Tag Archives: Elena Obraztsova

Episode 461. Bubbles on the Nile (Original Edition)

May 8, 2026Alternate Universe Bel Canto, Behind the Iron Curtain, Bel canto, Comic Relief, Giacomo Puccini, Giuseppe Verdi, Listeners' Favorites, Needle Drop, NYCO Divas, Richard Strauss, Richard Wagner, Singers in Old Age, Sylvia Sass, Twentieth Century Opera, VerismoAbbé Prevost, Aida, Alexandre Dumas fils, Anatole France, Anja Silja, Antonio Ghislanzoni, Auguste Mariette, Beverly Sills, Bidu Sayao, Carlo Moresco, Carlo Zangarini, Dante Alighieri, Das Telefon, David Belasco, Der Rosenkavalier, Domenico Oliva, Donald Voorhees, Elena Obraztsova, Ernani, Francesco Maria Piave, Gabriele Santini, Ghena Dimitrova, Giacomo Puccini, Gian Carlo Menotti, Gianni Schicchi, Giovacchino Forzano, Giulio Neri, Giuseppe Giacosa, Giuseppe Sinopoli, Giuseppe Verdi, Guelfo Civinini, Gwyneth Jones, Heinrich Bender, Henri Murger, Hugo von Hofmannsthal, John Luther Long, Jules Massenet, Ken’ichiro Kobayashi, La Boheme, La Fanciulla del West, La Traviata, Licia Albanese, Louis Gallet, Luigi Illica, Madama Butterfly, Magda Olivero, Manlio Giovagnoli, Manon Lescaut, Marcel Prawy, Marco Praga, Marilyn Horne, Montserrat Caballé, Oliviero de Fabritiis, Pagliacci, Regina Resnik, Renata Tebaldi, Richard Strauss, Richard Wagner, Ruggero Leoncavallo, Salvatore Marchesi, Silvano Carroli, Sylvia Sass, Temistocle Solera, Thaïs, The Telephone, Tommaso Quinto, Ugo Tansini, Uwe Mund, Vazha Chachava, Victor Hugo, Virginia Zeani, Wolfgang Rennertcountermelody

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I recently obtained a copy of the rare pirate recording entitled “Bubbles on the Nile (and Other Rare Phenomena): Familiar Divas in Unfamiliar Repertoire.” It foregrounds 13 favorite twentieth-century divas singing roles with which they were not commonly associated. Prominently featured, of course, is the artist featured in a lovingly caricatured drawing on the cover of the LP, Beverly Sills (AKA Bubbles) singing, as the title implies, the title role of Verdi’s Aida, a role which she seldom sang, and then only at the beginning of her career. Today I am offering the (somewhat expanded) contents of that album, which also features Ghena Dimitrova, Licia Albanese, Regina Resnik, Virginia Zeani, Renata Tebaldi, Montserrat Caballé, among others, in operatic roles that might surprise you. I am hoping that today’s episode might lead to a series of similar episodes this summer: I did a survey earlier this week among my listeners about what favorite divas they would like to see featured in uncommon roles and I received some amazing recommendations and suggestions. So take your seats and hold tight: the maiden voyage of this barge is about to depart down the Nile. (And for those of you who are concerned that I never seem to have a snarky word to say about anyone, you’ll want to fasten your seatbelts: I might have a choice word or two about some of the singers heard today!)

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 460. A Countermelody Nosegay (Mostly Mezzos Edition)

May 4, 2026Art Song, Behind the Iron Curtain, Broadway, Canadian Singers, Comic Relief, Crossover, Forgotten Divas, French Opera, Full-Figured Baroque, Great Contraltos, In Memoriam, Lieder, Mezzo Madness, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, Pop Icons, Singers in Old Age, Twentieth Century Music, Voiceless Wonders, Wolfgang Amadeus MozartAlban Berg, Albert Vanloo, Alec Wilder, Andreas Sandor, Antoine et Cléopâtre, Arnold Schoenberg, Ben Jonson, Benita Valente, Bob Merrill, Boris Khaikin, Charles Blackwell, Claude Jean Chiasson, Desmond Dupré, Don Costa, Edward Eliscu, Elena Obraztsova, Emmanuel Bondeville, Emmanuel Chabrier, Ernest Ansermet, Erwin Ramor, Eugène Leterrier, Françoise Hardy, Friedrich Rückert, Friedrich Schiller, Funny Girl, Gertrude Niesen, Guy Bontempelli, Hal Mooney, Hartmut Höll, Helen Merrill, Helen Watts, Henri Heveningham, Henry Purcell, Hugues Cuenod, John Dankworth, John Newmark, Jule Styne, Julius Rudel, Kathleen Ferrier, L’étoile, La Clemenza di Tito, Lisa Kirk, Louis De Froment, Marie Therèse Escribano, Maurice Jacobson, Mimi Hines, Mitsuko Shirai, Ninon Vallin, Percy Faith, Phil Ford, Pietro Metastasio, Pyotr Il’yich Tchaikovsky, Robert Johnson, Roger VIgnoles, Sarah Walker, Spike Milligan, Stefan George, Tatiana Troyanos, The Maid of Orleans, Thurston Dart, Vera Nogrady, Vincent Youmans, Viorica Cortez, William Engvick, William Shakespeare, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Zoltan Thirringcountermelody

