Schwarzkopf was accepted into graduate studies at the Opera School, Berlin, and joined the semi-professional Favre Solistenvereinigung ensemble. Her debut at the Berlin Städtische Oper came in 1938, where within only 36 hours, she prepared for the role of the Second Flower Maiden in Parsifal. She studied later with Maria Ivogün to develop her true soprano range, and Michael Rauchiesen , Ivogün's husband, became Schwarzkopf's accompanist in lieder recitals.
From 1938 to 1940, she...