Joseph Schmidt & Grace Moore live in 1937 - "La boheme" act I finale

/ vinyltovideo Donations (Thank-You!):
Joseph Schmidt and Grace Moore perform the final scene of act I of Puccini's "La boheme." This is from a live concert given at Radio City Music Hall on November 7, 1937. Erno Rapee conducts.

[@stefankorrinz]

No-one says anything about Grace. Beautiful legato, beautiful itlian style and slancio and look at the photo !

[@opera888able]

This is indeed a jewel,a big one in the annals of opera. They were both in top form here. Thank God he left us with so many recordings.

[@MRMOTIVATR]

Joseph Schmidt sang in our synagogue for the Jewish Holidays in Brussels, Belgium. in 1938. I was 6 years old.

[@DpHsHd]

+Jacques Wiesel You are truly blessed in having heard the great Joseph Schmidt in the flesh, Jacques!

[@robertwbecker]

+Jacques Wiesel you were very lucky in deed to be immersed in the glorious sound of this beloved Singer/Cantor!

[@danawinsor1380]

Thank you for sharing that precious memory. If anyone was born to sing, Joseph Schmidt was.

[@ChristopherScottDixon]

What a wonderful & such a precious memory Jacques :-)

[@scottlay2970]

My great grandmother worked for the Moors in Jellico TN I have a china cabinet that Grace Moore gave to her she was very respected actress and singer in east TN from the stories passed down

[@andreainnocenti6339]

One of the greatest artist of all the time!!! What a sad history... Anyway one of my favourite tenors... Such a beautiful voice!!!! ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

[@ayodelesirjet40]

One of the sweetest voices I've ever heard- and that is just Schmidt. And what a beauty, Moore - one of the people on the list of those you would most liked to have met.

[@eastend20071]

a little man a great voice RIP joe.

[@theodorebiele5201]

The flesh is gone but the voices are immortal! It may seem trite but, these voices will never be heard again. So sad, so sad!

[@user-py1jg6bb2r]

certainly not that kind of passionate singing...sad,

[@TheRAFfc]

MAY THEY REST IN PEACE. THANK HEAVEN FOR GIVING THEM TO US, MAY I HEAR THEM SOON. THANK YOU "VINYL" FOR GIVING US ALL THE CHANCE TO HEAR AND SEE SUCH GIFTED PEOPLE OF YORE AGAIN IN THIS MODERN AGE

[@oferweisz1460]

My late mother was in the same Swiss refugee camp as Joseph Schmidt in WW II and knew him very well. She explained to the camp manager that he is a very fragile person and will not be able to endure the harsh conditions (Newspapers instead of blankets as beddings ,no heating ...) and begged to transfer him to a better place . The camp manager threatened to deliver her to the Germans if she continues to insist .Two weeks after this he got a pneumonia and unfortunately left this world .

[@DpHsHd]

+Ofer Weisz Amazing that stories like yours are still alive. Thank you for sharing this. Your mother must have had much to tell. You must write down whatever she told you. Experiences like hers must not be lost. Many thanks! Peter

[@danawinsor1380]

I couldn't agree more.

[@danawinsor1380]

Thank you for sharing this heartbreaking memory.

[@ChristopherScottDixon]

That heart rending story brings tears to my eyes as I type this, your mother was so kind & brave to think of Joseph Schmidt in such a difficult situation for herself too.

[@franzitaduz]

Ofer Weisz When I learned of his death, I cried and cried. Alone, forsaken of the cheering audiences, without the money he earned....... I am glad the suffering did not continue.

[@davidsolomon8203]

Thank you, Archie! In every age, we must combat evil! We will conquer evil when we, each, eradicate evil from our hearts! In the meanwhile, let us enjoy such beauty as artist like Joseph Schmidt bestow upon us!

[@tobyt57]

Truly beautiful. Simple words cannot describe the beauty of this duet by these great artistes.

[@petertaylor3600]

The story about some producer hearing a knock on the door of his studio. "Come in". Nobody there, repeated himself until he realized Schmidt was standing by the piano, unable to be seen above it. He was more than small, he was tiny. But, what a glorious voice!

