This episode of Classic Archive is devoted to Rita Streich, a small and slender soprano. Her face was heart-shaped and she had a silvery timbre. In war-torn Berlin, Rita Streich rehearsed tirelessly. When World War II ended, she studied with Erna Berger, of whom she was the only pupil. In this episode, we listen to Streich performing lieds by Robert Schumann and Richard Strauss (Die Lotosblume; Schlechtes Wetter). She also performs arias from operas by Puccini ("Oh ! Mio Babbino Caro…”), Donizetti (Ah, tardai troppo…), Mozart (Giunse, A Fin iIl Momento…) and Dvorak (Mesicku Na Nebi…).
In Paris in 1972, she performs lieds by Mendelssohn (Auf Flügeln des Gesanges), Brahms (Wiegenlied) and Schubert (Seligkeit) accompanied by pianist Christian Ivaldi. The episode ends on a 1964 concert excerpt filmed at the Jeunesses Musicales de France where Rita Streich delivers a few outstanding melodies penned by Hugo Wolf, Mozart, Schubert and Brahms. Rita Streich used to sum-up her customary perfection by a simple motto : Work, and more work…