Tag Archives: Cesare Sterbini

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!

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 270. Eleanor Steber Revisited

July 5, 2024Art Song, Bel canto, Broadway, Crossover, French Opera, Full-Figured Baroque, Giacomo Puccini, Giuseppe Verdi, Great Tenors, Happy Birthday, In Memoriam, Lieder, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, NYCO Divas, Opera in Translation, Operetta, Orchestral Songs, Queer Pride, Rescue Mission, Richard Strauss, Richard Wagner, Singers in Old Age, Twentieth Century Music, Twentieth Century Opera, Verismo, Wolfgang Amadeus MozartAl Goodman, Al Vann, Alexandre Dumas fils, Alfred Bachelet, Allen Rogers, Augustus Toplady, Barron Smith, Bernard Zaslav, Brian Sullivan, Buddy DeSylva, Carlo Gozzi, Carlo Zangarini, Cesare Sterbini, Charles Tomlinson Griffes, Claude Debussy, David Belasco, David Broekman, Die Frau ohne Schatten, Dimitri Mitropoulos, DuBose Heyward, Édouard Guinand, Edwin Biltcliffe, Eleanor Steber, Eugène Adénis-Colombeau, Francesco Maria Piave, Francis Scott Key, Frank Loesser, Frederick Flaxington Harker, Fritz Stiedry, George Gershwin, Giacomo Puccini, Gian Carlo Menotti, Giangiacom Guelfi, Gioachino Rossini, Giovanni Battista Guarini, Giuseppe Adami, Giuseppe Verdi, Guelfo Civinini, Hector Berlioz, Hugo von Hofmannsthal, Hugo Wolf, Igor Kipnis, Il barbiere di Siviglia, Ira Gershwin, James Melton, Jean-Philippe Rameau, John Stafford Smith, Juan López de Úbeda, Jussi Bjorling, L’enfant prodigue, La Fanciulla del West, La Traviata, Les nuits d’été, Lilla Kalman, Lohengrin, Maytime (Romberg). Harold Barlow, Nelson Eddy, Oklahoma!, Oscar Hammerstein II, Paul Heyse, Pembroke Davenport, Pierre Beaumarchais, Porgy and Bess, Renato Simoni, Richard Rodgers, Richard Strauss, Richard Wagner, Rida Johnson Young, Robert K. Evans, Robert Katscher, Rosalind Elias, Rupert Brooke, Samuel Barber, Sigmund Romberg, Sonya Monsoff, Spanisches Liederbuch, Sterling Hunkins, Théophile Gautier, Thomas Hastings, Turandot, Vanessa (Barber), Where’s Charley?, Wilfrid Pelletier, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozartcountermelody

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I sat in my apartment in Berlin on the Fourth of July wondering how, after the events of this past Monday, I can possibly pay tribute to our nation as it “celebrated” its birthday. Then it hit me: since I would never in a million years produce an episode of patriotic musical material, why not pay tribute to a great American singer instead? I had already been planning an upcoming bonus episode on ELEANOR STEBER, the singer I consider to be one of the greatest (if not the greatest) soprano that our country has ever produced! Nearly two years ago, with the help of my dear friend Michelle Oesterle, who was Eleanor’s step-daughter, I produced an episode dedicated to her; today’s episode will not delve so much into the (still-controversial) person that Eleanor was, but rather offer a cross-section, over the course of more than 40 years, of the wide variety of styles and repertoire in which Steber excelled. Who else could traverse a range of repertoire from Rodgers and Hammerstein to Mozart, Rameau to Wagner, Berlioz to Romberg with such ease and joyful authority? Not only do I explore her longevity, I explore her unparalleled prowess as a vocal technician; as well as her well-documented bad treatment by the Metropolitan Opera and its then-general manager, Rudolf Bing. I also look at the recordings that Steber and her then-husband, Michelle’s father, produced on their own ST/AND label in the early sixties, and then hear Steber sing some quintessentially American music from classic musicals. Along the way, I consider some serious topics, including betrayal, alcoholism, and the power of embedded memory. Finally, I consider the possibility that Eleanor Steber’s celebrated portrayal of Minnie in La fanciulla del West might just offer a possible solution for the divisiveness and political turmoil in which our country currently finds itself. Featured guest singers on the episode include Nelson Eddy, Brian Sullivan, Rosalind Elias, and Jussi Björling; musical collaborators include Dimitri Mitropoulos, Igor Kipnis, Allen Rogers, Fritz Stiedry, and her frequent concert and radio collaborators Howard Barlow and Edwin Biltcliffe.

