Monthly Archives: March 2025

Episode 346. Olive Middleton and La Puma (Alternate Universe Bel Canto)

March 30, 2025Alternate Universe Bel Canto, Bel canto, Comic Relief, Forgotten Divas, Giacomo Puccini, Giuseppe Verdi, Interview, Listeners' Favorites, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, Queer Pride, Richard Wagner, Singers in Old Age, Verismo, Voiceless WondersAdriana Lecouvreur, Alberta Masiello, Amilcare Ponchielli, Andrea Chénier, Bill Yearwood, Cavalleria Rusticana, Danilo di Pena, Die Walküre, Francesco Cilea, Giacomo Puccini, Giuseppe Verdi, Il Trovatore, Josephine La Puma, La Gioconda, La Puma Opera Company, Mario Leone, Norma, Olive Middleton, Pietro Mascagni, Richard Wagner, Thomas Bagwell, Tosca, Umberto Giordano, Un ballo in maschera, Vincenzo Bellinicountermelody

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Hello, Campers! Once again it is April Fool’s Day, which means that here at Countermelody, we’re doing another in my “Alternate Universe Bel Canto” series. This year the featured diva is Olive Middleton, still remembered by a certain kind of opera lover who adores fearless singers who throw caution, technique, and discretion to the winds. In the case of Middleton, she became, late in life, the lead soprano of the La Puma Opera Company (officially titled the La Puma Opera Workshop), where she fearlessly undertook the most challenging soprano roles of the operatic repertoire. Today, as last year, I am joined by my friend the redoubtable Thomas Bagwell, whose love of bad taste and cringe-worthy artistic expression surpasses even mine. We have a rollicking conversation about Middleton, interspersed with choice live selections from La Puma in the 1960s. Along the way, we discuss the “so bad it’s good” phenomenon and its manifestations in film, on stage, and on the printed page, including an abominably bad poem about Olive that Thomas specifically for this episode. In the end, we arrive at many conclusions, first and foremost that singers like Middleton were motivated, in the words of John Ardoin, “a love for singing, a love for music, a love for her audience. She disperses this primary element in unstinting fashion, sharing with her public a devotion to and pursuit of art that is surely without parallel.” If you have not yet experienced the force of nature (and mind over matter) that is Olive Middleton, you are in for a listening experience like none you have ever had!

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 or yearly support at whatever level you can afford.

Episode 345. A Lenten Litany of Bach Contraltos

March 28, 2025African American Singers, Black History Month, Black History Month 2025, Forgotten Divas, Full-Figured Baroque, Great Contraltos, Great Tenors, Holiday Music, Johann Sebastian Bach, Listeners' Favorites, Mezzo Madness, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, Singers in Old Age, Singers of ColorAdolf Bruck, Aldo Baldin, Alfreda Hodgson, Anna Reynolds, Arleen Augér, Birgit Finnilä, Brigitte Fassbaender, Carol Brice, Carolyn Watkinson, Charles O’Connell, Christian Friedrich Henrici, Craig Smith, Daniel Saidenberg, Diethard Hellmann, Easter Oratorio, Elena Obraztsova, Else Brems, Friedel Beckmann, Günther Ramin, György Lehel, Helmut Winschermann, Helmuth Rilling, Jennie Tourel, Johann Sebastian Bach, Johannes-Passion, John Newmark, Julia Hamari, Karl Richter, Kathleen Ferrier, Lorraine Hunt Lieberson, Marian Anderson, Matthäus-Passion, Mogens Wöldike, Norma Lerer, Osteroratorium, Peter Schreier, Philip Ledger, Picander, Ria Bollen, Samuel Mayes, St. John Passion, St. Matthew Passioncountermelody

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Over the course of the past year, I have done a number of episodes on contraltos singing a wide range of material. Toward the end of last year, I did a program on Bach contraltos, which featured just a few of the best (and my favorite) contraltos in this genre. At the time, I had an overflowing cornucopia of material and today I have reorganized and expanded that material to bring you a set of Bach arias particularly appropriate for the Lenten Season. And thus I present to you today, arias from the Passions sung by Julia Hamari, Marian Anderson (pictured), and Friedel Beckmann, but also cantata arias by such eminent contraltos as Kathleen Ferrier, Lorraine Hunt Lieberson, Carol Brice, Jennie Tourel, Carolyn Watkinson, Ria Bollen, Brigitte Fassbaender, Norma Lerer, Alfreda Hodgson, Birgit Finnilä, Elena Obraztsova (yes, you read correctly!), Anna Reynolds, and Else Brems. Non-contralto guest appearances include Arleen Augér, Peter Schreier, and Aldo Baldin. If you are not a Christian, fear not, for behold, there is much in Bach’s music that draws the listener in on any number of levels, not just (or even primarily) a theological one.

