Death of Richard Tauber

New Zealand Listener, Volume 18, Issue 448, 23 January 1948, Page 25

Death of Richard Tauber

GENERAL regret at the death of Richard Tauber is intensified by the fact that for New Zealand listeners this was to have been "Tauber Year," as he was under contract to the NZBS to give recitals throughout the Dominion and to appear, both as guest artist and conductor, with the National Orchestra in its coming season. He died in a London nursing home on January 8, after a sudden collapse following his operation last November. He was about to take a

month’s holiday in Switzerland before starting on his tour of Australia and New Zealand. Tauber was born at Linz, Austria, on May 16, 1892. He studied at the Hoch Conservatory in Frankfurt, but was trained at first as a conductor and an actor, because, he was told, his voice did not show much promise. When he was 19 he came under the guidance of Professor Carl Beines, who taught him singing for three years. In 1912 he made his operatic debut as Tamino at the Chemnitz Municipal Theatre, and received an immediate contract to sing at the Royal Opera in Dresden, where he remained for several years. After the first World War Tauber became the principal tenor of the Berlin State Opera, and soon made his name in German, Italian and French operas, He also began a series of successful guest appearances throughout Europe, and in 1924 met Franz Lehar, with whom he formed an intimate friendship. Lehar composed for him such famous operettas as Paganini, Frederica, and The Land of Smiles, in all of which Tauber created the leading roles. His first London appearance was in 1931 in The Land of Smiles at Drury Lane, and he became a naturalised British subject in 1940. As a concert artist Tauber was almost as successful as he was in opera and —

operetta. The beautiful texture of his voice and its expressive dramatic quality made it well suited for the interpretation of Lieder, and. his Schubert recordings became world-famed. He had also a special reputation in Central Europe as a Mozart singer. Becattse of his many renderings of light popular songs, Tauber came under the censure of some critics, who thought he was making wrong use of his voice. On this, Tauber’s own comment is illuminating. He said: "I am _ both proud and happy that I have played my part in leading the movement for giving the world simple songs such as our fathers knew, improved by the newest singing technique of to-day. For art means influence. The style portrayed in concert, stage, and film is the new style of the age. As singer and actor, it is here that I have placed my aims, and, perhaps, even achieved them." Only time will tell whether Tauber or his critics were right.