[@petertaylor3600]

Four ft 10!! That doesn't matter at all. But I loved that story of the producer unable to find him. I still think it's funny and I'm betting so would Schmidt.

[@laurielovett8849]

@@petertaylor3600 in quitesure he would think it funny, but it would hurt. As a 4 ft 10 lady I know how it feels,

[@roberthowes7827]

Thank you so much for this, Joseph and Grace, a soprano and tenor of exceptional talent. I am going to say that is one of the best recordings I have heard period.

[@theodorebiele5201]

Magnificent! What a treat for the moviegoing populace of New York. tears for both of them for dying too soon. Joy at hearing them!

[@SV-bx5lr]

Theodore Biele

[@richmerne3593]

Certainly for me one of the greatest tenor interpretations of La Boheme ever.

[@richardhill5266]

First time I heard him was when I was taking German lessons from a old German in Los Angeles! He had a room full of his recordings! Great voice too short of a life! I wasn't being cute with the word short forgive me! He had a tragic life!

[@murrayaronson3753]

His fate was tragic.

[@dennisroyhall121]

@@murrayaronson3753 Indeed...Indeed....R.I.P.

[@shicoff1398]

@@murrayaronson3753 A sad case, life ended before his prime days, not even 40 years old.

[@dennisroyhall121]

Fabulously magnificent! What a pity this Duo wasn’t filmed for posterity...for eternity…

[@lewissilvers5832]

Grace Moore was a movie star when I was very young and "under estimated" when it came t opera but she was my very first Tosca at the Old Met and- damn it- she was GLORIOUS!!!!

[@user-py1jg6bb2r]

Most outstanding rendition, passionate like burning fire, no more in today's opera stage, no longer the same. So much, deeply moving, thank you.

[@bigcity233]

I was first introduced to Joseph Schmidt's recordings listening to Carl Haas on WQXR in NY back in the 70's. Even as a college kid, I loved his recordings. He was a great singer.

[@soniablech8887]

a beautiful effortless tenor voice with no failure a pure diamond. shame died so young!

[@ShawDAMAN]

really enjoyed, thanks. great first recording to have... nice 'nuanced' singing from both

[@terrycrawford6199]

A joy to hear these two great singers - both cut short in their prime

[@opera888able]

Moore's voice had great expression and evenness of tone thruout it's range. And here she was at the height of her powers. Schmidt- well what can you say, he was a "freakish" talent. Beautifully matched with her in this. The audience certainly had a treat that night.

[@fritsvandermeer8018]

freakish?

[@angebrowne1730]

Frits van der Meer I'm sure it wasn't meant badly. Sometimes the word we want just won't come to mind and we use a word that we usually wouldn't. Note the inverted commas to show that.

[@hwh1946]

An old friend of mine studied voice with Thelma Votipka who sang at the Met for about 4 decades. She loved to tell stories about Grace Moore and her Hollywood good looks. Tiippy swore grace would always seduce the leading tenor before a performance and practically wear the guy out so she would look much better. True or not a great story.

[@hashatz]

The voices flow as from a fathom-less fountain.

[@wendyellini]

Melting ,both voices enrapture me to paradise ,Giacomo Puccini beautiful composition

[@fernhill36]

One of my favorite tenors. BEAUTIFUL! What a ringing,clear voice Schmidt had and such feeling. Thanks so much VtoV

[@GregorioSchachter1942]

He was my father's friend in Chernovitz Rumania at that Time.

[@bigcity233]

I was first introduced to Joseph Schmidt's recordings listening to Carl Haas on WQXR in NY back in the 70's. Even as a college kid, I loved his recordings. He was a great singer. I forgot to mention...how wonderful it must have been to have been able to hear this kind of music at Radio City Music Hall!

[@sozanmarshall2832]

First time im hearing them wonderful

[@65attila]

Stunning singing by both.BRAVI

[@allanjanik929]

Glorious. Much to be said for the idea that the future of the opera is in its past.

[@gschleidt]

Sweets for my soul. Thank you.