Episode 344. Mady Mesplé Revisited

March 24, 2025Bel canto, Forgotten Divas, French Opera, Great Tenors, Happy Birthday, In Memoriam, Listeners' Favorites, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, Opera in Translation, Operetta, Orchestral Songs, Queer Pride, Rescue Mission, Twentieth Century Music, Twentieth Century Opera, Wolfgang Amadeus MozartAlbert Roussel, Ariadne auf Naxos, Auguste Bosc, Chang-Chi, Charles Gounod, Claude Debussy, Dalton Baldwin, Erik Satie, ETA Hoffmann, Francis Poulenc, Franck Pourcel, Georges Millandy, Henri-Pierre Roché, Herbert Giles, Hugo von Hoffmansthal, Jacques Offenbach, Janine Micheau, Janine Reiss, Jean Cocteau, Jésus Etchéverry, Johann Strauss II, Jules Barbier, La Dame de Monte-Carlo, Lakmé, Léo Delibes, Léon-Paul Fargue, Louis Aragon, Mado Robin, Mady Mesple, Marius Constant, Marius Dillard, Maurice Ravel, Michel Carré, Nicolai Gedda, Paul Gravollet, Paul Verlaine, Philippe Capdenat, Pierre Dervaux, Pierre Varenne, René Dommange, Richard Strauss, Roger Désormière, Roméo et Juliette, Socrate, William Shakespearecountermelody

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This past March 7 would have been the 94th birthday of the great French coloratura soprano Mady Mesplé. This episode begins a new series of episodes devoted to “Queens of the Night,” the surprisingly wide variety of sopranos who at one time or another sang this role. After a sampling of Mesplé singing this role (in French), we also hear back to back comparisons with Janine Micheau (Mesplé’s teacher) and Mado Robin (one of Mesplé’s most famous predecessors); a Gounod duet with Nicolai Gedda; a stunning avant garde showpiece composed expressly for Mesplé; a series of mélodies by Debussy, Roussel and Ravel; a live late-career performance of Poulenc’s final composition, the dramatic monologue La Dame de Monte-Carlo; an effervescent live 1969 performance of Zerbinetta’s aria; and a deeply moving recording of La Mort de Socrate by Erik Satie. Further proof, if such were needed, of Mesplé’s versatility, virtuosity, and profound musicianship and humanity.

Episode 343. Over-the-Top Sopranos, French Edition

March 21, 2025African American Singers, Bel canto, Black History Month 2025, Forgotten Divas, French Opera, Great Tenors, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, NYCO Divas, Opera in Translation, Rescue Mission, Singers of Color, VerismoAbbé Prevost, Alain Guignal, Alfred Blau, Anatole France, Andrée Esposito, Armand Silvestre, Brigitte Desnoues, Camille du Locle, Carol Neblett, Charles Gounod, Charles Grandmougin, Charlotte Tirard, Denia Mazzola Gavazzeni, Denis Pyramus, Elisabeth Rethberg, Émile Deschamps, Erich Ortmann, Ernest Reyer, Esclarmonde, Eugène Morand, Eugène Scribe, Franco Coppola, François Ruhlmann, Françoise Pollet, Frédéric Mistral, Fromental Halévy, Gaetano Merola, Georges Bizet, Gérard de Nerval, Germaine Lubin, Giacomo Meyerbeer, Giovanni Martinelli, Grisélidis, Hélène Parraguin, Henry Bataille, Henry Defosse, Jacques Mercier, Jean Périsson, Jean-Luc Viala, Jean-Philippe Courtis, Jules Adnis, Jules Barbier, Jules Massenet, Jules-Henri de Saint-Georges, Knud Anderson, La jolie fille de Perth, La lépreuse, La Reine de Saba, La Vierge, Les Huguenots, Louis de Gramont, Louis Gallet, Louis Hasselmans, Madeleine Sibille, Manon, Marcel Wittrisch, Margarete Teschemacher, Mariella Devia, Mattiwilda Dobbs, Michel Carré, Michèle Command, Miguel Villabella, Mireille, Nibelungenlied, Ninon Vallin, Patrick Fournillier, Philippe Gille, René Maison, Roméo et Juliette, Rosa Ponselle, Sylvio Lazzari, Thaïs, Thomas Beecham, Walter Scott, William Shakespearecountermelody

