Tag Archives: Candide

Episode 310. Giving Thanks with Roberta Alexander

November 26, 2024African American Singers, Black History Month, Black History Month 2024, Holiday Music, Lieder, Listeners' Favorites, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Orchestral Songs, Richard Strauss, Singers of Color, Twentieth Century Music1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, Aaron Copland, Adam Gatehouse, Candide, Edo de Waart, Emily Dickinson, Hermann Hesse, John Patrick Creagh, Joseph von Eichendorff, Leonard Bernstein, Mass, Peter Pan, Richard Strauss, Roberta Alexander, Roger VIgnoles, Samuel Barber, Stephen Schwartz, Tan Cronecountermelody

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If you, like many of us, are struggling to find things to be grateful for this Thanksgiving, I have put together an episode featuring a national (and international) treasure, the exquisite soprano Roberta Alexander. In fact, I could just as easily have entitled this episode “Giving Thanks FOR Roberta Alexander.” Roberta has been featured many times on the podcast and I’m thrilled to bring her to you yet again in a refurbished bonus episode from the summer of 2023. Three works are foregrounded: first is Samuel Barber’s dramatic scena Andromache’s Farewell, which was composed for Martina Arroyo for the inaugural season of the New York Philharmonic at its new home at Lincoln Center. The recording featuring Roberta and conductor Edo de Waart is from the year 1993. There follows a complete performance (one of the finest in my experience) of Aaron Copland’s song cycle Twelve Poems of Emily Dickinson, his most extended solo vocal work, heard in a 1990 recording with British pianist Roger Vignoles. And finally, the crowning jewel: a live performance of Roberta Alexander in her youthful prime singing Richard Strauss’s Four Last Songs. To my ear, this represents the perfect meeting of composer and artist, a near-ideal rendition of these songs, and one which is not readily available anywhere else on the interwebs. This episode is further interspersed with jewels from Roberta’s 1985 recording of songs by Leonard Bernstein, all of which are exquisitely (as well as sometimes painfully) appropriate at this moment in the history of the United States and provide us with food for thought as we observe with solemnity this iconic holiday.

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 206. Jerry Hadley

July 18, 2023Art Song, Bel canto, Broadway, Crossover, French Opera, Giuseppe Verdi, Great Tenors, In Memoriam, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, Operetta, Orchestral Songs, Pop Icons, Twentieth Century Music, Twentieth Century Opera, Wolfgang Amadeus MozartAlexander Borodin, Anthony Halstead, Arthur Rimbaud, Benjamin Britten, Candide, Carlo Rizzi, Charles Gounod, Charles Mackerras, Cosi fan tutte, Dawn Upshaw, Die tote Stadt, Die Zauberflöte, Edna Ferber, Elmer Rice, Emanuel Schikaneder, Eric Dalheim, Erich Korngold, Franz Lehár, Frederick Weatherly, Fritz Löhner-Beda, Gaetano Donizetti, George Forrest, Georges Bizet, Giuseppe Verdi, Gualtiero Negrini, Henry Lewis, James Levine, Jay Gorney, Jerome Kern, Jerry Hadley, John Mauceri, John McGlinn, Kismet, Kurt Weill, Langston Hughes, Leonard Bernstein, Les Illuminations, Lorenzo da Ponte, Oscar Hammerstein II, Paul Gemignani, Paul Knepler, Pyotr Il’yich Tchaikovsky, Richard Bonynge, Richard Wilbur, Robert Shaw, Robert Wright, Ruth Ann Swenson, Scott Bergeson, Seiji Ozawa, Sherman Edwards, Show Boat, Street Scene, William Boughton, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Yevgeny Onegin, Yip Harburgcountermelody

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Jerry Hadley (16 June 1952 – 18 July 2007) is regarded by many as the most gifted American lyric tenor of the late 20th century. Last month he would have celebrated his 71st birthday. And today is the sixteenth anniversary of his untimely death. I knew Jerry well in the early 2000s when he was dating one of my best friends. Our friendship developed separately from that: in those years in which he was working at rebuilding his voice and career we worked together on a cross-section of his old and new repertoire. At the time of his death, he was no longer romantically involved with my friend, so he and I had drifted apart. Nevertheless, it hit me very, very hard, and I mourn his loss to this day. On that front, I have quite a few things to say about singers and mental illness, and the ruthlessness, implacability, and heartlessness of a profession which so often chews up the most vulnerable of us and spits them back out. When Jerry was at his best, his art sustained him, but the challenges ultimately became too much for him to face. But this episode is primarily a celebration: my primary objective is to present my friend at his exceptional best, in performances, both live and studio, which celebrate his voice, artistry, and spirit, performances which provided his public with some of the finest tenor singing they would ever hear, in that, or any other, era.

WARNING: THIS EPISODE CONTAINS A DISCUSSION OF SUICIDE AND SUICIDAL IDEATION.

