He was born in Linz, Austria to Elisabeth Seiffert, an actress who played soubrette roles at the local theatre. His father, Richard Anton Tauber, also an actor, was not married to his mother and was unaware of the birth as he was touring America at the time.
Richard accompanied his mother on tour to various theatres but she found it increasingly difficult to cope, and in 1897 he was sent to school in Linz, when his father took over his upbringing. His father, who had a Jewish background but had converted to Catholicism, hoped that Richard would become a priest, but the boy missed the excitement of the theatre and instead joined his father in Prague, and subsequently in 1903 at the theatre in Wiesbaden. Richard hoped to become a singer but failed to impress any of the teachers he auditioned for, probably because he chose to sing Wagner, for which his voice was not suited. Consequently, his father entered him at the conservatory in Frankfurt-am-Main to study piano, composition and conducting, subjects which stood Tauber in good stead in later years. He made rapid progress but he still hoped to become a singer; whilst staying with friends at Freiburg he was heard by the well-known voice teacher Professor Carl Beines who encouraged him to sing more quietly and promised a good career as a Mozart tenor.
He made his debut before the public at a concert at Freiburg on 17 May 1912. In 1913 his father was appointed Intendant of both the Municipal and Stadt-Theater in Chemnitz and was therefore in a position to arrange for Richard to appear as Tamino in Die Zauberflöte (The Magic Flute) on Sunday, 2 March 1913. A few days later he played Max in Der Freischütz, a performance which was attended by Baron Seebach of the Dresden Opera and he offered Richard a five-year contract. 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 the Gounod Faust in 48 hours, Bacchus in Richard Strauss' Ariadne auf Naxos in an afternoon, and so on. People started to call him "the SOS Tenor".
In 1922, Tauber signed a 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 Wilhem Kienzl's Der Evangelimann. It was during this period that he began making the first of over seven hundred gramophone records, mainly for the Odeon Records label.
Tauber had a lyrical, flexible tenor voice, and he sang with a warm, elegant legato. His excellent breath control gave him a wonderful head voice and mezza-voce with a superb pianissimo. He was elegant in appearance too — although he had a slight squint in his right eye, he disguised it by wearing a monocle which, when accompanied by a top hat, added to the elegant effect. For many people he became the epitome of Viennese charm.
In 1924 he was offered the part of Armand in Franz Lehár's Frasquita at the Theater an der Wien, which was a huge success. This excursion into operetta was looked down on by some but it did Tauber no harm at all; in fact, it gave Tauber a new audience. Neither did it harm his voice as some had feared – Tauber was too fine a musician to indulge in poor vocal practices in pursuit of popularity. It also revived Lehár's flagging career as a composer of operetta, who composed several successful new works specifically for Tauber's voice and talent. These usually occurred in the second act and were informally known as Tauberlieder. When in Vienna, Tauber also conducted at the Theater an der Wien, and it was here that he met the soprano Carlotta Vanconti who soon divorced her Italian husband and married Tauber. They separated in 1928 and divorced two years later, by which time he had met Mary Losseff at Rudolf Nelson's review in Berlin. They lived together for about five years. Losseff became his muse; it was for her that he wrote Der singende Traum. Sadly, Losseff's career ended when she became an alcoholic, but Tauber remained her lifelong friend and supported her until his death.
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, probably 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. In the mid-thirties he made several musical films in England, and during one of these he met the English actress Diana Napier; they got married in 1936. In 1938 he made his London operatic debut in Die Zauberflöte under Sir Thomas Beecham. In that year, the Nazi government of Germany annexed Austria and the Taubers left Austria for good. In response, the Austrian government withdrew the Taubers' passports and right of abode; as this left them 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 early in 1940.
Despite receiving lucrative offers from the USA, he remained in the UK for the entire war. There was no opera staged in wartime Britain so he made a living by singing, conducting and making gramophone records and radio broadcasts. He even composed English operettas, together with the lyric writer Fred S. Tysh, from one of which, Old Chelsea, the song My Heart and I became one of his most popular English recordings. It was only these English records that brought him any royalties; for his earlier recordings he had been paid for each performance and he had been compelled to leave his savings behind in Austria. In 1947, Tauber sought medical attention for a persistent cough. He was diagnosed with lung cancer; one lung was already useless and the other nearly so.
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.