[@musclecity]

What was someone with a voice like this doing in a PRISON CAMP? The beast Humanity eats its own!

[@janelavie4115]

So you are saying that other people without great talent like Joseph Schmidt were ok to be in a prison camp?

[@2mising]

It was called Nazism.

[@legalusa]

His tragic end in 42 adds a poignant hue to his memory. One of the greatest voices ever.

[@angebrowne1730]

jane lavie I am sure he didn't mean it that way. No one would.

[@hwh1946]

@@janelavie4115 He was in a refugee camp.

[@Bobby1]

one of the best singers of his time and a great tragedy.......i love him

[@willcochrane4934]

I have always been in love with Grace Moore...

[@user-sd4kv9mi3n]

феноменальный тенор ,один из лучших за всю историю.

[@elkequenzer9408]

Die Stimme eines Engels wenn er singt laufen mir jedes mal die Tränen weil es mein Herz so berührt

[@elkegoldberg5733]

Elke Quenzer Jaaaa, mir auch!

[@murrayaronson3753]

And Grace Moore had a sad death also. She was killed in a plane crash in maybe 1947 or '48 near Copenhagen, Denmark. Swedish Prince Gustaf Adolf the father of the present King Carl XVI Gustaf was also a passenger on the same flight and met the same fate.

[@shicoff1398]

It was in 1947, yes a very sad awful tragic plane crash, it caused Moore's death and King Carl, as far as Schmidt, it's is so sad, as the man was Jewish and lived in a time where Europe was becoming a grave yard, and so he left Germany but left to late, the thing was he was in NY singing this concert in 1937, and should have never gone back to Berlin, but his manager, his uncle Mr. Leo Engle said, come back to Berlin soon, all is fine here, and he did, then when it grew bad politically for Jews, he left but it was already to late for him, and he was caught and taken and then placed in a Swiss internment camp, where he got sick and died in Nov. 1942 at age 38. he was only four foot ten but his voice was six feet tall in quality March 1904, - Nov. 1942. RIP. Joseph Schmidt Not to be forgotten .

[@hubertusheuel3693]

Einfach herrlich. Mensch, solche Sänger gibt es heute nicht mehr. Frei heraus: Und spenden sie des Beifalls Lohn Den Wundern deiner Kehle Hier ist nicht Körper, Raum, noch Ton Ich höre deine Seele.

[@elkegoldberg5733]

Hubertus Heuel Sie haben das ganz wunderbar erkannt! :)

[@lj5801]

Two magnificent voices lost too early: him of a heart attack while fleeing the Nazis; and her in a plane crash.

[@jamescorrigan9952]

My first hearing of Joseph Schmidt, so passionate, reminds me of John McCormack, that's just an initial impression!

[@laurielovett8849]

I am Irish JohnmcCormack was nothing like Shmidt. Schmidt was superb, McCormack was passable,just my opinion

[@angebrowne1730]

Beyond beautiful. So sensitive and flowing.

[@VinylToVideo]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/fYW9oYl6mb6laMU

[@angebrowne1730]

VinylToVideo Thank you. Amazing someone went to the trouble to do the dubbing for the missing part. Very pretty.

[@Delftai66]

What a blessing to hear this!

[@terrycloth6380]

Wonderful!

[@MrGer2295]

Wonderful voice ! Thank you so much :)

[@hermangaddy4361]

What a lovely pair. Joseph Schmidt was one of the singers I was advised to get in my ear for fusing falsetto and chest registers for a full bodied unforced upper register, in this performance the chest register is still overtaking the falsetto and we hear more falsetto than we are used to, but the tone is secure if lighter. Why haven't we heard more from this marvelous soprano? She and Lawrence make the definitive performance of Wanting You, but McDonald and Eddy have a chemistry that makes the song immortal. But why this does the record make such little reference to this enthralling, graceful, full throated, brilliant, first chair soprano.

[@amihalov]

i love it Great perfoemance ENJOY IT

[@harrietlyall1991]

These two singers are the most perfect fit to the music, and to each other’s voices. Sublime!

[@violetavalery]

wow! beautiful beautiful thanks!