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As a follow-up to my Mezzos on the Verge series, which seemed to resonate with so many of you, today I present the first in a new ongoing series, Over-the-Top Sopranos. As I first began exploring this repertoire, my first thoughts were focused on Italian repertoire. But then I gave myself the challenge of focusing on the French style instead, thinking that I would not have as easy a time of it. Was I ever wrong! There is such a profusion French (and non-French) singers going to the brink with life or death performances of French music that thrills one to the core. Naturally I focus on familiar composers of both French grand opera (Meyerbeer, Halévy, Gounod) and opéra-comique (Massenet, Bizet) but, as always with Countermelody, there are repertoire surprises along the way, including operas by Ernest Reyer and Sylvio Lazzari. And the wealth of sopranos heard here boggles the mind: again ranging from favorites such as Ninon Vallin, Rosa Ponselle, Mariella Devia, Germaine Lubin, Elisabeth Rethberg, and Carol Neblett, to such lesser-known lights as Andrée Esposito, Françoise Pollet, Madeleine Sibille, Mattiwilda Dobbs, Charlotte Tirard, and Margarete Teschemacher, alongside many others. This is the kind of episode I absolutely love to produce, one rich in both discoveries and old favorites, performed by old and new favorites. Goûtez-vous-en!

Episode 342. Norman Bailey Revisited

March 17, 2025Art Song, Giuseppe Verdi, Great Baritones, In Memoriam, Lieder, Listeners' Favorites, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, Opera in Translation, Rescue Mission, Richard Strauss, Richard Wagner, Twentieth Century MusicAnton Guadagno, Arlene Saunders, Carol Neblett, Charles Mackerras, Der fliegende Holländer, Die Liebe der Danae, Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, Die Walküre, Dorothy Donnelly, Eduard Mörike, Falstaff, Galina Vishnevskaya, Geoffrey Parsons, Giuseppe Verdi, Hilaire Belloc, Hugo von Hofmannsthal, Hugo Wolf, James Lockhart, John Constable, Josef Gregor, Julius Rudel, Macbeth, Margaret Curphey, Mark Elder, Montserrat Caballé, Norman Bailey, Otto Klemperer, Peter Warlock, Ralph Vaughan Williams, Reginald Goodall, Richard Strauss, Robert Louis Stevenson, Robin Stapleton, Salome, Sigmund Romberg, The Student Prince, Wiesław Ochman, William Barnes, William Wildermanncountermelody

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The British bass-baritone Norman Bailey (23 March 1933 – 15 September 2021) was one of the premier Wagner singers of his generation, appearing in his signature roles (Hans Sachs, the Dutchman, and Wotan, among others) at the most prestigious festival and with the most distinguished opera companies around the world. He was also celebrated for his Verdi and Strauss portrayals and was an skillful, intuitive, and communicative recitalist. In this refurbished bonus episode, he is heard in operatic scenes by all three of those composers, and additionally as a big-voiced miniaturist in songs by Peter Warlock, Ralph Vaughan Williams, and Hugo Wolf. “Guest stars” in the operatic excerpts (from Walküre, Macbeth, Holländer, Salome, Falstaff, Die Liebe der Danae, and The Mastersingers of Nuremberg) include Galina Vishnevskaya, Margaret Curphey, Carol Neblett, Arlene Saunders, and Montserrat Caballé, conducted by Otto Klemperer, Julius Rudel, Alexander Gibson, Anton Guadagno, Reginald Goodall, and Charles Mackerras.

