Christa Schwertsik (born 1941) is an

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

n singer, actress, director and university lecturer.

Life and career

Schwertsik attended grammar school in Vienna and then studied psychology at the

University of Vienna The University of Vienna (, ) is a public university, public research university in Vienna, Austria. Founded by Rudolf IV, Duke of Austria, Duke Rudolph IV in 1365, it is the oldest university in the German-speaking world and among the largest ...

. She received her vocal training from Hedda and Edwin Szamosi and Ruthilde Boesch. She also took acting lessons from

Dorothea Neff Dorothea Neff (21 February 1903 – 27 July 1986) was a Vienna stage actress during the 1930s. Neff helped hide her Jewish friend Lilli Wolff, after she received resettlement orders from the Nazis to leave Vienna. To confuse the Gestapo, Neff wrot ...

and

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Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

. As a singer, actress and reciter, she has had numerous appearances and concerts at home and abroad - especially with songs and chansons of the 20th century - at the

Berliner Festspiele The Berliner Festspiele (German language, German for Berlin Festivals) in Berlin organise and stage a large number of independent festivals as well as exhibitions and individual events in the fields of music, theatre, performance, dance, literat ...

Vienna Festival The Vienna Festival (Wiener Festwochen) is a culture festival that takes place in Vienna for five or six weeks in May and June every year. The Vienna Festival was established in 1951, when Vienna was still occupied by the Participants in World W ...

Bregenzer Festspiele Bregenzer Festspiele (; Bregenz Festival) is a performing arts festival which is held every July and August in Bregenz in Vorarlberg (Austria). It features a large floating stage which is situated on Lake Constance. History The Festival becam ...

Wien Modern Wien Modern is a modern music festival in Vienna, Austria that was founded by Claudio Abbado in 1988. It was created with the intent of revitalizing the traditional music scene of Vienna. Friedrich Cerha, Johannes Maria Staud, Mark Andre, Wolfg ...

, Aspekte Salzburg and Almeida Festival London among others, as well as at the Musica Nova Festival Brisbane. Since 1986 she has presented numerous musical and theatrical solo programs. From 1984, Schwertsik taught for many years at the

University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna The University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna (, abbreviated MDW) is an Austrian university established in 1817 located in Vienna. With a student body of over three thousand, it is the largest institution of its kind in Austria, and one of t ...

. Another focus of her work was family productions, where she took part in theater productions with her daughters

Julia Julia may refer to: People *Julia (given name), including a list of people with the name *Julia (surname), including a list of people with the name *Julia gens, a patrician family of Ancient Rome *Julia (clairvoyant) (fl. 1689), lady's maid of Qu ...

and Katharina Stemberger and her husband

Kurt Schwertsik Kurt Schwertsik (born 25 June 1935) is an Austrian contemporary composer. He is known for creating the "Third Viennese School" and spreading contemporary classical music. Life Schwertsik was born in Vienna. A pupil of Joseph Marx and Karl Schis ...

. "Liebe in dunklen Zeiten" from

Yehoshua Sobol Yehoshua Sobol, sometimes written Joshua Sobol (; born 24 August 1939), is an Israeli playwright, writer, and theatre director. Biography Yehoshua Sobol was born in Tel Mond. His mother's family fled the pogroms in Europe in 1922 and his father' ...

or "Mütter" from Franz Wittenbrink. In addition, she took part in numerous readings, radio and television productions, as well as record and CD recordings and carried out her own directing work.einmaligesgastspiel.at: Christa Schwertsik
retrieved 5 December 2020

Personal life

Schwertsik's first marriage was to tropical medicine specialist Heinrich Stemberger. They had three daughters, Julia, Katharina and Ina Stemberger. She married composer Kurt Schwertsik in 1972,Salzburger Nachrichten vom 25. Juni 2015: Musik als intellektuelle Reise: Kurt Schwertsik wird 80
retrieved 5 December 2020 with whom she lives and works in Vienna.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Schwertsik, Christa 1941 births Living people Austrian stage actresses Austrian film actresses Audiobook narrators Academic staff of the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna 20th-century Austrian actresses 21st-century Austrian actresses