Tag Archives: Der Zarewitsch

Episode 426. Teresa Stratas [Season Seven Premiere]

January 5, 2026African American Singers, Art Song, Behind the Iron Curtain, Broadway, Canadian Singers, Crossover, French Opera, Giacomo Puccini, Giuseppe Verdi, Lieder, Listeners' Favorites, Mezzo Madness, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, Operetta, Richard Strauss, Richard Wagner, Schubert, Singers of Color, Twentieth Century Music, Twentieth Century Opera, Verismo, Wolfgang Amadeus MozartAlban Berg, Alberto Pestalozza, Alexander Pushkin, Antonín Dvořák, Ariadne auf Naxos, Bela Jenbach, Bernd Weikl, Bohumil Gregor, Boris Abramovich, Božena Němcová, Carlo Gozzi, Carlo Tiochet, Carlos Surinach, Charles Strouse, Claude Debussy, Der Zarewitsch, Elizabeth Harwood, Eric Stern, Florence Quivar, Francesco Maria Piave, Frank Wedekind, Franz Lehár, Franz Mazura, Franz Schubert, Fritz Löhner-Beda, Fritz Wunderlich, Gabriela Zapolska, Georg Ots, Giacomo Puccini, Giovacchino Forzano, Giuditta, Giuseppe Adami, Giuseppe Giacosa, Giuseppe Patanè, Giuseppe Verdi, Hedwig Lachmann, Heinz Reichert, Henri Murger, Herbert von Karajan, Hugo von Hofmannsthal, Isai Sherman, James Levine, János Kulka, Jaroslav Kvapil, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Karel Jaromír Erben, Karl Böhm, Konstantin Shilovsky, La Boheme, La Traviata, Le nozze di Figaro, Lorenzo da Ponte, Luigi Illica, Lulu, Maurice Maeterlinck, Modest Tchaikovsky, Nausicaa, Nello Santi, Oscar Wilde, Paul Knepler, Peggy Glanville-Hicks, Pelleas et Melisande, Pierre Beaumarchais, Pyotr Il’yich Tchaikovsky, Renato Simoni, Richard Strauss, Robert Graves, Rudolf Bing, Rudolf Schocki, Rusalka, Stephen Schwartz, Suor Angelica, Sylvain Cambreling, Teresa Stratas, Tom Krause, Turandot, Vasile Moldoveanu, Wiesław Ochman, Willy Mattes, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Wolfgang Ebert, Yevgeny Onegin, Zubin Mehtacountermelody

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:53:07 — 155.3MB) | Embed

Subscribe: Spotify | TuneIn | RSS | More

I wanted to start off the year (and the new season of the podcast) with something momentous, and who better to take us there than one of the great operatic artists of the twentieth century: Canadian soprano Teresa Stratas. I have not yet done a full episode on this artist, though she provided me with what was probably my greatest night in the opera house (I get into that in the episode, as well as featuring a rare excerpt of her in that shattering performance). As always with my podcast, I like to provide unexpected glimpses of such a great singer, alongside many of her most legendary moments. So not only do we hear Stratas’ legendary interpretations of her favorite roles (Mimì, Mélisande, Lulu, Violetta, and Salome [the latter a role she never portrayed onstage]), we also hear her in Mozart, her favorite composer, as an operetta singer, as an interpreter of Lieder, in her single Broadway role in the short-lived Rags, and in another of her creations, the title role in Australian composer Peggy Glanville-Hicks’ Nausicaa, as well as two late career Met roles, Liù and the Komponist, roles she had sung there at the beginning of her career, more than thirty years earlier. Along the way, we hear her with artists who have already been featured in previous seasons (Gabriel Bacquier, Florence Quivar and Fritz Wunderlich), but also singers who will each be featured in the upcoming series of the podcast, including Tom Krause, Wiesław Ochman, Bernd Weikl, Elizabeth Harwood, and Vasile Moldoveanu. Also much discussion also about what makes Stratas unique as an interpreter, and why she deserves to be ranked among the very greatest. Welcome to Season Seven!

