Elisabeth Schwarzkopf: A Self-Portrait

Elisabeth Schwarzkopf had one of the great voices of the 20th century, not particularly powerful but beautiful and superbly trained. She used it with a high level of intelligence and an exemplary sense of the value of the words she was singing. That voice, its development and its strengths (many) and weaknesses (few) are the subject of this fine documentary, narrated by Schwarzkopf. It is not a complete biography, but the voice is well displayed in film clips from throughout her career, beginning with the Nazi years in Berlin where she sang La Bohème and Carmen in German.

Later, she is shown briefly in more characteristic roles--aristocratic women in Don Giovanni, The Marriage of Figaro, and Der Rosenkavalier. Particularly gratifying is an uncut performance of Porgi, Amor from Figaro, But some of the best moments are devoted to lieder, the musical form for which she was born. She is shown testing the acoustics at Versailles before a recital there, performing with pianist Gerald Moore and conducting a master class in which she stresses the importance of the words. --Joe McLellan ...