Tag Archives: Ervin Lukács

Episode 357. Faust auf Deutsch

May 10, 2025Forgotten Divas, French Opera, Great Baritones, Great Tenors, Listeners' Favorites, Needle Drop, Opera in Translation, Sylvia SassBruno Seidler-Winkler, Charles Gounod, Colette Lorand, Dagmar Naaff, Eberhard Wächter, Emmy Destinn, Ernst Kozub, Ervin Lukács, Faust, Ferdinand Leitner, Franz Crass, Heinz Hoppe, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Jules Barbier, Karl Jörn, Kim Borg, Marcel Couraud, Maria Stader, Michel Carré, Paul Knüpfer, Sylvia Sasscountermelody

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Today I offer three different recordings of excerpts, sung in German, from Charles Gounod’s opera Faust, which was known in the day in Germany as Margarethe. The Germans have always regarded this work with more than a little scorn because it has so little to do with Goethe’s towering masterpiece upon which it is based. The earliest of today’s excerpts is from a complete 1908 recording on the Berlin branch of the Grammophon label (when such a thing as a complete operatic recording was virtually unheard of), featuring Emmy Destinn, Karl Jörn and Paul Knüpfer under the baton of Bruno Seidler-Winkler. Much later came two recordings of excerpts in German: the first released on Deutsche Grammophon in 1958 with stalwart recording artist Maria Stader; nonpareil Kavalierbariton Eberhard Wächter; fierce Finnish bass Kim Borg; and the late German lyric tenor Heinz Hoppe under Ferdinand Leitner. The latter was released on Philips in 1963 with Ernst Kozub (recently featured on a “rehabilitational” Countermelody episode; the extraordinary German bass Franz Crass, and Swiss mega-soprano Colette Lorand (soon to be featured in her own Countermelody episode) under Marcel Couraud. As a bonus, I also feature a very young Sylvia Sass in one of her very first recordings from 1975 singing Marguerite’s Jewel Song in Hungarian.

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 262. Sylvia Sass Revisited

May 17, 2024Art Song, Behind the Iron Curtain, Bel canto, Broadway, Crossover, Forgotten Divas, French Opera, Giacomo Puccini, Giuseppe Verdi, Great Tenors, Lieder, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, Opera in Translation, Operetta, Orchestral Songs, Richard Strauss, Sylvia Sass, Twentieth Century Music, Twentieth Century Opera, Verismo, Wolfgang Amadeus MozartAdalbert von Chamisso, Alain Lombard, Aldo Ceccato, Alexandre Dumas fils, Alfred Grünwald, Alfred Maria Willner, András Kórodi, András Schiff, András Sebestyén, Andrea Maffei, Andrea Martin, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Béla Bartók, Béni Egressy, Charles Gounod, Cosi fan tutte, Cristina Brancato, Emmerich Kálmán, Endre Ady, Ervin Lukács, Ferenc Erkel, Ferenc Szőnyi, Fernando Previtali, Francesco Maria Piave, Frauenliebe und -leben, Gaetano Donizetti, Giacomo Puccini, Gianluigi Gelmetti, Giorgio Moroder, Giovanni Foiani, Giuseppe Adami, Giuseppe Verdi, Gräfin Mariza, Heinz Reichert, Hunyadi László, I Lombardi alla Prima Crociata, Irene Cara, Iván Bradányi, János Kovács, Jesus Christ Superstar, José Carreras, Joseph von Eichendorff, Jules Barbier, Julius Brammer, Keith Forsey, La rondine, La Traviata, Lamberto Gardelli, Lili Áldor, Lorenzo da Ponte, Lucia di Lammermoor, Ludwig van Beethoven, Macbeth, Maria Grazia Piolatto, Michel Carré, Michel Plasson, Neil Shicoff, Nicola Ghiuselev, Patrizia Dordi, Péter Wolf, Richard Strauss, Richard Woitach, Robert Schumann, Roméo et Juliette, Rosanna Didonè, Ryszard Karczykowski, Salvadore Cammarano, Sylvia Sass, Temistocle Solera, Tim Rice, Tommaso Grossi, Tosca, Vier letzte Lieder, Walter Scott, William Shakespeare, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Zsolt Durkócountermelody

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Several summers ago I published my first episode celebrating the artistry of Sylvia Sass which primarily featured her 1984 album of pop songs sung in Hungarian. At the time I called it, without any irony, the finest crossover album of the 1980s and one of the best of all time. Sass is an artist who continues to engage discourse. Many of the opinions, theories, and input encountered therein are predicated on dissecting the reasons for her short international career. My objective with today’s episode, however, is simply to celebrate Sass’s singing in all its glory, extending from the standard Italian operatic repertoire with which she is most associated through the thorniest contemporary idioms to the subtlest art song to the most refined Mozart singing, with, once again, a nod to the pop material which initially drew me to her. I always say that I believe in giving flowers to our favorite artists when they are still around to receive them, and today’s bouquet is a stunning display full of color and variety humbly presented to one of my favorite divas.

Episode 47. Sylvia Sass (Crossover Classics III)

August 9, 2020Bel canto, Crossover, Operetta, Sylvia SassA Kékszakállú herceg vára, András Sebestyén, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Anthony Hymas, Barry Gibb, Béla Balázs, Béla Bartók, Bluebeard’s Castle, Bridge over Troubled Water, Daniel Molnár, Don Giovanni, Ervin Lukács, G. Dénes György, Gábor Lakatos, Georg Solti, Giuseppe Verdi, Híd a romlás vizén [Bridge over Troubled Water], Il Trovatore, Iván Bradányi, Jacques Offenbach, James Diamond, Jesus Christ Superstar, Jim Steinman, Joe Jackson, Kolos Kováts, La Belle Helene, Miklós Tibor, Nello Santi, Nézz körül [Total Eclipse of the Heart], Paul Simon, Péter Wolf, Pyotr Il’yich Tchaikovsky, Richard Strauss, Robin Gibb, Sarà qual che sarà, Stephen Bishop, Sylvia Sass, Szerelmes asszony, Tim Rice, Total Eclipse of the Heart, Vier letzte Lieder, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Woman in Lovecountermelody

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The Hungarian soprano Sylvia Sass was a comet in the operatic firmament in the mid-1970s through the 1980s, most celebrated for singing the heaviest dramatic coloratura repertoire. In 1984 she also released a crossover album entitled Nézz körül, which I purchased when it was first released, and which amused me to no end, featuring as it did songs from “Flashdance” to “Total Eclipse of the Heart,” all sung in Hungarian. As the years have passed, and I have become more and more of a Sass fan, I have completely revised my opinion of this unusual entry into the Crossover Classics genre and now am of the opinion that Sass’s achievement on this record represents the peak of opera singers singing crossover material. Her unusual and compelling voice is heard at its most mellifluous here; her musicianship is at the complete and non-condescending service of the material, which ranges from Andrew Lloyd Webber to Quincy Jones; and the intensity of her delivery, contrasted with the sometimes tacky arrangements, makes for a unique and delectable experience. I supplement material from that album with several examples of Sass’s magisterial performances of operetta and classical music, from Mozart and Offenbach through Ferenc Erkel and Richard Strauss, pausing (regretfully only momentarily) on her matchless Verdi portrayals. Prepare for the Total Eclipse of the Kékszakállú!

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!