Monthly Archives: September 2024

Episode 289. Meet Vera Little

September 15, 2024African American Singers, Bel canto, Black History Month 2024, Forgotten Divas, Great Contraltos, Mezzo Madness, Needle Drop, NYCO Divas, Richard Strauss, Singers of Color, Twentieth Century Music, Twentieth Century OperaAlberto Erede, Andrès Wheatley, Anna Bolena, Anneliese Rothenberger, Barry McDaniel, Chester Kallman, Christoph von Dohnányi, Daphne, Die Bassariden, Eberhard Wächter, Euripides, Felice Romani, Florence Price, Gaetano Donizetti, Hans Werner Henze, Harry T. Burleigh, Helmut Reinold, Herbert Prikopa, Hilde Güden, Igor Stravinsky, Ingeborg Bachmann, Joseph Gregor, Karl Böhm, Kostas Paskalis, Loren Driscoll, Maria Bosse-Sporleder, Oscar Danon, Richard Strauss, Spirituals, Teresa Żylis-Gara, The Bassarids, The Rake’s Progress, Vera Little, Vera Little-Augustithis, W.H. Auden, Waldemar Kmentt, Wilhelm Hauff, William Hogarthcountermelody

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On Monday June 3, 2024, a new memorial plaque commemorating African American mezzo-soprano Vera Little (10 December 1928 – 24 October 2012) was unveiled at her former residence in Berlin’s Charlottenburg neighborhood. Little is remembered today as the first Black singer to appear as Carmen on the stage of Berlin’s Städtische Oper, soon to be renamed the Deutsche Oper Berlin. At the time of that appearance there were cries and protests about her hiring instead of an “equally capable” German singer. And yet, when Little returned to the stage of the Deutsche Oper in 1963, now singing the role of Amneris, she became one of the central singers in the ensemble of that company, being named a Kammersängerin there in 1970. This episode examines the life and career of Vera Little, from her birth in Memphis through her decades-long residence in Berlin. It is a fascinating, circuitous path, and one which is documented only sporadically on recording. On this episode, I play excerpts from Little’s only solo recording, a 1957 Decca records release of spirituals recorded in France, as well as her recordings on Deutsche Grammophon of Der junge Lord by Hans Werner Henze, and Richard Strauss’s Daphne. In addition, there are live recordings of Little singing Baba the Turk in Stravinsky’s The Rake’s Progress, Giovanna Seymour in Donizetti’s Anna Bolena, and Beroe in Henze’s Die Bassariden, which Little created in its 1966 world premiere at the Salzburg Festival. Vera Little was also an author, who published four books of memoir and poetry, and just yesterday I obtained a copy of her first book, 1978’s Tears in My Eyes, from which I read a number of excerpts. I had known Little’s name for decades, but had never fully explored her legacy before. It is here (and on an accompanying bonus episode) my honor and privilege to present a great (and somewhat forgotten) artist for your delectation. Today’s vocal guest stars include Kostas Paskalis, Hilde Güden, Anneliese Rothenberger, and Teresa Żylis-Gara.

Countermelody is a podcast devoted to the glory and the power of the human voice raised in song. Singer and vocal aficionado Daniel Gundlach explores great singers of the past and present focusing in particular on those who are less well-remembered today than they should be. Daniel’s lifetime in music as a professional countertenor, pianist, vocal coach, voice teacher, and journalist yields an exciting array of anecdotes, impressions, and “inside stories.” At Countermelody’s core is the celebration of great singers of all stripes, their instruments, and the connection they make to the words they sing. By clicking on the following link (https://linktr.ee/CountermelodyPodcast) you can find the dedicated Countermelody website which contains additional content including artist photos and episode setlists. The link will also take you to Countermelody’s Patreon page, where you can pledge your monthly support at whatever level you can afford.

Episode 288. Teresa Żylis-Gara Revisited

September 10, 2024Behind the Iron Curtain, Forgotten Divas, French Opera, Giacomo Puccini, Giuseppe Verdi, Great Tenors, In Memoriam, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, Richard Strauss, Richard Wagner, Twentieth Century Opera, Verismo, Wolfgang Amadeus MozartAbbé Prevost, Alexandre Dumas fils, Alfredo Kraus, Andrea Chénier, Antonio Somma, Ariadne auf Naxos, Auguste Barbier, Benvenuto Cellini, Berislav Klobučar, David Belasco, Die Zauberflöte, Emanuel Schikaneder, Eugène Scribe, Francesco Maria Piave, Franco Bonisolli, Giacomo Puccini, Gianfranco Masini, Gianluigi Gelmetti, Giuseppe Giacosa, Giuseppe Verdi, Hector Berlioz, Henri Meilhac, Henri Murger, Hugo von Hofmannsthal, Jacek Kaspszyk, James Levine, Jean Fournet, John Alexander, John Henry Long, José Carreras, Jules Massenet, La Boheme, La Traviata, Leif Segerstam, Léon de Wailly, Luciano Pavarotti, Luigi Illica, Manon, Peter Lindroos, Philippe Gille, Piero Visconti, Richard Strauss, Richard Wagner, Richard Woitach, Seiji Ozawa, Stanislaw Skrowaczewski, Tannhäuser, Teresa Żylis-Gara, Umberto Giordano, Un ballo in maschera, Wiesław Ochman, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Wolfgang Brendelcountermelody

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Today I revisit the life, career, and sumptuous voice of the great Polish soprano Teresa Żylis-Gara, who died three years ago on 28 August 2021 at the age of 91. The soprano was for the most part shockingly under-recorded, so I have scoured the internet for examples of her live in performance, and unearthed examples of her singing Wagner, Massenet, Puccini, Verdi, Strauss, Giordano, Mozart, and Berlioz with some divine tenorial counterparts including Franco Bonisolli, José Carreras, Luciano Pavarotti, John Alexander, Alfredo Kraus, Wiesław Ochman, Peter Lindroos, and Piero Visconti. I know I am not the only one who revels in the rich velvety timbre of Mme. Żylis-Gara, and each of the tenors heard alongside her presents her versatile voice in a different facet of its beauty.