Episode 102. John Reardon

August 15, 2021African American Singers, Art Song, Bel canto, Broadway, Crossover, Giuseppe Verdi, Great Baritones, In Memoriam, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, Operetta, Queer Pride, Twentieth Century MusicAdolph Green, Alban Berg, Alexander Young, Arrigo Boito, Arthur Siegel, Betty Comden, Bliss Hebert, Candide, Chester Biscardi, Chester Kallman, Christoph von Dohnányi, Denis Deal, Douglass Cross, Edvard Grieg, Evelyn Lear, Franz Allers, Franz Lehár, Fred Rogers, George Cory, George Forrest, Gian Carlo Menotti, Gioacchino Rossini, Giuseppe Verdi, Helena Scott, Henry Butler, Herbert Grossman, Igor Stravinsky, Ira Gershwin, Jerome Kern, Jo Sullivan Lehman Engel, John Koch, John Reardon, Jorge Mester, Judith Raskin, Jule Styne, June Carroll, Kurt Weill, Leonard Bernstein, Leontyne Price, Lisa Della Casa, Marie Collier, Marvin David Levy, NBC Opera, New Faces of 1956, Newell Jenkins, Nicholas Flagello, On the Town, Oscar Hammerstein II, Peter Herman Adler, Ragnar Ulfung, Richard Owen, Robert Craft, Robert Oliver, Robert Wright, Samuel Krachmalnick, Sarah Caldwell, Song of Norway, Stephen Crane, The Flood, The Magic Flute, The Merry Widow, The Rake’s Progress, The Saint of Bleecker Street, W.H. Auden, Walter de la Mare, William Blake, William Orvis, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozartcountermelody

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Here’s another great baritone to help get us through another week: the extraordinarily versatile and talented John Reardon (1930-1988). Possessed of a voice of extraordinary beauty and flexibility, as well as deeply intuitive interpretive powers and a profound musicality and dramatic sensibility, he had everything it took to make his mark in the fields of musicals, operetta, and opera (the latter in both standard, and, even more significantly, contemporary repertoire). I have several rare live recordings as well as some uncommon studio recordings to share with my listeners. Guest stars include Leontyne Price, Judith Raskin, Jo Sullivan, Lisa Della Casa, Alexander Young, Ragnar Ulfung, Evelyn Lear, and Bliss Hebert, in a rare outing as a pianist accompanying Reardon in a 1967 recording of American art songs. I also pay homage to his television appearances, both on NBC Opera and, especially, between 1968 and 1986, as the character “Reardon” in Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, which served to introduce countless multitudes of children to the glories of opera.

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.” Occasional guests from the “business” (singers, conductors, composers, coaches, and teachers) lend their distinctive insights. At Countermelody’s core is the interaction between singers of all stripes, their instruments, and the connection they make to the words they sing. 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 visit the Countermelody website (www.countermelodypodcast.com) for additional content including artist photos and episode setlists. And please head to my Patreon page at www.patreon.com/countermelody to pledge your monthly support at whatever level you can afford. Bonus episodes available only to Patreon supporters are currently available.

Episode 52. Operaish Broadway (Crossover Classics VIII)

September 13, 2020African American Singers, Broadway, Comic Relief, Crossover, Mezzo Madness, Needle Drop, Operetta, Pop Icons1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, Adam Guettel, Adolph Green, Alan Jay Lerner, Alfred Drake, Anton Coppola, Audra McDonald, Barbara Cook, Betty Comden, Bruce Yarnell, Camilla Williams, Candide, Carol Brice, Carolyn Leigh, Cesare Siepi, Claibe Richardson, Cy Coleman, Dorothy Sarnoff, Du Bose Heyward, Eve Queler, Ezio Pinza, Florence Henderson, Franco Corelli, Franz Allers, George Forrest, George Gershwin, Georges Bizet, Giorgio Tozzi, Giuseppe Verdi, Harold Arlen, Harold Rome, Helen Traubel, Ira Gershwin, Irving Berlin, Jacques Brel, Jerome Kern, Jerry Ross, Joe Darion, John Raitt, John Reardon, José Van Dam, Judy Kaye, Jule Styne, Kenward Elmslie, Lawrence Winters, Lee Venora, Lehman Engel, Leonard Bernstein, Leslie Scott, Lisa Vroman, Lorenz Hart, Madeline Kahn, Marin Mazzie, Mitch Leigh, Mona Paulee, Nicolai Gedda, Oscar Hammerstein II, Paul Gemignani, Porgy and Bess, Rebecca Luker, Richard Adler, Richard Rodgers, Risë Stevens, Robert Gilbert, Robert Trehy, Robert Wright, Rosemary Clooney, Sheldon Harnick, Shirley Verrett, Show Boat, Stephen Sondheim, The Grass Harp, The Light in the Piazza, Victoria Clark, Yip Harburgcountermelody