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 419. Wunderlich in Duet

December 12, 2025African American Singers, Art Song, Bel canto, Canadian Singers, Forgotten Divas, French Opera, Full-Figured Baroque, Giacomo Puccini, Giuseppe Verdi, Great Baritones, Great Tenors, Holiday Music, In Memoriam, Johann Sebastian Bach, Lieder, Listeners' Favorites, Mezzo Madness, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, Opera in Translation, Operetta, Rescue Mission, Singers of Color, Twentieth Century Opera, Wolfgang Amadeus MozartAlexandre Dumas fils, Alfons Rischner, Alfred Brüggemann, Angelo Anelli, Annelies Kupper, Anneliese Rothenberger, Antonia Fahberg, Bedřich Smetana, Bela Jenbach, Berislav Klobučar, Bernhard Michaelis, Bruno Bartoletti, Capriccio, Carl Michalski, Carl Zeller, Christa Ludwig, Clemens Krauss, Daphne, David Belasco, Der Vogelhändler, Der Zarewitsch, Die Ausflüge des Herrn Broucek, Die lustigen Weiber von Windsor, Die Perlenfischer, Die verkaufte Braut, Edith Mathis, Edmond de Biéville, Emilie Dahnk-Baroffio, Erika Köth, Eugène Cormon, Ferdinand Gregori, Ferdinand Leitner, Francesco Maria Piave, František Serafínský Procházka, Franz Lehár, Franz Marszalek, Friederike Sailer, Friedrich von Flotow, Fritz Neumeyer, Fritz Wunderlich, Gabriela Zapolska, Gaetano Donizetti, George Frideric Handel, Georges Bizet, Georges Pretre, Giacomo Puccini, Giovanni Ruffini, Giulio Cesare, Giuseppe Giacosa, Giuseppe Patanè, Giuseppe Verdi, Heinrich Proch, Heinz Reichert, Henri Murger, Hermann Klaiss, Hermann Prey, Hermann Werdermann, Hilde Güden, Horst Stein, Jagdkantate, Johann Andreas Schachtner, Johann Philipp Krieger, Johann Sebastian Bach, John Luther Long, Joseph Gregor, Joseph Keilberth, Jubilant Sykes, Jules-Henri Vernoy de Saint-Georges, Justinus Kerner, Karel Sabina, Karl Forster, Karlheinz Gutheim, La Boheme, Leonard Bernstein, Leos Janacek, Les pecheurs de perles, Lisa Della Casa, Lucia Popp, Ludwig Hartmann, Ludwig Held, Luigi Illica, Madama Butterfly, Mainhard von Zallinger, Marcel Cordes, Maria Stader, Marin Alsop, Martha, Max Kalbeck, Melitta Muszely, Michel Carré, Moritz West, Natalie von Grünhof, Nicola Hayn, Otto Nicolai, Paganini, Paul Knepler, Pilar Lorengar, Prodaná nevěsta, Richard Kraus, Richard Strauss, Robert Heger, Robert Kerns, Robert Schumann, Rolf Reinhardt, Rudolf Kempe, Ruth-Margret Pütz, Salomon Franck, Salomon von Mosenthal, Siegfried Köhler, Stefania Woytowicz, Stephen Schwartz, Svatopluk Čech, Teresa Stratas, The Adventures of Mr. Broucek, Trude Eipperle, Victor Varin, Viktor Dyk, Výlety páně Broučkovy, Waldemar Kmentt, Walter Berry, Was mir behagt, Wilhelm Friedrich, William Shakespeare, Wilma Lipp, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Zaidecountermelody

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:42:34 — 140.8MB) | Embed

Subscribe: Spotify | TuneIn | RSS | More

Anytime I do an episode on Fritz Wunderlich, the sun breaks through the clouds, emotionally speaking. Possessor of a bright-timbred voice of such exquisite beauty anchored by a profoundly satisfying musical sensibility, he and his legacy inspire rather than sadden me. Today I’ve chosen a duet program, because it allows me to showcase Fritz’s effortless stylistic flexibility, while at the same time highlighting a rainbow of singing partners, some of whom are old favorites, and others of whom might not yet be well-known to my listeners. Today’s treasure-trove of singers includes sopranos Maria Stader, Lucia Popp, Teresa Stratas, Erika Köth, Edith Mathis, Stefania Woytowicz, Pilar Lorengar, Melitta Muszely, Trude Eipperle, Hilde Güden, Anneliese Rothenberger, and Ruth-Margret Pütz; mezzo-soprano Christa Ludwig; and baritones Hermann Prey and Marcel Cordes, among others. Wunderlich and his co-stars sing repertoire ranging from the early Baroque through Janáček, including a particularly generous helping of Italian opera (albeit sung mostly in German), German Singspiel and Viennese operetta. It’s a long episode, so don’t hesitate to divide the episode up into bite-sized segments. No matter how you slice it up, I forecast a blissful response to these clarion tones!

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 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 320. Hadley in Wien

December 29, 2024Crossover, Great Tenors, Holiday Music, In Memoriam, Listeners' Favorites, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Operetta, Twentieth Century MusicAdam Carstairs, Alfred Grünwald, Alfred Maria Willner, Bela Jenbach, Carl Millöcker, Das Land der Liebe, Das Land des Lächelns, Deborah Riedel, Der singende Traum, Der Zarewitsch, Die Herzogin von Chicago, Die Rose von Stambul, Die Zirkusprinzessin, Emmerich Kálmán, Erich Korngold, Ernst Marischka, Ernst Steffan, Franz Lehár, Frasquita, Friederike, Friedrich Zell, Fritz Löhner-Beda, Gasparone, Geroges Berr, Giuditta, Gräfin Mariza, Heinz Reichert, Jerry Hadley, Julius Brammer, Leo Fall, Louis Verneuil, Ludwig Herzer, Meine Schwester und ich, operetta, Paganini, Paul Knepler, Ralph Benatzky, Richard Bonynge, Richard Genée, Richard Tauber, Robert Blum, Schön ist die Welt, Victor Léoncountermelody

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:41:40 — 111.8MB) | Embed

Subscribe: Spotify | TuneIn | RSS | More

I can think of no more appropriate way to end this difficult year than with another episode lauding my late friend, the sublime American lyric tenor Jerry Hadley. I am of the firm belief that Jerry was one of the finest singers this country has ever produced. Everyone has their favorite among his performances, which display an eclecticism rare among opera singers, but I believe that his artistry found its fullest and truest expression in his performances of Viennese operetta. His bright, sunny vocal timbre, his capacity for vocal shading and dynamics, his sense of both humor and pathos, his ringing high notes, as well as of precision and acuity of his German diction make him an ideal interpreter of this music. The majority of the music heard on this episode comes from two albums of operetta arias that Jerry recorded in 1995 under the baton of Richard Bonynge. This is supplemented by two duets with Australian soprano Deborah Riedel from a series of English-language versions of Lehár operettas also conducted by Bonynge, as well as various live performances of Jerry in the music of Johann Strauss II and Erich Korngold. While Lehár is the most prominently featured composer, we also heard excerpts from work by Emmerich Kálmán, Carl Millöcker, Ralph Benatzky, Leo Fall, and that king of operetta tenors himself, Richard Tauber, who was also quite a capable composer. The episode concludes with reminiscences of my close friendship with Jerry, crowned by a magisterial live performance of “Dein ist mein ganzes Herz.”

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.