The following is an article written by Joubero Malherbe and published in Musicus 21.2 of 1993. It was written in Afrikaans, and translated into English by myself – Andre Wium.
BABSITA MOOLMAN-CLAASSENS
I am standing in Adderley Street at the front entrance to the Cape Town train station, and I am waiting and waiting and waiting.
In a red motorcar at the side entrance to the station sits a woman, and she is waiting and waiting and waiting.
Eventually a red car stops sharply in front of me. “Are you Joubero Malherbe?” asks the very attractive lady. “Yes,” I answer. She continues, “I have been waiting for you for almost half an hour!” “And I have been waiting half an hour for you,” I answer, “– you must be Babsita Moolman?”
So, it is with a big misunderstanding that my treasured friendship with this singer began. It was only when we arrived at her apartment in Seepunt that I could regard this smartly dressed woman. I had a rough idea about her age, but in front of me stood a slim figure who looked at least ten years younger than her real age. When she opened her front door I immediately notice the Irma Stern amongst other original paintings. The beautiful antiques, fine glassware and old silverware could easily have given the atmosphere of a museum – but not at the home of Babsita Moolman-Claassens – it rather radiated the warmth of an elegant lifestyle.
To sit down for dinner at Babsita is a real treat – she is an outstanding cook who presents every meal with good taste. It is no surprise then that she assisted Pieter Veldsman, the well-known epicure, in putting together a Cookbook that was released at the Nico Malan Theatre. But I actually requested the interview to talk about her singing career. There must still be many music lovers who remember her crystal-clear dramatic soprano voice, but not heard much during the last few years. All the recordings of this unique voice that I could find were damaged, and it was only recently that a friend of hers located a few more. When we started talking, we just could not stop – her wonderful past unfolded like an opera…
Babsita Moolman hails from the Upington district from a farm with the descriptive name Raaswater [Noisy Water]. As a family they loved music, and in the evenings, with her sister at the piano, her mother with the violin under her chin, and Babsita and her brother singing, they enjoyed making music together. “Yes,” she laughs, “even my father joined in on the small autoharp.”
Babsita’s father was a member of the Land Council and had to go to Cape Town often for meetings. He always returned with the latest gramophone records. Once he returned proudly with whole of Puccini’s La Boheme under his arm. “To me it was the most beautiful music,” says Babsita, “and later I could sing along with all of the opera.” Her mother realised then that Babsita possessed an extraordinary voice, and insisted that she go to Berlin to study singing. So, Babsita and her father went to Berlin together. There she saw La Boheme for the first time on stage. “I could not hold back my tears – I never imagined it could be so beautiful.” From then on, nothing could hold her back.
In addition to her singing lessons at the Conservatoire, she also joined the famous Kittel Choir. A gentleman with the name of Albrecht Lewald was also a member of the choir, and he later became a well-known singing teacher in Pretoria. Amongst other places, this choir sang in Italy and also the Pleyel Hall and the Bois de Bologne in Paris. It may sound hard to believe, but Babsita says that the orchestra and their choir, under the direction of Wilhelm Furtwängler, had to perform Beethoven’s 9th Symphony one night for just three persons in the whole audience – Goebbels, Göring and Hitler! Erna Berger (soprano) and Margaretha Klose (alto) were two of the soloists who, like the choir, suffered because Furtwängler conducted at a very fast tempo. “When we came to the words Ihr stürtzt nieder, we all whispered to each other, Yes, us too…” laughs Babsita.
She stayed in Berlin for eight years, but when the clouds of war gathered in 1939, she went to Denmark to catch a ship to South Africa – but the ship never showed up. So, together with diplomats (including Dr Gie), she and Ester Mentz (soprano, and later the wife of Gideon Roos) went to Stockholm.
At that time, Julia Claussen, an outstanding singing teacher (earlier from the MET in New York), lived in Stockholm, and Babsita decided to knock on her door. Julia soon realised that Babsita’s voice had a more dramatic quality, and started to develop her voice. A fellow student, who always had his lesson just before her, was none other than Jussi Björling. In the five years that she stayed in Sweden she frequently gave concerts and performed smaller roles in opera.
After the war, she returned for a short while to South Africa where she performed in concerts and radio broadcasts. But she soon went back to Europe – this time to Italy. There, she and two friends ended up on a train with third class tickets. After a while they could not stand it any longer amongst the chickens and wine-drinking men, so they sneaked into a higher class carriage. When the angry ticket official discovered them, they pretended to be important: “But Signor, don’t you know that this lady is a Prima Donna from the opera house in Berlin?” When he refused to believe them, Babsita cut loose with ‘Perché, perché Signor’ and other operatic pieces. In Italy, that is a sure way to a man’s heart, and he took them to a lovely compartment straight away.
Her first singing teacher in Italy was probably the most famous Scarpia of his time – Riccardo Stracciari. He was very impressed with her voice. This true gentleman, who always gave lessons dressed in a full suit, prepared her for the role of Tosca. But just before she cold make her debut, he passed away. Franchi, who according to others was quite choosy in accepting students, then took her in. One evening, while she was busy with a lesson, the phone rang: “Franchi, my Tosca is ill – do you have another Tosca for me?” When Franchi turned and asked Babsita: “Will you sing Tosca in 14 days time with Gigli?” she could not believe her ears. “Yes, I would dearly love to, but I’m not sure that he would want to!”
And so it happened that a girl from Upington sang the role of Tosca opposite Gigli in the San Carlo Theatre in Naples. It was her co-repetiteur, who accompanied Puccini’s students, who gave her one of the nicest compliments she ever received: “Signora, Puccini would have been happy to hear your voice. He would have said that you have something in your voice that brings tears to the eyes.” “Please don’t publish this”, asked Babsita with a hint of sadness around her mouth.
But such a wonderful story must be told – so please forgive me, my dear friend with the inextinguishable spirit, with her love for dressing with taste, and the enthusiasm, even when the Southeaster blows holes through your hair, to go outside and say: “Stuff the wind, let’s go and see what goes on by the seaside!”
