Tag Archives: Ettore Caimi

Episode 453. Out of Commission

April 10, 2026Bel canto, French Opera, Giacomo Puccini, Giuseppe Verdi, Great Tenors, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, VerismoAbbé Prevost, Alfonse Royer, Alfredo Kraus, Ángel de Saavedra, Arrigo Boito, Carlo Bergonzi, Charles Duveyrier, Charles Gounod, Didier Gold, Domenico Oliva, Ettore Caimi, Eugène Scribe, Faust, Felice Romani, Francesco Jannetti, Francesco Maria Piave, Franco Corelli, Fromental Halévy, Gaetano Donizetti, Giacomo Puccini, Giuseppe Adami, Giuseppe di Stefano, Giuseppe Giacosa, Giuseppe Verdi, Gustave Vaëz, I vespri siciliani, Il tabarro, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, José Carreras, Jules Barbier, Jussi Bjorling, L’elisir d’amore, La favorita, La forza del destino, La Juive, Luciano Pavarotti, Luigi Illica, Manon Lescaut, Marco Praga, Mario del Monaco, Mefistofele, Michel Carré, Nicolai Gedda, Richard Tucker, Tosca, Victorien Sardoucountermelody

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Next up in my series of Countermelody “vacation episodes,” here’s the tenor counterpart of the soprano episode I published at the beginning of the week. This is the Historical Recording Enterprises mid-1970s release of the first of two issues of “Ten Top Tenors in Ten Live Performances.” Included in the mix are Carlo Bergonzi, Jussi Björling, José Carreras, Franco Corelli, Giuseppe di Stefano, and others singing favorite tenor arias from Manon Lescaut, La forza del destino, L’elisir d’amore, Tosca, among others, in live performances recorded between 1950 and 1976. The album is punctuated by my commentary on each of the individual singers, usually respectful, sometimes a little sassy. Next week you’ll hear Volume Two from the same collection, containing additional rafter-shaking favorites with similar commentary from your host!

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 452. Out of the Office

April 5, 2026Bel canto, Forgotten Divas, Ileana Cotrubas, Listeners' Favorites, Needle Drop, NYCO Divas, Renata Scotto, Sylvia Sass, Verismo, Wolfgang Amadeus MozartAlexandre Dumas fils, Antonio Somma, Beverly Sills, Carlo Gozzi, Charles Duveyrier, Don Giovanni, Ettore Caimi, Eugène Scribe, Felice Romani, Francesco Maria Piave, Gaetano Donizetti, Giacomo Puccini, Gilda Cruz-Romo, Giuseppe Adami, Giuseppe Giacosa, Giuseppe Verdi, I due Foscari, I Lombardi, I vespri siciliani, Ileana Cotrubas, La Traviata, Leyla Gencer, Lord Byron, Lorenzo da Ponte, Lucreza Borgia, Luigi Illica, Magda Olivero, Montserrat Caballé, Renata Scotto, Renato Simoni, Sylvia Sass, Temistocle Solera, Tommaso Grossi, Tosca, Un ballo in maschera, Victorien Sardou, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozartcountermelody

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Hello, fans and listeners! I am “Óut of the Office” for the next two weeks, hence the tongue-in-cheek title of this episode, the first of four recycled potpourri episodes bringing you four records issued on the pirate label Historical Recordings Enterprises in the 1970s. Two of them (including today’s) feature great sopranos of that era, and two of them celebrate “ten top tenors” each. A few years ago, David was preparing to downsize to a new apartment in NYC and one of my tasks was to go through his LPs. In doing so, I discovered the two soprano volumes. Low impact, perhaps, in terms of my prep level, but high calorie in terms of content! Here are some of the greatest sopranos of the 1970s (and earlier) in incendiary live performances which will leave you gasping for air (at least I was!) Included are such favorites of the Opera Queens (of whatever persuasion or orientation) as Montserrat Caballé, Leyla Gencer, Magda Olivero, Renata Scotto, and Beverly Sills in addition to such personal favorites of mine as Ileana Cotrubaș, Sylvia Sass, and Gilda Cruz-Romo. Many of these singers have been featured on their own spotlight episodes on Countermelody but the performances featured here are typical of the pirate releases of the 1970s, rare material in sometimes spotty sound but representing these sopranos at their thrilling best. There’s a lot of Verdi, but also some Puccini, Donizetti, and even Mozart. All told a thrilling and rare collection which I am thrilled to share with my pals as I step away from the mic for a couple weeks!