Episode 341. Robert Massard Revisited

March 14, 2025Bel canto, French Opera, Giacomo Puccini, Giuseppe Verdi, Great Baritones, Great Tenors, Happy Birthday, Listeners' Favorites, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, Opera in Translation, Operetta, Rescue Mission, VerismoA. Royer, Agnès Adam, Alain Vanzo, Alexandre Dumas, Andrea Chénier, Antonio Somma, Armand Bernard, Arrigo Boito, Bruno Amaducci, Camille du Locle, Camille Rouquetty, Carlo Cambiaggio, Carlo Pepoli, Cavalleria Rusticana, Cesare Sterbini, Charles-Gaspard Delestre-Poirson, Don Carlos, Don Procopio, Édouard Duprez, Erasmo Ghiglia, Eugène Scribe, Falstaff, Faust, Francesco Maria Piave, Friedrich Schiller, G. Vaëz, Gabriel Bacquier, Gaetano Donizetti, Georges Bizet, Georges Pretre, Georges Sébastian, Giacomo Puccini, Gianfranco Rivoli, Gioachino Rossini, Giovanni Targioni-Tozzetti, Giovanni Verga, Giuseppe Giacosa, Giuseppe Verdi, Guido Menasci, Henri Meilhac, Henri Murger, Henry Brougham Farnie, I Puritani, Il barbiere di Siviglia, J.L. Caussou, J.Y. Lamare, Jacques Scellier, Jacques-François Ancelot, Jésus Etchéverry, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Joseph Méry, Joseph Xavier Saintine, Jules Barbier, La Boheme, Le Comte Ory, Ludovic Halévy, Luigi Illica, Maria Callas, Michel Carré, Michel Forel, Otello, Paul Ferrier, Paul Milliet, Peter Glossop, Philippe Gille, Pierre Beaumarchais, Pietro Mascagni, Prosper Mérimée, Renée Doria, Reynald Giovaninetti, Rip (Planquette), Robert Massard, Robert Planquette, Roberto Benzi, Umberto Giordano, Victor Hugo, Vincenzo Bellini, Vittorio Gui, Walter Scott, William Shakespearecountermelody

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A year and a half ago, I posted an episode on Robert Massard, the finest French baritone of his era, and one of the finest French baritones of all time. Today, in honor of his upcoming hundredth birthday later this year, I present him in a different repertoire (and therefore a different light). As was very much the custom of the day in French opera houses, Massard sang many of his non-French roles in translation. This was also very much the standard in German-language opera houses in the 50s and 60s. Massard’s recorded legacy includes Italian operas sung in the original language as well as in French translation. No matter what language he was singing in, Massard was a master of bel canto as well as buffo patter. This episode includes arias and duets from Il barbiere di Siviglia, I Puritani, Lucie de Lammermoor, Le Comte Ory, La Traviata, Don Carlos, Un bal masque, La bohème, Cavalleria rusticana, and Andrea Chénier, as well as extended scenes from both Rigoletto (in and out of French!) and Falstaff. I also include a clip of Massard’s contemporary and compatriot Gabriel Bacquier singing an excerpt of one of his greatest Verdi parts, Iago in Otello. Massard’s vocal colleagues in these excerpts include Alain Vanzo, Peter Glossop, and Renée Doria.

Episode 340. Roberta Alexander: Dutch Treat

March 10, 2025African American Singers, Art Song, Black History Month 2025, Full-Figured Baroque, Happy Birthday, Holiday Music, Lieder, Listeners' Favorites, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, Orchestral Songs, Singers of Color, Twentieth Century MusicAlphons Diepenbrock, Bernard Haitink, Claron McFadden, Clemens Brentano, David Porcelijn, Ed Spanjaard, Ezra Pound, Hendrik Andriessen, Henri Ghéon, Jac van Steen, Jed Wentz, Jules Laforgue, Julius Röntgen, Lodwijk van Deyssel, Miroir de peine, Nico van der Meel, Paul Verlaine, Robert Heppener, Roberta Alexander, Rudolf Jansen, Thomas à Kempis, Willem de Fesch, Willem Frederik Boncountermelody

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Nothing brings me greater joy than when a deep exploration into the artistry of a favorite singer yields even more delights than I could have possibly imagined. And when I have a personal friendship with that singer, my cup truly runneth over. A week ago the music world once again celebrated the birthday of the treasurable soprano Roberta Alexander. Today, in a belated birthday tribute, I offer recordings of Roberta singing the music of composers of The Netherlands, where she has made her adoptive home since the mid-1970s. As befits Roberta Alexander’s eclecticism, the range of musical styles is wide, ranging from the baroque oratorio Joseph, by Willem de Fesch, to the romanticism of early 20th-century composers Hendrik Andriessen, Alphons Diepenbrock, and Julius Röntgen, to the more astringent (yet still lush and colorful) idiom of Robert Heppener and Willem Frederik Bon. Prepare yourself to be swept away by these magnificent works in brilliant performances recorded between 1979 and 2000 in which Roberta Alexander is joined by fellow singers Claron McFadden and Nico van der Meel, and accompanied by Bernard Haitink, Rudolf Jansen, David Porcelijn, Ed Spanjaard, and Jed Wentz. If you are thinking of passing this episode by because of the obscure repertoire, I encourage you to take a chance, not only because these recordings present Alexander in all her glory, but because you will get to hear fascinating music by composers you might not have heard before, ranging from a dramatic Baroque seduction scene between Joseph and Potiphar’s wife, to an erotically-charged setting of Verlaine, to exquisite settings of meditative texts for the Lenten season.