Episode 263. Contralto Central

May 24, 2024African American Singers, Art Song, Behind the Iron Curtain, Bel canto, Black History Month, Black History Month 2024, Broadway, Forgotten Divas, French Opera, Full-Figured Baroque, Gustav Mahler, In Memoriam, Lieder, Mezzo Madness, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, Orchestral Songs, Pop Icons, Queer Pride, Richard Wagner, Singers of Color, SpiritualsAafje Heynis, Adriana Lecouvreur, Alec Redshaw, Alec Wilder, Alexander Pushkin, Alphons Diepenbrock, Andrès Wheatley, Armando La Rosa Parodi, Arnold Sundgaard, Boris Khaikin, Carmen, Caroline Kaart, Cassandra Wilson, Cesare Sterbini, Charles Baudelaire, Charles Gounod, Christoph Willibald Gluck, Clara Butt, Cloë Elmo, Cor Lemaire, Das Rheingold, Édouard Blau, Edward Elgar, Émile Augier, Émile Deschamps, Ernestine Schumann-Heink, Eugène Scribe, Eugenia Mantelli, Ewa Podleś, Felix de Nobel, Florence Kopleff, Florica Cristofereanu, Folk Songs, Francesco Cilea, Franz Schubert, Frederick Stone, Friedrich Rückert, Gaetano Donizetti, Georges Bizet, Georges Hartmann, Germaine Cernay, Giacomo Meyerbeer, Gioachino Rossini, Gustav Mahler, Gustave Cloëz, Hall Johnson, Helen Watts, Henri Meilhac, Herbert Hughes, Il barbiere di Siviglia, Jasmin White, Jimmy Webb, Johann Sebastian Bach, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, John Fletcher, Jules Massenet, Kathleen Ferrier, Kerstin Thorborg, Kindertotenlieder, Kosti Vehanen, La favorita, Langston Hughes, Le Prophete, Ludovic Halévy, Margaret Bonds, Marguerite D’Alvarez, Marian Anderson, Matthias Claudius, Mikhail Glinka, Milton Kaye, Nina Simone, Norma Procter, Orphée et Euridice, Paul Milliet, Peter Warlock, Philippe Riga, Pierre Beaumarchais, Prosper Mérimée, Richard Gannett, Richard Wagner, Robert Burns, Robert Shaw, Rosario Bourdon, Ruslan and Lyudmila, Sandy Dennis, Sapho (Gounod), Sea Pictures, Shannon Bolin, Sigrid Onégin, Spirituals, Thurston Dart, Václav Neumann, Valentina Levko, Valerian Shirkov, Vera Little, Věra Soukupová, Voltaire, Werthercountermelody

