Tag Archives: Arturo Toscanini

Episode 462. Get to Know Charles Kullman

May 11, 2026French Opera, Giacomo Puccini, Giuseppe Verdi, Great Tenors, Gustav Mahler, Needle Drop, Opera in Translation, Operetta, Orchestral Songs, Richard Wagner, Twentieth Century Music, VerismoAbbé Prevost, Alexander Pushkin, Alexandre Dumas fils, Alfred Grünwald, Arturo Toscanini, August Bernhard, Bidu Sayao, Bruno Walter, Carl Haffner, Carlo Gozzi, Cesare Sodero, Charles Kullman, Charles Kullmann, Clemens Schmalstich, Das Lied von der Erde, Der Zigeunerbaron, Die Fledermaus, Die lockende Flamme, Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, Die Sonne geht auf, Die Zirkusprinzessin, E.T.A. Hoffmann, Eduard Künneke, Emmerich Kálmán, Eugen Hildach, Eugen Onegin, Eugene Ormandy, Felix Dahn, Francesco Maria Piave, Friedrich Schiller, Giacomo Puccini, Giuseppe Adami, Giuseppe Verdi, Gustav Mahler, Hans Bethge, Henri Meilhac, Hoffmanns Erzählungen, Ignaz Schnitzer, Italo Montemezzi, J.M. Willeminsky, Jacques Offenbach, Johann Strauss II, Jules Barbier, Jules Massenet, Julius Brammer, Julius Hopp, L’amore di tre re, La Traviata, Les Contes d’Hoffmann, Li-Tai-Po, Licia Albanese, Lohengrin, Ludovic Halévy, Manon, Mór Jókai, Otto Dobrindt, Paul Knepler, Philippe Gille, Pyotr Il’yich Tchaikovsky, Regina Resnik, Renato Simoni, Richard Genée, Richard Wagner, Ruth and Thomas Martin, Sem Benelli, Thomas Beecham, Turandot, Walter Goehr, Will Meisel, Yevgeny Onegincountermelody

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I’ve had a real urge lately to revisit the voices and careers of some of my favorite tenors. So today I bring you the exceptional American artist Charles Kullman (1903 – 1983). The early years of his career were spent primarily in Berlin and Vienna, but for twenty-five years beginning in 1935, he was also a mainstay at the Metropolitan Opera, where he sang a total of 33 different roles. The sheen and spin on his lyric voice, allied to a firm technique, allowed him sing everything from Rinuccio and Fenton to Tannhäuser and Herodes (and nearly everything else in between!) During his European years, he made a number of invaluable recordings, including opera and operetta arias as well as songs from a number of popular films in which he starred. Though he recorded only one complete operatic role in the studio (Eisenstein in Die Fledermaus in 1951), there exist a large number of choice live stage performances that allow us to more fully explore the full length (and variety) of Kullman’s performing career. In this episode, we not only hear excerpts from those early German recordings, but also from live performances of Das Lied von der Erde, Meistersinger, Manon, Traviata, Fledermaus, and Montemezzi’s monumental L’amore dei tre re, some of which feature recent Countermelody divas Licia Albanese, Regina Resnik, and Bidú Sayão. Some aficionado or other has dubbed Kullman “the compleat tenor” and I couldn’t agree more. Enjoy getting better acquainted with this great singer!

Countermelody is the 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 author 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 193. Alexander Kipnis

