Tag Archives: Enrique Granados

Episode 415. Our Feathered Friends (Stage Edition)

November 29, 2025African American Singers, Behind the Iron Curtain, Bel canto, Black History Month, Black History Month 2025, Broadway, Crossover, Forgotten Divas, French Opera, Full-Figured Baroque, Great Tenors, Happy Birthday, Ileana Cotrubas, Listeners' Favorites, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, Opera in Translation, Operetta, Rescue Mission, Singers of Color, Sylvia Sass, Twentieth Century Opera, VerismoAcis and Galatea, Alex Rybeck, Alexander Pushkin, Aristophanes, Bruno Bartoletti, Charles Gounod, Darius Lyons, Die Frau ohne Schatten, Die lustigen Weiber von Windsor, Die Vögel, Edward Agate, Edward Bond, Emma Calvé, Endrik Wottrich, Enrique Granados, Ervin Lukács, ETA Hoffmann, Félicien David, Fernando Periquet, Flore Wend, Frédéric Mistral, Fritz Wunderlich, Gabriel de Lurieu, George Frideric Handel, Gioachino Rossini, Giovanni Boccaccio, Giovanni Gherardini, Granados, Hans Christian Andersen, Harolyn Blackwell, Hellen Kwon, Hippolyte et Aricie, Hugh Wheeler, Hugo von Hofmannsthal, Igor Markevitch, Igor Stravinsky, Ileana Cotrubas, Jacqueline Delman, Jacques Offenbach, James King, Janine Micheau, Jean Giono, Jean-Baptiste, Jean-Philippe Rameau, Jill Gomez, John Gay, Joseph Gabriel, Joseph Stein, Jules Barbier, Kurt Eichhorn, La gazza ladra, La Perle du Brésil, Laurent Halet, Le Coq d’Or, Le Rossignol, Leïla ben Sedira, Les Contes d’Hoffmann, Les noces de Jeannette, Liz Callaway, Loren Driscoll, Lothar Zagroszek, Louis-Charles Caigniez, Marcel Pagnol, Mattiwilda Dobbs, Maurice Frigara, Michel Carré, Mireille, Nadia Boulanger, Neville Marriner, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, Ninon Vallin, Otto Nicolai, Pagliacci, Paul Gemignani, Racine, Reri Grist, Richard Strauss, Ritt Henn, Robert Heger, Ron Tierno, Ruggero Leoncavallo, Salomon Hermann Mosenthal, Simon-Joseph Pellegrin, Stepan Mitusov, Stephen Schwartz, Stephen Sondheim, Sweeney Todd, Sylvain Saint-Étienne, Sylvia Sass, The Baker’s Wife, The Golden Cockerel, The Nightingale, Théodore Baudouin d’Aubigny, Tony Aubin, Victor Massé, Vilem Tausky, Walter Braunfels, William Shakespeare, Соловейcountermelody

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As I sat yesterday pondering all my friends, family, and compatriots celebrating Thanksgiving, my thoughts turned to the turkey, the traditional sacrificial creature for this event. And whatever the avian counterpart of a rabbit hole is, that’s where my thoughts turned as I realized that a tribute to our feathered friends in general would make a nice, lightweight, potpourri episode as we once again hurtle into the final preparations for the holiday season. As my list of possible repertoire exploded, I decided to limit myself only to stage works in which a bird is somehow involved: as a character, as a symbol, as a metaphor, perhaps even as all three simultaneously. So, with composers ranging from Rameau to Sondheim, including such forgotten figures as Walter Braunfels, Victor Massé, and Félicien David, I have put together a wonderful program that focuses particularly but not exclusively on the florid French repertoire, performed by such favorites as Reri Grist, James King, Ileana Cotrubas, Fritz Wunderlich, Sylvia Sass, and Mattiwilda Dobbs, bolstered by such relative newcomers to Countermelody as Léïla Ben Sédira, Ninon Vallin, Janine Micheau, Harolyn Blackwell, Emma Calvé, Endrik Wottrich, Liz Callaway, and Flore Wend. In addition, I am particularly thrilled to present a sublime singer whom I’d not yet encountered before yesterday: the British-Swedish songbird Jacqueline Delman, singing Granados!

