Richard Tauber - May I have the next tango [Darf ich um den nächsten Tango bitten] (1930)

Описание: Performed by: Richard Tauber

Full Song Title: May I have the next tango [Darf ich um den nächsten Tango bitten]

Recorded in: 1930

Richard Tauber (16 May 1891 -- 8 January 1948) was an Austrian tenor acclaimed as one of the greatest singers of the 20th century. Some critics commented that "his heart felt every word he sang".

He made his public debut at a concert at Freiburg on 17 May 1912. In 1912 his father was appointed Intendant of the Municipal Theatre in Chemnitz and was therefore in a position to arrange for Richard to appear as Tamino in The Magic Flute on 2 March 1913. Some weeks later [on 16 April] he played Max in Der Freischütz, a performance which was attended by Baron Seebach of the Dresden Opera who had already offered Tauber a five-year contract, commencing on 1 August. The Baron encouraged Tauber to take small roles with other companies to broaden his experience.

During his years in Dresden, Tauber acquired his reputation as a remarkably quick study: he learned Gounod's Faust in 48 hours, Bacchus in Richard Strauss's Ariadne auf Naxos in an afternoon, and so on. People started to call him "the SOS Tenor".

Following some guest appearances at the Wiener Volksoper in 1920, he made his Vienna State Opera debut on 16 June in La Boheme, substituting for an indisposed Alfred Piccaver. In 1922, Tauber signed a five-year contract with the Vienna State Opera and appearances with the Berlin State Opera followed; for many years he appeared with both companies -- four months with each, leaving four months for concerts and guest appearances with other companies and touring abroad. He sang the tenor role in many operas, including Don Giovanni, The Bartered Bride, Tosca, Mignon, Faust, Carmen and Die Fledermaus, as well as newer works such as Erich Korngold's Die tote Stadt and Wilhelm Kienzl's Der Evangelimann. It was in June 1919 that he made the first of over seven hundred gramophone records. All his vocal recordings were made for the Odeon Records label, and after 1933 for the associated Parlophone label.

The hit songs usually occurred in the second act and were informally known as Tauberlieder. Tauber appeared in in a number of films, both in Germany and later in England. He also provided a 'voice-over', singing the title song in the otherwise silent film I Kiss Your Hand, Madame (1929), starring Marlene Dietrich and Harry Liedtke.

In 1931, Tauber made his London debut in operetta, and London appearances became a regular event; he also toured the USA in this year. In 1933, Tauber was assaulted in the street by a group of Nazi Brownshirts because of his Jewish ancestry, and he decided to leave Germany for his native Austria, where he continued to sing at the Vienna State Opera right up to the Anschluss in March 1938. In the mid-1930s, he made several musical films in England, and at the premiere of her film Mimi in April 1935, he met the English actress Diana Napier (1905--1982); they were married on 20 June 1936, only after protracted legal proceedings to secure an Austrian divorce from Vanconti. Napier appeared in three of his British films: Heart's Desire (1935), Land Without Music and Pagliacci (both 1936).

In 1938, he made his London operatic debut in Die Zauberflöte under Sir Thomas Beecham. Earlier that year, the Nazi government of Germany annexed Austria and Tauber left Austria for good. In response, the Nazi government withdrew the Taubers' passports and right of abode; because this left the couple technically stateless persons, Tauber applied for British citizenship. He was touring South Africa when World War II broke out, and returned to Switzerland until he received the papers allowing him to enter the United Kingdom, doing so in March 1940.

The Vienna State Opera was in London for a short season at the Royal Opera House -- their first visit since the war -- and they invited Tauber to sing one performance with his old company. On 27 September 1947 he sang the role of Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni, not a large part but with two difficult arias that demand good breath control to bring off well. Those in the audience say that he sang wonderfully and to loud applause. Live excerpts of these two arias from this performance survive, and they reveal a tone of undiminished focus and steadiness, a good line, and somewhat shortened phrasing. His career ended as it began with Mozart.

A week later, Tauber entered Guy's Hospital to have his left lung removed, but it was too late; he died on 8 January 1948 in the London Clinic, Devonshire Place. Tauber's Requiem Mass was at St. James' Church, Spanish Place, and he is buried in Brompton Cemetery, London.

I hope you enjoy this as much as I have.

Best wishes,
Stu
______________________
Please Note: I do not claim copyright or ownership of the song played in this video. All copyrighted content remains property of their respective owners.