Episode 412. Luciano and Mirella Go Home Again

November 17, 2025Bel canto, French Opera, Giacomo Puccini, Giuseppe Verdi, Great Tenors, Happy Birthday, In Memoriam, Listeners' Favorites, Needle Drop, Opera in Translation, VerismoAlexandre Chatrain, Alexandre Dumas fils, Amilcare Ponchielli, Armando Gatto, Arrigo Boito, Caliso Bassi, Carlo Gozzi, Charles Duveyrier, Édouard Blau, Émile Erckmann, Ettore Caimi, Eugène Scribe, Felice Romani, Francesco Maria Piave, Gaetano Donizetti, Georges Hartmann, Giacomo Meyerbeer, Giacomo Puccini, Giuseppe Adami, Giuseppe Giacosa, Giuseppe Verdi, Henri Murger, I vespri siciliani, Jean-François Bayard, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Jules Massenet, Jules-Henri Vernoy de Saint-Georges, L’Africaine, L’africana, L’amico Fritz, L’elisir d’amore, La Boheme, La figlia del reggimento, La fille du regiment, La Gioconda, La Traviata, Leone Magiera, Luciano Pavarotti, Luigi Illica, Marco Marcello, Mirella Freni, Nello Santi, Nicola Daspuro, P. Suardon, Paul Milliet, Pietro Mascagni, Renato Simoni, Tosca, Turandot, Victor Hugo, Victorien Sardou, Werthercountermelody

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Today some real meat and potatoes Italian opera. Oh, wait, perhaps we should call it spaghetti alla bolognese rather than meat and potatoes. So often on the podcast I bring singers to the fore that are not as well known as some of the biggest stars in opera. But today I bring you both Luciano Pavarotti and Mirella Freni, two of the most popular and celebrated Italian opera stars in the history of opera, especially opera in the late twentieth century. As many already know, the two singers both grew up in Modena, where their working-class mothers worked in the same cigar factory; as budding opera singers, they subsequently studied voice with the same teacher in Mantova. They remained lifelong friends and often sang together, especially in La Bohème. In 1980, the two returned to their native Modena where they performed together at the Teatro Comunale di Modena, known since 2021 as the Teatro Comunale Pavarotti-Freni. The concert was conducted by Freni’s ex-husband Leone Magiera, also a native of Modena. In this concert, they performed duets from their shared repertoire: Elisir d’amore, Traviata, and L’amico Fritz. They also performed solo arias from La figlia del reggimento and Vespri siciliani (Freni) and Werther and L’africana (Pavarotti). The material is supplemented on today’s episode with arias from both singers in contemporaneous live performances at the Arena di Verona. And this entire songfest is topped with the cherry of a live 1965 concert on French television of “O soave fanciulla” in which their joined voices are heard in the first flush of youth.

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 371. Margherita Roberti @ 100 (with August Ventura)

June 27, 2025Bel canto, Forgotten Divas, Giacomo Puccini, Giuseppe Verdi, Great Baritones, Great Contraltos, Great Tenors, Happy Birthday, In Memoriam, Interview, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, Rescue Mission, VerismoAchille de Lauzières, Alberto Erede, Andrea Maffeo, Antonino Votto, Antonio García Gutiérrez, Arturo Colautti, Bruno Bartoletti, Camille du Locle, Charles Duveyrier, Don Carlo, Ernani, Ettore Bastianini, Ettore Caimi, Eugène Scribe, Fernando Previtali, Flaviano Labò, Francesco Cilea, Franco Corelli, Friedrich Schiller, Gastone Limarilli, Giacomo Puccini, Gianandrea Gavazzeni, Giovanni Foiani, Giuseppe di Stefano, Giuseppe Giacosa, Giuseppe Verdi, Gloria (Cilea), I Masnadieri, I vespri siciliani, Joseph Méry, Luigi Illica, Luisa Miller, Manno Wolf-Ferrari, Margaret Jean Roberts, Margherita Roberti, Mario Rossi, Nabucco, Oralia Dominguez, Piero Cappuccilli, Renato Cellini, Salvadore Cammarano, Temistocle Solera, Tosca, Victor Hugo, Victorien Sardoucountermelody