[@sebreathnach]

Truely a pleasure! Thank you VinnyI

[@spelea]

Wonderful singing! Thanks for uploading!

[@nomoname6447]

Simply superb !

[@robertfosbery1]

wonderful voices you do not here today

[@robertfosbery1]

beautiful so pure

[@Julia-qf8eh]

My mum loved her singing.

[@henrygingercat]

One of the best performances ever.

[@dianavictoriaaljadeff5302]

Joseph Schmidt(1904-1942) and Grace Moore(1901-1947) were excelent.He was short and did few operas,but she was very famous in Hollywood when she made many films and was nominated for an Oscar for One night with love(She lost to Claudette Colbert for It happended that night).He was killed duringt the war and she died in a airplane crash in1947..Kathryn Grayson wa she in a film in the fifties.

[@VinylToVideo]

Don't forget Moore performed on stage at the Metropolitan Opera for years.

[@semsemeini7905]

Wow. How weird. they both died young in tragic circumstances. She was very beautiful.

[@dennisroyhall121]

Joseph Schmidt you say was killed in the war…Is this true or was his death brought about by sad and worse - abject - neglect by local authorities?

[@ferminsalaberri]

I just discovered Schmidt and his voice and I'm obsessed. Thank you very much for sharing this gems! I'll try to make a donation as soon as this situation clears up a little bit! Take care!

[@TV1Totoya]

So beautiful and relaxing.

[@johneppel5693]

Sublime.

[@tiggywinkle20]

Thank you Vto V. I endorse the other comments made and I adore Tauber as well as Joseph Schmidt. A lovely recording and Grace looks and sounds beautiful.

[@maryglover7600]

Beautiful voice full soul touching wondrful

[@angebrowne1730]

I had never heard of Grace before. Wish I had. What a very lovely voice.

[@VinylToVideo]

She was underrated, not taken seriously, and given a hard time for going into movies.

[@angebrowne1730]

VinylToVideo She was indeed underrated, wasn't she? Such a pity. How the public have missed out, too.

[@niconico7281]

que milagro tener estas grabaciones historicas!!! que pronto nos dejo Joseph Schmidt!!!

[@GregorioSchachter1942]

I have a photo from Joseph Schmidt win my fathe Carl Fishman in Chernovitz.

[@trudischleifer7245]

Gorgeous 👏

[@nicoletadandu2656]

Voci superbe!!! Pacat ca Joseph Schmidt a murit intr-un lagar de refugiati.A scapat de Gestapo dar n-a scapat de boala!!! Din cate stiu el habar n-avea de conturile care l-ar fi putut salva. Am vazut filmul " Ein Lied geht um die Welt" si cred ca e biografia acestui fantastic tenor din Cernauti. Era cam scund, dar putea sa ajunga cunoscut la nivel mondial. Iar cu Grace Moore se potriveste de minune!!

[@meinfb]

In her autobiography Ponselle had only good things to say about Grace Moore. She and Moore vacationed together at St Moritz and Ponselle liked her company. That Moore was fun loving and loved to generate publicity. Moore was looked down upon by many so called opera fans, not liking her show girl background.

[@richgoscicki1601]

I'll always have a spot in my heart for Grace Moore. When I was a young boy I saw "So This Is Love", the story of her life. She sang the Introduction Scene of La Boheme so beautifully that the melody haunted. I because an operatic lover 'til this day and now considered a connoisseur. To think she died in a plane crash at age 49 just as she was hitting the big time. Life isn't fair. Same for Joseph Schmidt. He was only five feet high but had one of the most magnificent voices in all Europe. Joseph Goebbels wanted to make him an honorary Nazi. No bull.

[@tobiolopainto]

Honorary Aryan.

[@johndavies1209]

It is that good it brings one to tears.

[@hankblaustein4149]

A jewel, to be sure!

[@robertwbecker]

Joseph Schmidt was a Great Singer! Based on this and many recordings and Photo Grace was not only a Great Singer,.,,, but a Real Hottie! Phew!

[@16francklyn]

Hottie? What do you mean?