Episode 339. Todd Duncan

March 8, 2025African American Singers, Art Song, Black History Month, Black History Month 2025, Broadway, Crossover, Great Baritones, Interview, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, Schubert, Singers of Color, Spirituals, Twentieth Century OperaAbbie Mitchell, Alan Paton, Alex North, Alexander Smallens, Alexander Steinert, Anne Brown, Artur Rodzinski, August Heinrich von Fallersleben, Camille Saint-Saens, Carroll Hollister, DuBose Heyward, Eva Jessye, Frank Black, Franz Schubert, Friedrich Schiller, George Gershwin, Hall Johnson, Harry T. Burleigh, Henri Cazalis, Hy Zaret, Ira Gershwin, Jean Lahor, Jerome Kern, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Johannes Brahms, Kurt Weill, Lawrence Brown, Lost in the Stars, Ludwig van Beethoven, Maurice Levine, Maxwell Anderson, Modest Mussorgsky, Oscar Hammerstein II, Porgy and Bess, Show Boat, Spirituals, Todd Duncan, William Allencountermelody

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Today I present the male lead creator of Gershwin’s towering masterpiece, Porgy and Bess, the magnificent Todd Duncan (12 February 1903 – 28 February 1998), whose other creations included work by Kurt Weill, Cole Porter, and a pop standard that might surprise you. Duncan also made extraordinarily important contributions as a teacher, a recitalist, and as a civil rights figure. All of these aspects of his life are explored in this episode, which features recordings from all corners of his artistic and musical life, including two live broadcasts of excerpts from Porgy and a number of rare recordings of art song and a treasurable (if craggily-recorded) album of spirituals. Here was a man who pursued his career and his life with a strong sense of his own self-worth, but also kindness, integrity, and humility.

Episode 338. Ameling and Friends Sing Bach

March 3, 2025Comic Relief, Full-Figured Baroque, Great Baritones, Great Contraltos, Great Tenors, Happy Birthday, Holiday Music, Listeners' Favorites, Mezzo Madness, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle DropAugust Wenzinger, Birgit Finnilä, Charles de Wolff, Coffee Cantata, Elisabeth Cooymans, Elly Ameling, Ernest Ansermet, Everhard Spelberg, Franzjosef Maier, Fritz Wunderlich, Gijs Reijns, Günter Höller, Hanneke van Bork, Hannelore Müller, Hans Sotin, Hans Thamm, Hans-Martin Linde, Hein Jordans, Helen Watts, Helmut Hucke, Helmut Winschermann, Hermann Schroeder, Johann Sebastian Bach, Johannes Koch, Karl Münchinger, Koos Verheil, Kurt Thomas, Marga Höffgen, Mass in b minor, Matthäus-Passion, Neil Black, Norma Procter, Peter Pears, Raymond Leppard, Reinhold Johannes Buhl, Samuel Ramey, Siegmund Nimsgern, Tom Krause, Weihnachts-Oratorium, Werner Krenn, Wolfgang Gönnenwein, Yvonne Mintoncountermelody

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As a belated 92nd birthday tribute to our beloved Elly Ameling, I offer another episode of the Elly and Johann Show which features her in the music of Johann Sebastian Bach. If you twisted my arm, I might opine that she is simply the ideal Bach soprano, and these recordings, made between 1961 and 1981, stem from her absolute prime. In this episode, the majority of the works featured (from various cantatas, oratorios, masses, and passions), are duets, with a few trios and even a quartet thrown in for good measure. Siegmund Nimsgern, Werner Krenn, Hans Sotin, Birgit Finnilä, Yvonne Minton, Helen Watts, Elisabeth Cooymans, Peter Pears, Samuel Ramey, Norma Procter, Tom Krause, Gerald English, Marga Höffgen, and Fritz Wunderlich lend their voices in harmony with our Elly. The featured recordings teeter between early period performance efforts and my preferred “full-figured Bach” performance practice. Without exception however, the style is never heavy, never thuddy, but rather gracious, flowing, and mellifluous. The episode is capped with a stunning 1966 live performance of the soprano aria from the Matthew-Passion in which Ameling, just for a moment, restores my faith in humanity.