In 1958, she appeared as ‘Berlin's first black Carmen’ at the Städtische Oper Berlin in the Theater des Westens, a sensation at the time. The premiere was a great success, Vera Little was a vocal powerhouse. However, her casting also provoked critical reactions: booing and shouts of ‘Little go home’ - racist discrimination accompanied her throughout her life, but she never let it take away her joy in her artistic work or her love for her fellow human beings.

Vera Little was born in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1927. As a child, she came into contact with music at an early age through her parents; her father was a trombonist in the church and she learnt to play the piano from her mother. After studying singing at Talladega College in Alabama, the mezzo-soprano travelled to Paris on a Fulbright scholarship in 1952 and from then on sang her way through Europe.

From 1963 to 1989, Vera Little was a member of the Deutsche Oper ensemble and took on all the important mezzo-soprano roles in the repertoire, such as Ulrica in Verdi's UN BALLO IN MASCHERA, La Cieca in Ponchielli's LA GIOCONDA and the Nurse in Tchaikovsky's EUGENE ONEGIN. She became an internationally sought-after opera diva, singing with Birgit Nilsson and Plácido Domingo and appearing at La Scala, the Vienna State Opera and the Salzburg Festival. She can also be heard in contemporary operas such as Hans Werner Henze's BASSARIDS and THE YOUNG LORD. 

Despite numerous guest appearances at major theatres around the world, Berlin remained her home. In 1970, she was appointed Berlin Kammersängerin, and from 1977 to 2010 she lived in Charlottenburg. Vera Little-Augustithis died on 24 October 2012 in a facility for senior citizens. We remember her big heart and big voice with great gratitude. 

The Senate Department for Culture and Social Cohesion is commemorating the opera singer Vera Little with a memorial plaque. Berlin's Senator for Culture Joe Chialo and the journalist Vera Block, who researches and publishes on Vera Little's life, will be among those speaking at the unveiling ceremony for the plaque on Monday, 3 June 2024 at 4.00 pm at Witzlebenstraße 33, 14057 Berlin-Charlottenburg. The event is open to the public.