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Finally, the first in my long-promised series on the contralto voice! The contralto is a rara avis in the today’s opera and classical music scene, and yet back in the day, there seem to have been more of them before the public. And of course contraltos have always been a powerful presence on the popular music scene, whether in blues, disco, jazz, or as purveyors of the Great American Songbook. There is no way that I can cover all of the great (and near-great) contraltos in recorded history, but that doesn’t mean I’m not going to try! Today’s selections span a wide chronological range , even for this podcast: nearly 120 years, and include voices both fleet and monolithic (and sometimes both). We begin with a tribute to the late Polish coloratura contralto Ewa Podleś and along with way we hear the most famous contraltos like Kathleen Ferrier and Marian Anderson, and jazz and pop contraltos like Nina Simone and Cassandra Wilson. We also sample singers from the earlier twentieth century such as Ernestine Schumann-Heink, Cloe Elmo, Clara Butt, Eugenia Mantelli, Kerstin Thorborg, and Sigrid Onégin (about whom I spill some major tea!) Throughout the episode are sprinkled some of the most beautiful voices of any kind that I have ever heard: the Scottish Caroline Kaart, the Romanian Florica Cristofereanu, the Czech Věra Soukupová, the Dutch Aafje Heynis, the French Germaine Cernay, the British Norma Procter, and the Russian Valentina Levko. And if like me you have despaired of ever hearing another true contralto again in our lifetime, we hear in young Jasmin White cause for rejoicing. And if your favorites are not heard today, fear not, for this is the tip of the iceberg: many more great singers will follow when the series continues in two weeks.

Episode 258. (Frank) Lopardopalooza

April 18, 2024Bel canto, Forgotten Divas, Giacomo Puccini, Giuseppe Verdi, Great Tenors, Interview, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, Singers in Old Age, Wolfgang Amadeus MozartAlberto Zedda, Alexandre Dumas, Andrew Davis, Antonio García Gutiérrez, Antonio Somma, Arrigo Boito, Ascher Fisch, Bruno Campanella, Carl Orff, Carmina Burana, Cesare Sterbini, Cosi fan tutte, Cristina Gallardo-Domâs, Don Giovanni, Donald Runnicles, Eugène Scribe, Felice Romani, Francesco Maria Piave, Frank Lopardo, Gaetano Donizetti, Georg Solti, Giacomo Puccini, Gioacchino Rossini, Giuseppe Giacosa, Giuseppe Verdi, Henri Murger, Il barbiere di Siviglia, Il Turco in Italia, Ion Marin, Jean-François Bayard, John Fiore, Jules-Henri Vernoy de Saint-Georges, Kathleen Kim, La Boheme, La fille du regiment, La Traviata, Lorenzo da Ponte, Lucia di Lammermoor, Luigi Illica, Marco Armiliato, Messa da Requiem (Verdi), Michel Trempont, Pierre Beaumarchais, Riccardo Muti, Robert Spano, Robert White, Salvadore Cammarano, Seiji Ozawa, Semiramide, Simon Boccanegra, Sondra Radvanovsky, Un ballo in maschera, Verónica Villarroel, Walter Scott, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozartcountermelody

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Today I present to you the American lyric tenor Frank Lopardo, who from 1984 through 2014 appeared in all the major opera houses of the world, celebrated particularly for his Mozart and Rossini roles. Too often today these superb singers even from the recent past are forgotten by today’s audiences, and my listeners know that it is always a mission of mine to celebrate great artists who, for whatever reason, are not in the forefront of the public’s awareness. In Frank’s case, I suggest it has absolutely nothing to do with his stellar voice and astounding technique. Some singers are content to do their job and live their lives and serve the music and the art form to the best of their considerable abilities without engaging in antics or self-destructive behavior. A quick glance at Frank’s accomplishments and the musicians with whom he collaborated makes it immediately clear that his career unfolded naturally and organically at the highest levels. Today’s episode explores the infinite variety of Lopardo’s artistry and his impeccable musicianship and technique, which aided him in his pursuit of always discovering new aspects of the central roles in his career. Conductors with whom he collaborated (and as heard on the episode) include Georg Solti, Claudio Abbado, Ion Marin, Riccardo Muti, Robert Spano, and the late Seiji Ozawa. While Lopardo was never tempted to move outside the natural confines of his lyric voice, he did in the final years of his career, move into some of Verdi’s larger lyric tenor parts, in operas like Un ballo in maschera and Simon Boccanegra, both of which are sampled here. We also hear Frank in duet with some of his favorite colleagues, including memorable Chilean sopranos Verónica Villarroel and Cristina Gallardo-Domâs. It was all I could do not to entitle this episode Lopardopalooza, ‘cause that’s exactly what it is!