Joseph Schwarz (Baritone) (10. 10. 1880 Riga, † 10. 11. 1926 Berlino)

He was born to a Jewish family. He was the oldest from eight children and grew up in a miserable relations; he learned the sartorial craft like his father. First he was a member of The Riga Choral Synagogue; then his education was financed by a rich Russian nobility and first was happened under Alexander Heinemann in Berlin, then at the Vienna Konservatorium. His stage debut took place in 1900 at the Stadttheater of Linz (Donau) as Amonasro in ‘’Aida’’. Then he sang with small opera troops and made guest appearances in 1901 in his hometown Riga. After a guest performance at the Court Opera of St. Petersburg, in the 1906-1909 seasons he became a member of the Volksoper in Vienna. In 1909 he was engaged by the Hofoper  in Vienna, where he made his debut as Count di Luna in ‘’Il Trovatore’’. In 1915 he joined to the Hofoper in Berlin; here he appeared in the premières of the operas "Rappelkopf"  by Leo Blech (1917) and "Notre Dame" of Franz  Schmidt (1918). During the First World War he often guested in the Scandinavian lands. In the 1920-1921 and 1924-1925 seasons he was engaged by the Chicago Opera. Here he performed as Rigoletto, Germont-père in ‘’La Traviata’’, Jago in ‘’Otello’’ and Tonio in ‘’Pagliacci’’. He guested with the ensemble of Chicago Opera also at the opera house of the Metropolitan Opera in New York. In 1921 he gave in New York a successful concerts. In 1924 he appeared at Covent Garden in London as Rigoletto. In 1923 he sang in Berlin, Vienna, Prague and Budapest and also at the Grand Opera in Paris (here as Rigoletto). In 1924 he accepted an engagement for appearances at the Staatsoper in Berlin, but fallen ill. In 1925 he gave a song recital within the scope of the Salzburg festival. In Cologne, Frankfurt a. M., Berlin and Wroclaw he appeared in ‘’Hebrew evenings’’. In 1926 he sang in San Francisco in the premiere of the opera ‘’Fay-Yen-Fah’’ by Joseph Redding whose libretto was written by an American multimillionnaire. Still shortly before his death he appeared with great success in Berlin as Rigoletto. He died at the age of 46, after an operation. 

Chronology of some appearances

1900 Linz Stadttheater
1901 Riga Opera
1906-1909 Vienna Volksoper
1909 Vienna Hofoper
1915 Berlin Hofoper
1917 Berlin Hofoper
1918 Berlin Hofoper
1920-1921 Chicago Opera
1921 New York Concert 
1923 Paris Grand Opera
1924 London Covent Garden
1924-1925 Chicago Opera
1926 San Francisco Opera
1926 Berlin Hofoper

RECORDINGS FOR SALE

Zonophone, 1906-12?
Pagliacci (Leoncavallo): Prolog X-22549
Africaine (Meyerbeer): Dir, o Königin X-22552

Pathé, Berlin 1910/1911
Ballo in maschera (Verdi): Für dein Glück 51151
Königin von Saba (Goldmark): Blick empor zu jenen Räumen 51150
Meistersinger von Nürnberg (Wagner): Jerum, Jerum 51153

Parlophon, Wien 1911?
Pagliacci (Leoncavallo) Prolog Parlophon P7011 2-7011

Parlophon, Wien 1911/1912
 Rigoletto (Verdi) Ach, ich weine!  P7048, 2-7048

Parlophon, Berlin 1913
Ballo in maschera (Verdi): Ja, du warst's P1669 P331
Guillaume Tell (Rossini) Sohn, knie nieder Parlophon P1670 P332
Rheingold (Wagner): Abendlich strahlt P1675, P337

Grammophon, Berlin 1916
Ballo in maschera (Verdi): Für dein Glück  042505 1020m
Kol nidre (Lewandowski-Rosenfeld) 042500 1031m
O komm im Traum (Liszt) 042510 1032m
Otello (Verdi) Ich glaube an einem Gott 042506 1028m

Grammophon, Berlin 1916-03?
Ballo in maschera (Verdi): Ja, du warst's  042496 955m
Contes d'Hoffmann (Offenbach): Spiegelarie  042495 954m

Grammophon, Berlin 1917?
Ein Schwan (Grieg) 4-42638 19096L
Eros (Grieg) (81) 4-42650 19099L

Grammophon, Berlin 1919?
Guarda che bianca luna (Campana) with Jadlowker 70711 14075r
Faust (Gounod): Valentins Gebet  042577 1408s
Pagliacci (Leoncavallo) Prolog 042529 1406s
Pêcheurs de perles (Bizet) Des Tempel Brahmas with Jadlowker 044315 1387s