April 21, 2023Art Song, Giuseppe Verdi, Great Baritones, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, Richard Strauss, Richard Wagner, SchubertAlexander Kipnis, Alexander Pushkin, Antonio García Gutiérrez, Arrigo Boito, Arthur Bergh, Arturo Toscanini, Boris Godunov, Celius Dougherty, Clemens Schmalstich, Coenraad V. Bos, Der Rosenkavalier, Der Zauberflöte, Detlev von Liliencron, Dichterliebe, Emanuel Schikaneder, Erich Ortmann, Ernst Victor Wolff, Folk Song, Francesco Maria Piave, Frank Bibb, Franz Schubert, Friedrich Schiller, Georg Friedrich Daumer, Gerald Moore, Giuseppe Verdi, Gleb Yellin, Heinrich Heine, Hermann Lingg, Hugo von Hofmannsthal, Hugo Wolf, Italienisches Liederbuch, J. Michel Diack, Johannes Brahms, Joseph von Eichendorff, Ludwig Rellstab, Michelangelo, Modest Mussorgsky, Nicolai Berezovsky, Paul Heyse, Richard Strauss, Richard Wagner, Robert Schumann, Schwanengesang, Simon Boccanegra, Tristan und Isolde, Walter Heinrich Robert-Tornow, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Wolfgang Rosécountermelody

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If I were to indulge in the foolish task of dubbing certain artists the “Greatest Ever,” I would have little hesitation in naming Ukrainian-American bass Alexander Kipnis (1891–1978) “the greatest” in several categories: greatest Wagner bass, greatest low-voiced Lieder singer, just maybe even the greatest bass ever captured on recording. Though I am trying to wean myself of these designations, I have no difficulty in naming Kipnis my favorite bass. In this episode, his operatic impersonations, though legendary, are touched on but peripherally: the focus instead is on his contributions in art song, specifically Lieder. Despite his heavily-accented German (which to my ear only increases the power of his interpretations in songs like Schubert’s “Aufenthalt” or Wolf’s Michelangelo-Lieder), Kipnis was as keenly attuned to text and its musical setting than any singer of art song before or since. As usual of late in my episodes, I begin with several short contrasting examples that illustrate the “why” question: why was this artist so important, and why does he remain so? There follow a few all-too-brief examples of Kipnis in opera, including examples stretching back to his earliest recordings in 1916, when he was barely 25 years old. Then follow a further examination of Kipnis’s Lieder recordings, including a rare 1943 radio broadcast of Schumann’s Dichterliebe accompanied by Wolfgang Rosé, the son-in-law of Gustav Mahler, as well as recordings issued under the aegis of the Hugo Wolf Society and the Johannes Brahms Society, and his matchless early recordings of the songs of Franz Schubert, which were my introduction not only to Kipnis’s magisterial voice, but also the songs themselves. In all of this material, whether tender, ardent, humorous, or transcendent, Kipnis’s dignity and humanity shine through.

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. Bonus episodes available exclusively to Patreon supporters are currently available and further bonus content including interviews and livestreams is planned for the upcoming season.