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Today’s episode (in celebration of Countermelody’s first birthday!) picks up where the last one left off: more musicals, more opera (and operaish) singers! Excerpts from cast recordings, radio broadcasts, telecasts, and live performances highlight the work of singers who divided their time, to a greater or lesser extent, between the Broadway stage and the operatic stage. We begin with the great bass-baritones (Ezio Pinza, Cesare Siepi, Giorgio Tozzi, and José Van Dam) and move through the great Broadway (and sometime opera) baritones (Alfred Drake, John Raitt, Bruce Yarnell, Robert Trehy, Leslie Scott, Lawrence Winters, and John Reardon) with a nod to other opera singers who have also graced the Broadway stage (Helen Traubel, Shirley Verrett, Mona Paulee, Dorothy Sarnoff, Risë Stevens, Lee Venora, Camilla Williams, and Carol Brice). We then consider singers whose vocal abilities could easily have put them on the opera stage, had they chosen to so devote themselves (Alice Ghostley, Madeline Kahn, Barbara Cook, Florence Henderson, Judy Kaye, Lisa Vroman, Audra McDonald, Victoria Clark, Rebecca Luker, and the late Marin Mazzie). The episode also features tributes to two recently deceased divas (Gabriella Tucci and Christiane Eda-Pierre) as well as a spotlight on the gorgeous soprano Margaret Tynes, who just celebrated her 101st birthday.

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.” Occasional guests from the “business” (singers, conductors, composers, coaches, and teachers) lend their distinctive insights. 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 visit the Countermelody website (www.countermelodypodcast.com) for additional content. And please head to our Patreon page at www.patreon.com/countermelody to pledge your monthly support at whatever level you can afford. Bonus episodes available only to Patreon supporters are currently available!

Episode 51. Legitimate Broadway (Crossover Classics VII)

September 6, 2020African American Singers, Broadway, Crossover, Needle Drop, OperettaAlexander Borodin, Alfred Drake, Anderson), Anne Jeffreys, Barbara Cook, Bitter-Sweet (Coward), Blossom Time (Friml), Brenda Lewis, Brian Sullivan, Candide, Carol Brice, Claramae Turner, Cris Groenendaal, Dennis King, Edvard Grieg, Eleanor Steber, Elmer Rice, Erie Mills, Follies (Sondheim), Frank Loesser, Franz Allers, Franz Lehár, Fritzi Scheff, George Dvorsky, George Forrest, George Metaxa, Gian Carlo Menotti, Helen Goes to Troy, Helena Bliss, Helena Scott, Henry Calvin, Inia Te Wiata, Irra Petina, Jacques Offenbach, Jan Kiepura, Jarmila Novotna, Jeanne Lehman, Jerome Kern, Jo Sullivan, John Brownlee, John McGlinn, John Reardon, John Stanford, Kalem Kermoyan, Kismet, Kurt Weill, Langston Hughes, Lawrence Tibbett, Lee Venora, Leo Robin, Leonard Bernstein, Licia Albanese, Lotte Lenya, Lydia Fredericks, Marc Blitzstein, Marie Powers, Marta Eggerth, Maurice Abravanel, Mlle Modiste (Herbert), Noël Coward, Norman Cordon, Oscar Hammerstein II, Patricia Neway, Peggy Wood, Polyna Stoska, Rebecca Luker, Regina, Richard Banke, Richard Wilbur, Robert Rounseville, Robert Weede, Robert Wright, Rudolf Friml, Samuel Krachmalnick, September Song (Weill, Sigmund Romberg, Song of Norway, Stephen Sondheim, Street Scene, Sylvan Levin, Tandy MacKenzie, The Consul (Menotti), The Girl in Pink Tights, The Happiest Girl in the World, The Medium (Menotti), The Most Happy Fella, The New Moon (Romberg), The Vagabond King (Friml), Very Warm for May, Victor Herbert, Walter Cassel, Yip Harburgcountermelody

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Today’s topic is operetta and opera on Broadway. From the early days of the Great White Way, a large amount of the musical theatre repertoire was actually operetta. I begin with a discussion of the composers of such operettas (Victor Herbert, Rudolf Friml, and Sigmund Romberg, with a significant nod to Jerome Kern as well) and the singers who appeared in those works. Then I present an array of works adapted from the classical repertoire (primarily Wright and Forrest’s Song of Norway and Kismet), followed by examples of that curious hybrid, Broadway opera, including Gian Carlo Menotti’s The Medium and The Consul; Marc Blitzstein’s Regina; Frank Loesser’s The Most Happy Fella; Kurt Weill and Langston Hughes’s Street Scene; and Leonard Bernstein’s Candide. A wide range of singers is included, some celebrated (Lotte Lenya, Patricia Neway, Barbara Cook, Marta Eggerth, Lawrence Tibbett), some less so (Helena Scott, Lee Venora, Fritzi Scheff, Robert Rounseville), the careers of some of whom stretch back to the beginning of the century, but all singers which straddled the fence between musicals, operetta, and opera. But rest assured: this is no dry history lesson: it’s a fast-paced romp through a fun and fascinating topic!

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.” Occasional guests from the “business” (singers, conductors, composers, coaches, and teachers) lend their distinctive insights. 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 visit the Countermelody website (www.countermelodypodcast.com) for additional content. And please head to our Patreon page at www.patreon.com/countermelody to pledge your monthly support at whatever level you can afford. Bonus episodes available only to Patreon supporters are currently available!