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 406. Dan’s Belated Birthday Gals (Soprano Edition)

October 28, 2025African American Singers, Art Song, Bel canto, Black History Month, Black History Month 2025, Broadway, Crossover, Forgotten Divas, French Opera, Full-Figured Baroque, Great Baritones, Happy Birthday, In Memoriam, Johann Sebastian Bach, Lieder, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, Operetta, Pop Icons, Richard Strauss, Singers of Color, Twentieth Century Music, Twentieth Century Opera, Verismo, Voiceless WondersAchim von Arnim, Alicia de Larrocha, André Emelianoff, Andrée Esposito, Annie Fullard, Arabella, Arleen Augér, Bela Jenbach, Benita Valente, Canciones amatorias, Clemens Brentano, Colette Herzog, Delia Rigal, Des Knaben Wunderhorn, Don Shirley, Donald Voorhees, Edith Mathis, Elizabeth Harwood, Enrique Granados, Erik Werba, Erika Eckert, Erika Köth, Eugène Bigot, Eugène Scribe, Faye Robinson, Francis Poulenc, Frank Bridge, Frank Dempster Sherman, Franz Lehár, Franz Schulz, Genevieve Touraine, Georges Bizet, Georges Jean-Aubry, Gerald Moore, Germain Delavigne, Giacomo Meyerbeer, Gordon Gottlieb, Gottfried Heinrich Stölzel, Gotthard Arnér, Gustav Mahler, Hans May, Harold Arlen, Hilde Güden, Hugo von Hofmannsthal, Ignaz Michael Welleminsky, Irmgard Seefried, Jacqueline Bonneau, Jacques Février, Jacques Ibert, Jacques Mars, Jean Sibelius, Jerome Kern, Jill Gomez, Joanna Bassett, Joel Lester, Johann Sebastian Bach, Johannes Brahms, John Constable, John DeMain, Johnny Mercer, Juan Emilio Martini, Judith Blegen, Judith Raskin, Jules Barbier, Jules Laforgue, Karl Böhm, Karl Engel, Karl Friedrich Wilhelm Herrosee, Klaus Groth, Kurt Eichhorn, La Courte Paille, Laura Zaerr, Louise de Vilmorin, Ludwig van Beethoven, Manuel de Falla, Margarete Teschemacher, Martha Flowers, Martin Katz, Mathieu Ahlersmeyer, Matthew Arnold, Mattiwilda Dobbs, Maurice Carême, Melitta Muszely, Merry Peckham, Métamorphoses, Miriam Gideon, Nino [né Michel Jean Verber], Oscar Hammerstein II, Oscar Levertin, Paganini, Pagliacci, Patricia Spencer, Paul Knepler, Persée et Andromède, Pilar Lorengar, Prayers of Kierkegaard, Ralf Gothoni, Richard Strauss, Robert Gilbert, Robert le Diable, Robert Shaw, Robert Stolz, Ronald Roseman, Ruggero Leoncavallo, Samuel Barber, Show Boat, Søren Kierkegaard, St. Louis Woman, Taru Valjakka, Teresa Stratas, Walter Reisch, Zwei Herzen im Dreivierteltaktcountermelody

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The last of my festive potpourri episodes for this, my birthday month, this episode focuses on a favorite vocal range of this opera queen: the soprano voice, in all its variety and glory. Included are such pristine lyric voices as Erika Köth, Benita Valente (who just departed us last weekend, shortly after celebrating her 91st birthday), Judith Raskin, Judith Blegen, Mattiwilda Dobbs, and Edith Mathis, among others; medium- to heavier-weight lyric voices such as Pilar Lorengar, Delia Rigal, Teresa Stratas, Taru Valjakka, Melitta Muszely, and Margarete Teschemacher; and “ambiguous” voices as Arleen Augér, Martha Flowers, Irmgard Seefried, Andrée Esposito, Jill Gomez (pictured), Faye Robinson, Hilde Güden, and Elizabeth Harwood which could, if you’ll pardon the term, “swing both ways,” at least in terms of vocal weight! They perform a wide range of material of material including vocal chamber music by Manuel de Falla and Miriam Gideon; art song by Brahms, Bridge, Poulenc, Beethoven, Bizet, Granados, Sibelius, and Mahler; operetta and musical selections by Arlen, Lehár, Stolz, and Kern; and full-throated operatic selections by Richard Strauss, Jacques Ibert, Leoncavallo, and Meyerbeer. It’s another jam-packed episode guaranteed (in a limited sense) to bring you the full-range of listening pleasure.

