Episode 289. Meet Vera Little

Episode 289. Meet Vera Little

On Monday June 3, 2024, a new memorial plaque commemorating African American mezzo-soprano Vera Little (10 December 1928 – 24 October 2012) was unveiled at her former residence in Berlin’s Charlottenburg neighborhood. Little is remembered today as the first Black singer to appear as Carmen on the stage of Berlin’s Städtische Oper, soon to be renamed the Deutsche Oper Berlin. At the time of that appearance there were cries and protests about her hiring instead of an “equally capable” German singer. And yet, when Little returned to the stage of the Deutsche Oper in 1963, now singing the role of Amneris, she became one of the central singers in the ensemble of that company, being named a Kammersängerin there in 1970. This episode examines the life and career of Vera Little, from her birth in Memphis through her decades-long residence in Berlin. It is a fascinating, circuitous path, and one which is documented only sporadically on recording. On this episode, I play excerpts from Little’s only solo recording, a 1957 Decca records release of spirituals recorded in France, as well as her recordings on Deutsche Grammophon of Der junge Lord by Hans Werner Henze, and Richard Strauss’s Daphne. In addition, there are live recordings of Little singing Baba the Turk in Stravinsky’s The Rake’s Progress, Giovanna Seymour in Donizetti’s Anna Bolena, and Beroe in Henze’s Die Bassariden, which Little created in its 1966 world premiere at the Salzburg Festival. Vera Little was also an author, who published four books of memoir and poetry, and just yesterday I obtained a copy of her first book, 1978’s Tears in My Eyes, from which I read a number of excerpts. I had known Little’s name for decades, but had never fully explored her legacy before. It is here (and on an accompanying bonus episode) my honor and privilege to present a great (and somewhat forgotten) artist for your delectation. Today’s vocal guest stars include Kostas Paskalis, Hilde Güden, Anneliese Rothenberger, and Teresa Żylis-Gara.

RECORDINGS HEARD IN THIS EPISODE

Traditional Spiritual, arr. Harry T. Burleigh: I Stood On de Ribber of Jerdon. Vera Little, Andrès Wheatley [1957]

Gaetano Donizetti, Felice Romani: Ah, pensate che rivolti (Anna Bolena) [sung in German]. Vera Little, Alberto Erede, Orchester und Chor des Westdeutscher Rundfunk Köln [live 16.XII.67]

Hans Werner Henze, Ingeborg Bachmann [after Wilhelm Hauff]: Man nimmt ein halbes Pfund goldenen Sirup (Der junge Lord). Vera Little, Barry McDaniel, Christoph von Dohnányi, Orchester der Deutschen Oper Berlin [1968]

Hans Werner Henze, W.H. Auden, Chester Kallman [after Euripides; German version by Helmut Reinold, Maria Bosse-Sporleder]: Sie werden dich sehen, töten (Die Bassariden). Vera Little, Kostas Paskalis, Loren Driscoll, Christoph von Dohnányi, Wiener Philharmoniker, Chor der Wiener Staatsoper [live Salzburg 06.VIII.66]

Richard Strauss, Joseph Gregor: Daphne!… Mutter!… Wir warten dein (Daphne). Vera Little, Hilde Güden, Karl Böhm, Wiener Symphoniker [live Wien 1964]

Igor Stravinsky, W.H. Auden, Chester Kallman [after William Hogarth]: Verkauft! Gekränkt!… Er liebt dich [Sold! Annoyed!… You love him, seek to set him right] (The Rake’s Progress) [sung in German]. Vera Little, Anneliese Rothenberger, Herbert Prikopa, Waldemar Kmentt, Eberhard Wächter, Oscar Danon, Wiener Philharmoniker [live Wien 14.III.65]

Gaetano Donizetti, Felice Romani: E infamia e morte volete voi?… Sul suo capo aggravi un Dio… Dal mio cor punita io sono (Anna Bolena) [sung in German]. Vera Little, Teresa Żylis-Gara, Alberto Erede, Orchester des Westdeutscher Rundfunk Köln [live 16.XII.67]

Traditional Spiritual, arr. Florence Price: My Soul’s Been Anchored in de Lord. Vera Little, Andrès Wheatley [1957]