Episode 1. Welcome to Countermelody, or Claudia and Zazà

September 12, 2019Claudia Muzio, Needle Drop, Twentieth Century Music, Twentieth Century Opera, VerismoA te o cara, Adriana Lecouvreur, Agnese di Hohenstaufen, Alberto Franchetti, Alfred Bachelet, Alfredo Catalani, Alfredo Silipigni, Allan Dwan, Allan Segall, Als flotter Geist, Alvino Misciano, Amelia al ballo, Amelita Galli-Curci, Amilcare Ponchielli, Andrea Chénier, Anita Cerquetti, Antoine Boësset, Anton Coppola, Aprile Millo, Arne Dorumsgaard, Arrigo Boito, Arturo Buzzi-Peccia, Arturo Toscanini, Bachelor Hall, Bianca e Fernando, Bidu Sayao, Boesset, Bonjour Suzon, Cary Grant, Cecil B. DeMille, Cecilia, Charles Long, Charles Simon, Chère nuit, Christoph Willibald Gluck, Cincinnati Opera, Clara Petrella, Clarence Brown, Claudette Colbert, Claudia Muzio, Denia Mazzola Gavazzeni, Der Roland von Berlin, Der Zigeunerbaron, Dir che ci sono al mondo, Domenico Alaleona, Edipo Re, Edith Mason, Edoardo Garbin, Eide Norena, Eleonora Duse, Emma Carelli, Emmy Destinn, Enrico Caruso, Erich Korngold, Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari, Ernestine Schumann-Heink, Esser madre è un inferno, Eugenia Mantelli, Eva Le Gallienne, Eva von der Osten, Fedora, Florence Quartararo, Francesca da Rimini, Francesco Cilea, Franco Alfano, Franco Corelli, Franco Ghione, Franz Schubert, Friedrich Hollaender, Gabrielle Réjane, Gaspare Spontini, George Cukor, Geraldine Farrar, Gerard Powers, Gerard Souzay, Giacinto Prandelli, Giacomo Lauri-Volpi, Giacomo Meyerbeer, Giacomo Puccini, Gianandrea Gavazzeni, Giancarlo Menotti, Gioacchino Rossini, Giovanni Martinelli, Giulio Crimi, Giuseppe Danise, Giuseppe de Luca, Giuseppe Verdi, Gloria Swanson, Guglielmo Tell, Guillaume Tell, Gus Kahn, H.B. Warner, Harrison Fisher, Heinrich Rehkemper, Hercule de Fontenailles, homosexuality, Hugo Hasslo, I Puritani, Il barbiere di Siviglia, Il tabarro, Il Trittico, Isa Miranda, Isadora Duncan, Italo Montemezzi, Jacqueline Bonneau, Jacques Offenbach, Jean Sibelius, Jeanette MacDonald, Joan Crawford, Johann Stauss II, Jorma Hynninen, King of Kings, La Fanciulla del West, Le Prophete, Léo Delibes, Licinio Refice, Lilo, Lodoletta, Loreley, Lorenzo Molajoli, Lotte Lehmann, Luca Canonici, Madama Butterfly, Madame Sans-Gêne, Mafalda Favero, Magda Olivero, Maria Pedrini, Mario Sammarco, Mary Garden, Mefistofele, Miriam Hopkins, Mrs. Leslie Carter, Nelson Eddy, O del mio amato ben, O prêtres de Baal, Oliviero de Fabritiis, Ombra di nube, Paride ed Elena, Pasquale Amato, Patricia Craig, Pauline Frederick, Pierre Berton, Pietro Mascagni, Ralf Gothoni, Randolph Scott, Renata Scotto, Renato Castellani, Rene Gaveau, Resurrection, Riccardo Zandonai, Risurrezione, Rosa Ponselle, Rosa Raisa, Rosina Storchio, Ruggero Leoncavallo, Selva opaca, Senza mamma, Sigmund Romberg, silent film, Smouldering Fires, Sorgi o padre, Spiagge amate, Stefano Antonucci, Stefano Donaudy, Sunset Boulevard, Suor Angelica, Teatro Grattacielo, The Fighting Westerner, The Girl of the Golden West, This Modern Age, Titta Ruffo, Umberto Giordano, Un bel dì, Una voce poco fa, Victor Maurel, Victorien Sardou, Vincenzo Bellini, Vittorio Gnecchi, Wolfgang Windgassen, Yvette Guilbert, Zaza, Zazà piccola zingaracountermelody

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Our first episode answers the question on everyone’s lips: “Where did the logo and the theme music come from?” We discuss the legendary Italian diva Claudia Muzio whose series of iconic recordings, particularly those recorded shortly before her premature death in 1936, are so extraordinary that they have kept her reputation intact to this day. We consider in particular her November 1920 recording of an aria from Ruggero Leoncavallo’s little-remembered verismo opera Zazà, in which her extraordinary artistry is on full display.

Countermelody is a new podcast devoted to the glories of the human voice raised in song. Singer and vocal aficionado Daniel Gundlach explores great classical and opera singers of the past and present with the help of guests from the classical music field: singers, conductors, composers, coaches, agents, and voice teachers. 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 interaction between singers of all stripes, their instruments, and the connection they make to the words they sing. Please also visit the Countermelody website for updates, additional content, and to pledge your support. www.countermelodypodcast.com