Episode 287. Meet Hugo Hasslo

September 7, 2024Art Song, Bel canto, French Opera, Giacomo Puccini, Giuseppe Verdi, Great Baritones, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, Opera in Translation, Orchestral SongsAlexander Pushkin, Birgit Nordin, Bo Bergman, Camille du Locle, Cesare Sterbini, David Wikander, Die Zauberflöte, Don Carlos, E.T.A. Hoffmann, Edmon Badon, Eugen Onegin, Ferenc Koltay, Friedrich Schiller, Gaetano Donizetti, Giacomo Puccini, Gioachino Rossini, Giuseppe Adami, Gunnar Wennerberg, Henry Lindroth, Herbert Sandberg, Hugo Hasslo, Il barbiere di Siviglia, Il tabarro, Jacques Offenbach, Joseph Méry, Joseph-Philippe Simon, Jules Barbier, Les Contes d’Hoffmann, Lockroy, Maria di Rohan, Michel Carré, Nils Grevillius, Pierre Beaumarchais, Pyotr Il’yich Tchaikovsky, Rigoletto, Salvadore Cammarano, Sena Jurinac, Sixten Ehrling, Stig Westerberg, Victor Hugo, Wilhelm Schikaneder, Wilhelm Schüchter, Wilhelm Stenhammar, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Yevgeny Onegincountermelody

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Unless by some miracle you know him already, the Swedish baritone Hugo Hasslo (1911 – 1994), is almost certainly the greatest baritone you never heard of. I discovered him entirely by accident years ago when Tower Records was going out of business and I, like a jackal picking the carcass of an unfortunate water buffalo, grabbed up scads of opera and vocal CDs that other customers / scavengers had passed over. The second that I heard Hasslo’s voice, I knew I had discovered vocal gold. Initially it was the voice that impressed me the most: clarion yet dark-timbred, solid from bass-baritonal low range to an almost Heldentenor-like top (I was later to discover that Hasslo had dabbled in tenor repertoire, going so far as to sing Cavaradossi on stage!) But it was when I discovered a live 1959 recording of Hasslo singing the title role of Rigoletto with his home company, the Royal Swedish Opera, that I encountered his true greatness: here was a Rigoletto that combined the sheer animal power of a Bastianini with the dramatic insight of a Gobbi with an unmatched humanity and compassion for the character. And to think that, with few exceptions, his career, like that of a handful of other Swedish baritones from that era, was based almost entirely in Sweden, and at the Royal Opera, where he sang from 1940 to 1964. Here is a baritone considered by many cognoscenti to be perhaps the finest Swedish baritone that ever lived, a compleat artist, represented however by only a smattering of studio, live, and television recordings, which it is my honor to share with you. Welcome to the Hugo Hasslo Fan Club!

Episode 286. Julia Varady Revisited

September 3, 2024Art Song, Behind the Iron Curtain, Giuseppe Verdi, Great Baritones, Great Tenors, Happy Birthday, Lieder, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, Orchestral Songs, Richard Strauss, Twentieth Century Music, Twentieth Century OperaAlexander von Zemlinsky, Algis Zhuraitis, Ángel de Saavedra, Antonio Ghislanzoni, Aribert Reimann, Arrigo Boito, Béla Bartók, Bernd Weikl, Carlo Cossutta, Carlos Kleiber, Claus H. Henneberg, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Ernst von Wolzogen, Feuersnot, Francesco Maria Piave, Gerd Albrecht, Giuseppe Sinopoli, Giuseppe Verdi, Heinz Fricke, Julia Varady, Kurt Moll, La forza del destino, Lorin Maazel, Modest Tchaikovsky, Otello, Pyotr Il’yich Tchaikovsky, Rabindranath Tagore, Richard Strauss, Vladimir Atlantov, Wanda Gleiman, William Shakespeare, Zoltán Kodálycountermelody

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This week, the sublime Julia Varady celebrated her 83rd birthday, and here at Countermelody that is an occasion well worth commemorating and celebrating. I’m newly home in Berlin, but with a huge pile of “welcome home” stuff that I have to attend to, so this episode consists of bonus content that I published a year ago while I was (once again) in transit between my extended visit to the US and my return home to Berlin. It was a doozy of a trip (and not in a good way!) but this is a doozy of an episode in the best way possible. That Julia Varady could sing! And this episode presents numerous extended operatic excerpts, from Otello, Lear, Feuersnot, Pique-Dame, and Forza del destino, plus songs by Bartók, Zemlinsky, and Kodály, the latter of which in particular, an arrangement of a Hungarian folk song which offers a feminist spin on the Bluebeard story, will knock you on your ear!