Episode 324. Margaret Price in Trauer und Trost

January 14, 2025Art Song, Bel canto, Giuseppe Verdi, Gustav Mahler, In Memoriam, Lieder, Listeners' Favorites, Margaret Price, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, Orchestral Songs, Richard Strauss, Schubert, Twentieth Century MusicAlban Berg, Alexander Pushkin, Claudio Abbado, Cyprien, Eduard Mörike, Enrique Granados, Felix Mendelssohn, Ferdinand Freiligrath, Fernando Periquet, Franz Liszt, Franz Schubert, Friedrich Leopold zu Stolberg-Stolberg, Friedrich Rückert, Geoffrey Parsons, Giuseppe Verdi, Grace Williams, Graham Johnson, Gustav Mahler, Heinrich Heine, Hermann Allmers, Hermann Hesse, Hugo Wolf, Jacqueline Laidlaw, James Lockhart, Johann Wolfang von Goethe, Johannes Brahms, Katsaris, Ludwig Gotthard Kosegarten, Luigi Balestra, Margaret Price, Maria Korchinska, Maurice Ravel, Neville Marriner, Peter Altenberg, Peter Cornelius, Philip Cannon, Richard Dehmel, Richard Strauss, Robert Schumann, Sergei Rachmaninov, Thomas Dewey, Vier letzte Lieder, Wolfgang Gönnenwein, Wolfgang Sawallischcountermelody

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These days I find myself in a pensive, troubled state, very much in need of the kind of consolation that only music can provide. A number of years ago, I published a pair of episodes featuring the sublime Margaret Price performing music of mourning and consolation. Today’s episode presents an expanded and refurbished version of the second of those episodes, in a program composed entirely of art song, moving through a sequence of emotions surrounding loss. Composers include Johannes Brahms, Giuseppe Verdi, Robert Schumann, Enrique Granados, Franz Schubert, Grace Williams, Sergei Rachmaninov, Felix Mendelssohn, Philip Cannon, Hugo Wolf, Alban Berg, Maurice Ravel, Franz Liszt, Peter Cornelius, and Richard Strauss, and collaborating pianists and conductors include Claudio Abbado, Wolfgang Sawallisch, Cyprien Katsaris, Geoffrey Parsons, and Neville Marriner, as well as frequent collaborators James Lockhart and Thomas Dewey. A thorough traversal of the song repertoire by one of the supreme recitalists of the late 20th Century.

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 61. Margaret Price I: The Voice of Consolation (Music for a World in Crisis V)

November 15, 2020Art Song, Giuseppe Verdi, Lieder, Margaret Price, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, SchubertAdrian Boult, Alain Lombard, Alban Berg, Andre Previn, Carl Maria von Weber, Claudio Abbado, Cosi fan tutte, Der Freischütz, Don Carlo, Edward Elgar, Ein deutsches Requiem [A German Requiem], Enrique Granados, Franz Schubert, Geoffrey Parsons, Giuseppe Verdi, Hans Sotin, Heinz Wallberg, James Lockhart, Johannes Brahms, John Pritchard, Lamberto Gardelli, Margaret Price, Otello, Otto Klemperer, Phyllis Tate, Renato Bruson, Riccardo Muti, Robert Schumann, Simon Boccanegra, The Kingdom (Elgar), Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Yvonne Mintoncountermelody