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One of my favorite kinds of Countermelody episode is a potpourri of singers, music, and recordings that charm and enchant to me at that given moment. Today’s episode, which began as a compiled setlist about six months ago, is a particularly enchanting bouquet of musical delights, or, to coin a favorite word from my childhood, a “nosegay.” Today’s bevy of mostly mezzos and contraltos includes such old favorites of mine as Helen Watts, Ninon Vallin, Lisa Kirk, Mitsuko Shirai, Tatiana Troyanos, Elena Obraztsova, Sarah Walker, and Françoise Hardy, joined by new favorites Gertrude Niesen, Mimi Hines, Viorica Cortez, Marie-Thérèse Escribano, and Helen Merrill, with the slender but delectable voice of long-lived Swiss tenor Hugues Cuénod guiding the way to a similar treasure trove of tenors that will follow in a few weeks.

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.

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 308. Mezzos on the Verge

November 20, 2024African American Singers, Art Song, Behind the Iron Curtain, Black History Month 2024, Forgotten Divas, French Opera, Full-Figured Baroque, Great Contraltos, Great Tenors, Lieder, Mezzo Madness, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Richard Strauss, Richard Wagner, Singers of Color, VerismoAngela Morley, Angelo Zanardini, Boris Khaikin, Brigitte Fassbaender, Camille Saint-Saens, Cavalleria Rusticana, Charles Gounod, Charles Mackerras, David Climie, Dido and Aeneas, Dimitri Mitropoulos, Ebe Stignani, Elektra, Elena Obraztsova, Émile Augier, Ferdinand Lemaire, Franco Corelli, Georges Pretre, Gian Carlo Menotti, Gianandrea Gavazzeni, Giovanni Targioni-Tozzetti, Giovanni Verga, Giulietta Simionato, Götterdämmerung, Guido Menasci, Gwendolyn Killebrew, Henry Purcell, Hugo von Hofmannsthal, Inge Borkh, Irwin Gage, Jean Madeira, Jorge Mester, Karl Lemcke, Kashchey the Immortal, Khovanshchina, Lev Steinberg, Modest Mussorgsky, Muriel Smith, Nadezhda Obukhova, Nahum Tate, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, Pierre Boulez, Pietro Mascagni, Regina Resnik, Richard Strauss, Richard Wagner, Ronald Cass, Samson et Dalila, Sapho, Shirley Verrett, Tatiana Troyanos, The Medium, Umberto Berrettoni, Wally Stottcountermelody

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I am taking a short break before posting the final in my Mexican Opera Singers miniseries to bring you a compilation episode that is sure to get your blood flowing. I’ve entitled it “Mezzos on the Verge,” and that is exactly what it is: mezzo-sopranos portraying characters in extreme emotional situations. Whether it is Dalila (portrayed by Ebe Stignani) summoning the pagan gods to give her strength to conquer an infatuated strongman; Elena Obraztsova or Nadezhda Obukhova casting spells or predicting the future; Giulietta Simionato as Santuzza confronting Franco Corelli’s faithless Turiddu on the steps of the Sicilian village church on Easter morning; Gwendolyn Killebrew as Waltraute imploring help of her sister Brünnhilde to circumvent the Twilight of the Gods; Jean Madeira as Klytemnästra desperately seeking rest for her troubled soul; Shirley Verrett as Sapho preparing to throw herself into the sea; or Tatiana Troyanos as Dido dying of a broken heart – there’s something for each of us who might be feeling themselves in over their heads these days. Unlike most of us. however, (and luckily for us as well), each of these magnificent mezzos is expressing that anguish in glorious song.