[@johnclarke5459]

No! She LIKED Men!!!!

[@lecaprice2572]

The wonderful Grace Moore sadly passed in 1947 at the age of 48 in a tragic airplane crash near Copenhagen. I believe she was returning from a benefit concert in Sweden. The greatest American soprano sadly forgotten by an uncaring society.

[@dennisferrara6940]

He should have stayed here in the US and more radio performances with the General Motors Program would be available of his glorious voice!

[@jerrycritser9966]

And to think this was at the Radio City Music Hall. How times change....

[@ChristainSTARS]

Moore's voice is so sensuous.

[@JohnEllisThomas]

Another great tenor in the Heavenly Choir.

[@dianavictoriaaljadeff5302]

Yes.I know she was in both places during her career.She sang Mme Butterfly, La Boheme and many other operas. I talked only about her Hollywood years but she like Lawrence Tibbett,Rise Stevens,Lauritz Melchior,Ezio Pinza and Helen Traubel were at the Metropolitan Opera and in Hollywood too.

[@nicoletadandu2656]

(I'll try in English too.) Splendid voices, both of them! It's a pitty that Joseph Schmidt died in a refugee camp. He managed to escape from Gestapo, but he couldn't escape F illness. He was a rich man, but he didn't know his bank account in CH (according to tne movie Ein Lied geht um die Welt). That tenor from CERNAUTZI was only 1,65 m - a little bit short for a wide world career. But he has it NOW!!!

[@shicoff1398]

he died in a internment camp in Swiss, even though a neutral country he was running away from the Nazis as he was a Jew in Berlin then in 1942 so he left but caught and sent to a internment camp where he developed while working under poor conditions heart and possible TB, anyhow he died at age 38 in Nov. 1942. RIP. Yes s he was only four feet ten and 100 pounds but his voice was 7 feet tall in quality.

[@arankaneumann-kd1iv]

Az egyik legjobb tenor ! Nagy kár korai halála.🖤♥️🌹

[@ANTILOPE421]

mon papa avait raison, Joseph Schmidt était un ténor exceptionnel. Malheureusement il est mort fort jeune pendant la dernière guerre 40-45 dans un camps de prisonnier en Suisse.; c'est vraiment tragique. je l'écoute encore et toujours depuis le décès de mon papa. ANTILOPE41

[@321abcable]

Beautiful singing by both these incomparable singers, On the entrance to the top C in the aria Schmidt la las omitting the word speranza- I wonder why.

[@imatifoso2782]

It may have been that the sibilants interfered with what he wanted to project. Just guessing. Notice how your mouth forms when you say the "sp" and "z". Hard to keep the mouth open and sing those high notes. Don't know.

[@shicoff1398]

​@@imatifoso2782 He was more comfortable singing in German as he was German trained and few Germanic singers back then sang in Italian anyhow, his studio rec. of the aria is in German and also singers of that time that where German trained and based there , like Tauber, Melchior, Roswaenge all sang mostly in German even in Italian operatic arias, Schmidt did manage some French and Italian aria recordings and a couple of songs are in English and Spanish but mostly he sang in German of course, as most Italians then sang in Italian, even in non Italian opera's .

[@oldoperafan_in_London]

If only he had not returned from America to Europe then, never to be able to leave again.

[@oldoperafan_in_London]

Technically speaking, he died after having been released from an alien holding camp in Switzerland, in a small hotel he was staying at. He did not have the medical care he needed whilst there. This does not change the monstrous guilt, as he was captured by the Swiss, the cohorts of the Nazis, as part of restricted movement of Jews over Europe.

[@billsullivan3920]

+SHICOFF1 The great tragedy was that Schmidt, probably, thought he would be welcomed into the German speaking part of Switzerland. His radio programs, films, records and reputation made him famous. The work camp they put him into was an internment camp for Jews. There was some kindness in the the camp, but not outside. His voice lives on.

[@semsemeini7905]

It was because of his mother who was in Romania he came back.

[@davidsolomon8203]

Such clarity, such power, such beauty of voice! He died in a Nazi death camp!