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Our world seems to be falling apart, both in the personal and in the global sense. I sustained an enormous personal loss this week when my dear friend Fred Berndt, the great German stage director, died suddenly on Friday. But we are all feeling an enormous sense of despair, of hopelessness, even of rage. Even before Fred’s death, I recognized that this episode needed to offer a message of hope to those who are finding it difficult to negotiate the world right now. The voice that has spoken to me most in my sadness is the Welsh soprano Margaret Price (1941-2011), whose distinctively cool yet engaged timbre, scrupulous musicianship, and communicative gifts prove unfailingly capable of conveying comfort and consolation to those who are distressed or grieving. I offer a survey of the career of this exemplary singer, a personal favorite of mine, in a wide range of repertoire including opera, oratorio, and art song. Composers include her specialties Mozart and Verdi, as well as Brahms, Strauss, Schumann, Schubert, Weber, Elgar, and the undervalued British composer Phyllis Tate. Collaborators include Otto Klemperer, Claudio Abbado, John Pritchard, Alain Lombard, Adrian Boult, and her mentor, the pianist and conductor James Lockhart, among many others. I hope that Margaret Price and her voice of consolation bring you much solace.

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, including a new extra episode further exploring today’s topic.

Episode 35. Charm: A Second Helping

May 17, 2020African American Singers, Art Song, Comic Relief, In Memoriam, Needle Drop, OperettaAksel Schiotz, Alan Jay Lerner, Anton Paulik, Brigadoon, Burton Lane, Carl Nielsen, Carl Zeller, Charles Trenet, Conchita Supervia, Danny Kaye, Der Vogelhändler, Don Quichotte à Dulcinée, Dorothy Warenskjold, Dusolina Giannini, Eduardo di Capua, Edwin Schneider, Elisabeth Schumann, Ella Fitzgerald, Ella Logan, Emmerich Kálmán, Enrique Granados, Erich Kunz, Franz Lehár, Frederick Loewe, Fritzi Massary, Gabriel Bacquier, Gilbert & Sullivan, Harold Adamson, Hermann Prey, Hilde Güden, HItting a New High, Im Prater blüh’n wieder die Bäume, Jean Laforge, Jimmy McHugh, Johann Strauss II, John McCormack, Joséphine Baker, Judith Blegen, Julie Andrews, Julius Patzak, Lily Pons, Lois Marshall, Lucia Popp, Lucrezia Bori, Magda Kalmár, Marc Berthomieu, Maria Kurenko, Marta Eggerth, Maurice Ravel, Maxine Sullivan, Müde bin ich geh’ zur Ruh, O Sole Mio, Richard Tauber, Robert Stolz, The Last Rose of Summer, Tito Schipa, Weißt Du wieviel Sternlein stehen, Yip Harburg, Yvonne Printempscountermelody

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Last week we had such an overflowing of vocal, artistic, and personal charm that I was compelled to produce a second episode on the subject with a fresh batch of charmers. We begin the episode with a tribute to Gabriel Bacquier, the iconic French (bass-)baritone who died this past week just four days short of his 96th birthday. I feature him in three rare selections that represent him in repertoire which is a far cry from his operatic roles. I then resume the survey of charm as demonstrated by artists as varied as Conchita Supervia, Joséphine Baker, Hilde Güden, Ella Fitzgerald, Yvonne Printemps, John McCormack, Lois Marshall, Charles Trenet, Lucrezia Bori, Lily Pons, Hermann Prey, Dusolina Giannini, Tito Schipa, Richard Tauber, Julie Andrews, Julius Patzak, Maria Kurenko, Judith Blegen, Danny Kaye, Marta Eggerth, Elisabeth Schumann, Fritzi Massary, Maxine Sullivan, Magda Kalmár, Ella Logan, Dorothy Warenskjold, Aksel Schiøtz, Erich Kunz, and Lucia Popp. Repertoire ranges from operetta (including Franz Lehár in three different languages), folk song arrangements, musicals, art song, pop music, and children’s songs. Amazingly, opera is nowhere to be seen in this episode, but that will certainly change in the next week, when we take up consideration of Charm’s cousin, Glamour.

Countermelody is a 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 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.