/0,,1836739,00.html

From the Guardian obit:

"Dame Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, arguably the greatest soprano of the postwar years, died peacefully in her sleep on Wednesday night at her home in Schruns on the Austrian-Swiss border. She was 90.
She was loved for her matchless lieder singing as well as for her operatic work. In the opera house, she was particularly feted for her Mozart roles - especially her Countess, Donna Elvira and Fiordiligi - as well as her Marschallin. She created the role of Anna Trulove in Stravinksy's The Rake's Progress, and entered British folklore when, asked to appear on Desert Island Discs, she chose eight of her own recordings. She was also tinged with notoriety after it was revealed she had been a member of the Nazi party.

"According to Edward Greenfield, the Guardian's music critic emeritus: 'She was one of the very greatest of all singers. She combined every quality you wanted in a great soprano. What made her so special was the unique timbre of her voice and her unique responsiveness to words, particularly German - together with her great charisma and beauty. She was also a wonderful actress.'"

[deepthought42]

1. Dang. I have a couple mp3's I downloaded of her singing

arias from "Don Giovanni", for my voice lessons. Beautiful voice. :)