Lover Come Back to Me
Richard Tauber Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I let you
We broke the ties that bind
I wanted to forget you
And leave the past behind
Still, the magic of the night I met you
Seems to stay forever in my mind
And high above
The moon was new
And so was love
This eager heart of mine was singing
Lover where can you be
You came at last
Love had its day
That day is past
You've gone away
This aching heart of mine is singing
Lover come back to me
When I remember every little thing
You used to do
I'm so lonely
Every road I walk along
I walk along with you
No wonder I am lonely
The sky is blue
The night is cold
The moon is new
But love is old
And while I'm waiting here
This heart of mine is singing
Lover come back to me
When I remember every little thing
You used to do
I grow lonely
Every road I walk along
I walk along with you
No wonder I am lonely
The sky is blue
The night is cold
The moon is new
But love is old
And while I'm waiting here
This heart of mine is singing
Lover come back to me
The song "Lover Come Back to Me" by Richard Tauber is a love ballad that expresses the longing of a separated lover. The opening lines, "You went away, I let you, we broke the ties that bind," suggest that the separation was a mutual decision, but the singer is now regretting it. The past seems to be haunting him even after trying to forget the past and leave the memories behind.
The following lines describe the night they met, where the sky was blue, the moon was new, and love was in the air. The singer's heart was singing, "Lover, where can you be?" This suggests that he has been looking for that special love again or longing for their reunion.
The chorus repeats the same phrase, "Lover come back to me," twice, expressing the pain and yearning for the lover's return. The last two verses of the song show the lover's current state of loneliness, where every road he walks along, he walks along with his lover, even though she is not with him. The line "but love is old" reflects the timeless nature of love and implies that their love may never truly dissipate.
Overall, the song's lyrics capture the emotions of separation and longing for reunification. The words express a deep pain and desire for their love to be rekindled, which many listeners can relate to.
Line by Line Meaning
You went away
You left me
I let you
I allowed you to go
We broke the ties that bind
We separated from each other
I wanted to forget you
I wished to erase you from my memory
And leave the past behind
And move forward without looking back
Still, the magic of the night I met you
However, the enchantment of the evening I first saw you
Seems to stay forever in my mind
Still remains endlessly in my thoughts
The sky was blue
The sky was vivid
And high above
And far up
The moon was new
The moon was just born
And so was love
And so was my affection for you
This eager heart of mine was singing
My excited heart was singing
Lover where can you be
My love, where are you?
You came at last
You finally arrived
Love had its day
Our love had its time
That day is past
That time has gone
You've gone away
You left
This aching heart of mine is singing
My heart that's full of pain is singing
Lover come back to me
My beloved, return to me
When I remember every little thing
Whenever I recall every single detail
You used to do
You used to perform
I'm so lonely
I feel so isolated
Every road I walk along
Every path I walk through
I walk along with you
I imagine you walking next to me
No wonder I am lonely
No surprise that I'm alone
The night is cold
The evening is chilly
But love is old
But my love for you is long-lasting
And while I'm waiting here
And as I stay here waiting
This heart of mine is singing
My heart is singing
Lover come back to me
My beloved, return to me
Lyrics © CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: OSCAR HAMMERSTEIN, II, OSCAR II HAMMERSTEIN, SIGMUND ROMBERG
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@stewartgellatly8073
This is by far the very best rendition of this lovely song.
@baghend
The classic torch song, wonderfully played. Tauber gives such heart to his performances always, and I could listen to him sing these old favourites all day. And the next day. No one could hit a more gentle or lovely high note, and the ochestration and arrangements were always stellar. Damn I regret never having heard him in person, and regret even more that there is no talent like this today. None. Competent singers perhaps, but no one with the feeling for a song that Tauber had. Sigh.
@Elagabus
Never heard this version of Richard Tauber singing this beautiful melody. Thanks so much bsgs98.
@104gramophone
Ace the one our greatest tenors
@baghend
@bsgs98 Thanks for writing. Nice to know there are folks out there who appreciate classics like Tauber. Charming, yes. And I believe, according to various sources, he was very charming to many ladies. Makes me like him even more. my real name is Bill and thanks again for taking the time to write.
@Arizona22Rose
I AM IN HEAVEN......THANK YOU!!
@sylviawillink4717
Herrliche warme Stimme!!
@baghend
@rogharm Sorry- I'm a real dinosaur when it comes to technology- other than pounding it I'm helpless. Sad isn't it? Taubers "We'll Gather Lilacs" and "When Day is Done" still bring me to tears. Richard Crooks is wonderful as well- "Song of Songs" and "Tell Me Tonight" especially -many others. We're so fortunate to have Utube and generous people who devote their time and talents to post. Best thing on the net. - you might need some pro help with the Windows. Cost a bit but worth it. -Bill
@baghend
@rogharm Yes, you're right. And tastes, with the times, do change. I do like Hampson. Any one else that you would suggest I should be listening to? I'm not up very much on popular culture.
@MaxB6851
If you like Richard Tauber try finding Harry Secomb's tracks he has a similar voice. You wouldn't think he was the same chap who was on the Goons Show.