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One hundred years ago today, Margaret Jean Roberts was born at the edge of a field before her parents could reach the hospital. The story of how she became Margherita Roberti, one of the leading dramatic sopranos in Italy, and a specialist in the music of Verdi, is a fascinating tale, indeed. My guest today on Countermelody is the author, scholar, and lecturer August Ventura, who a number of years ago unearthed a 1963 documentary entitled “In the Mouth of the Wolf” which features Roberti and her co-stars in Luisa Miller, the opening night of the season in Parma, facing off against a notoriously opinionated public that makes its strong opinions known in no uncertain terms. In 2014 Margherita gifted August with her personal copy of the film, the only known one in existence. My interview with August is supplemented with live recordings of Roberti which reveal her to be a superb singer, endowed with a glorious sense of the expansive Verdi line, a noble sense of utterance, and the vocal range and flexibility required to do justice to the heroines of Verdi’s early period.

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 281. La Scottissima

August 19, 2024Bel canto, French Opera, Giacomo Puccini, Giuseppe Verdi, Great Tenors, In Memoriam, Mezzo Madness, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, Renata Scotto, Singers in Old Age, Twentieth Century Opera, Verismo, Wolfgang Amadeus MozartAlfredo Kraus, Amilcare Ponchielli, Andrea Maffei, Angelo Campori, Antonio García Gutiérrez, Antonio Somma, Antonio Tonini, Arnold Schoenberg, Arrigo Boito, Charles Duveyrier, Claudio Abbado, David Belasco, Didier Gold, Don Giovanni, Emidio Mucci, Erwartung, Ettore Caimi, Eugène Scribe, Eve Queler, Felice Romani, Francesco Molinari-Pradelli, Francis Poulenc, Fulvio Vernizzi, Gaetano Donizetti, George Schick, Giacomo Puccini, Gioavacchino Forzano, Giuseppe Adami, Giuseppe Giacosa, Henri Meilhac, Henri Murger, I vespri siciliani, Il tabarro, Il Trovatore, James Levine, Jean Cocteau, Jesus Lopez-Cobos, John Alexander, John Luther Long, John Wustman, Jon Vickers, Josep Pons, Jules Massenet, Julius Rudel, L’elisir d’amore, La Boheme, La Gioconda, La voix humaine, Licinio Refice, Lodoletta, Lorenzo da Ponte, Lucia di Lammermoor, Luciano Pavarotti, Luigi Illica, Macbeth, Madama Butterfly, Manon, Marie Pappenheim, Mercedes Llopart, Nello Santi, Norma, Otello, Ouida, Philippe Gille, Pietro Mascagni, Renata Scotto, Riccardo Muti, Salvadore Cammarano, Sixten Ehrling, Spiris Argiris, Suor Angelica, Tatiana Troyanos, Un ballo in maschera, Vasile Moldoveanu, Victor Hugo, Vincenzo Bellini, Walter Scott, William Shakespeare, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozartcountermelody

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I began work on this episode on the one-year anniversary of the death of Renata Scotto, perhaps the most beloved of my many dearly-loved divas. But I have been thinking about and planning it ever since August 16, 2023. Now I am collected my thoughts on what made Scotto, in my opinion, one of the greatest artists of the past century. I break down her main repertoire into three groups (bel canto, Verdi, and verismo [including, however incorrectly, Puccini]); I describe her artistic and vocal training and her development into a powerful singing actress; I play her in duet with some of her most significant colleagues (including a few surprises); I assess her greatest roles and some of her surprising late-career assumptions; and I consider some of her most daring career risks (and the resultant flops and triumphs, sometimes in the same role!) I draw on a deep pool of mostly live recordings that reveal Scotto’s musical and dramatic intelligence as I describe my own encounters with her live in performance, both in person and on the television screen. Throughout I have tried my best to capture the individuality and the fearlessness of the singer who most deeply influenced and affected me as my musical tastes were forming: La Scottissima, my diva.

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. Bonus episodes available exclusively to Patreon supporters are currently available and further bonus content including interviews and livestreams is planned for the upcoming season.