[@archiebell4074]

David Solomon

[@amantedellopera1681]

I think it was in a swiss refugee camp

[@104gramophone]

Another 5 inch's taller and he would have been remembered by the masses as the great tenor that he was

[@angebrowne1730]

Steve C I suspect he wouldn't have been. The powers that be, particularly in Switzerland, wouldn't have wanted that country shamed for not being as neutral as they claimed. I bet that is the real reason he isn't more celebrated.

[@elliotportner8020]

Jaw I’m a cantor and very much a nether school of Josef vocally and I have all he recorded he died in auscwtz at 38

[@jackvanderheijden9160]

Heartbreaking, really lonely at the top !!!!!!

[@johnclarke5459]

Last memory of Miss Moore was her charred body lying on the tarmac! Thank you LIFE magazine. Any thing for a buck!!

[@vincekerrigan8300]

It's a great pity he didn't stay in America. His devotion to his mother, and I think perhaps a misplaced optimism as to the severity of the situation, led to his frequently returning to Germany. Once too often was his undoing.

[@mehnpepsteheu]

hat jemand die Rundfunkaufnahme von Peltz von Felinau ??? bitte runterladen

[@janennel9]

Yes, I have the record on vinyl!

[@dennisferrara6940]

It is a shame that either one actually recorded duets for the studio; of course, Grace Moore was with RCA-Victor and the tenor was with Parlophone/Decca. Victor never utilized her properly; only one duet with Richard Crooks, Without Your Love, 1934!

[@barbaraclark249]

did the swiss ever apologize for their treatment of him

[@thomasdarrenkirk1368]

Is it possible to obtain these recordings on cd ?

[@VinylToVideo]

This was released in the 90s on a series called "The Radio Years." I imagine it would be quite hard to find now.

[@angebrowne1730]

thomas darren Kirk If you read this after so long, there are lots of CD recordings transcribed. Just do a google search. Mind, maybe not with Grace but Enjoy those you do find :)

[@bindon8581]

Marvelous, memorable and historical. Not sure I like Grace's little girl voice attempt, but I suppose it fits the part. Preferable to Callas at any rate- unless you like shrill. [ that's upset both supporters of Moore and Callas in one! ] Not so sure Joseph didn't do a Mimi- didn't he have pneumonia or TB in Switzerland?

[@billsullivan3920]

+bin don - No. Joseph Schmidt, after his tour of the United States, still had a strong voice. When he returned to Europe, since he was a Jew, he tried to get into the neutral country of Switzerland. The Swiss, even though he was famous, put him into an internment camp for Jews and other displaced people. His heart weakened under the pressure and he died. There is some evidence that he continued to sing, but complained that the Swiss would not treat his chest pains. Great artists deserve a better end. Certain people should not make up stories.

[@oldoperafan_in_London]

+bin don Rather in poor taste, your last sentence.

[@user-bo8nb2mi]

While people were flocking to hear him and his sing in city music hall, more people were flocking to conspire killing him and his in city's other horror hall.

[@tomfroekjaer]

At least the Nazis did not manage to destroy the recordings of the "Jewish Caruso" ....

[@petergraham8681]

Schmidt, IMO, had the greatest lyric tenor voice (some spinto timbre at times as well) in Germany at this time & held this title until Fritz Wunderlich came along. There were other fine tenor voices during this time such as Peter Anders & Rudolf Schock but they could not quite match Schmidt’s unique timbre. Schmidt’s contemporary Richard Tauber had probably the most popularity then but his strength was his considerable charm in concert, radio & film appearances. Tauber’s voice, for me, was pleasant but not the instrument Schmidt had. For whatever reason, however, when Schmidt sings the high C he does so on an AH vowel rather than correct text that the note falls on. Otherwise his is a splendid performance & later I will check out Grace Moore in this same scene.

[@colinbrigham8253]

I like Joseph but he does not enunciate the top C in che geligda manina Grace is an absolute joy thank you 😊🇬🇧

[@gregnz2006]

what do you mean by enunciate?

[@michaelohalloran4568]

09

[@OPEROMANO]

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