Tag Archives: Faye Robinson

Episode 437. Get to Know Faye Robinson

February 13, 2026African American Singers, Art Song, Bel canto, Black History Month, Black History Month 2026, Forgotten Divas, French Opera, Full-Figured Baroque, Happy Birthday, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, NYCO Divas, Orchestral Songs, Queer Pride, Singers of Color, Spirituals, Twentieth Century Music, Twentieth Century OperaA Child of Our Time, Alcina, Andrew Davis, Andromache’s Farewell, Antonio Marchi, Arnold Schoenberg, Byzantium, Carlo Pepoli, Charles Gounod, Chevalier de Saint-Georges, Colin Davis, Edoardo Müller, Eduardo Müller, Edward Brewer, Ernestine (Saint-Georges), Esa-Pekka Salonen, ETA Hoffmann, Euripedes, Faye Robinson, George Walker, Harry Dworchak, Jacques Offenbach, John Patrick Creagh, Jules Barbier, Kurt Eichhorn, Les Contes d’Hoffmann, Lilacs, Ludovico Ariosti, Michael Tippett, Michel Carré, Paul Freeman, Robert McFarland, Roméo et Juliette, Rudolf Palmer, Samuel Barber, Stefan George, The Mask of Time, Theo Alcantra, Timothy Russell, Vincenzo Bellini, Walt Whitman, William Butler Yeats, William Shakespearecountermelody

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:01:14 — 84.1MB) | Embed

Subscribe: Spotify | TuneIn | RSS | More

Today’s Black History Month episode serves also as a belated birthday tribute to the exceptional African American soprano Faye Robinson, who was born in Houston on 2 November 1943. Robinson has a voice that transcends genre, encompassing both lyric-coloratura roles at one end and pure dramatic soprano repertoire on the other. In addition, she has been created vocal works by some of the greatest twentieth-century composers, including Michael Tippett, two of whose major vocal works she premiered, and with whose compositions she is especially associated, and George Walker, whose Lilacs she premiered in 1996 with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, and which subsequently won the 1996 Pulitzer Prize by the judges’ unanimous decision. Robinson’s immediately recognizable voice presented in a wide-range of repertoire, including the works referenced above and also including arias by Handel, Gounod, Offenbach, Bellini, and Handel, as well as the Chevalier de Saint-Georges; as well as concert work by Schoenberg and Barber. All in all, Faye Robinson’s is a voice and artistic presence well worth getting to know better! Happy Belated Birthday, Diva!

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 432. Dan Picks YET AGAIN!

January 26, 2026African American Singers, Arie antiche, Art Song, Behind the Iron Curtain, Black History Month, Black History Month 2026, Broadway, Canadian Singers, Countertenors, Forgotten Divas, French Opera, Full-Figured Baroque, Great Contraltos, Great Tenors, Lieder, Listeners' Favorites, Mezzo Madness, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, Operetta, Orchestral Songs, Pop Icons, Queer Pride, Singers in Old Age, Singers of Color, Spirituals, Twentieth Century Music, Twentieth Century OperaAdelaide Hall, Alain Vanzo, Alan Jay Lerner, Alfred de Musset, Alfred Grünwald, Andrea del Sarto, Anton de Ridder, Art Simmons, Arthur Greenslade, Bayard Rustin, Béla Bartók, Bertice Reading, Bill Crow, Brigadoon, Bronislaw Kaper, Charles Kullman, Charles Kullmann, Charles Pothier, Claude Thornhill, Cole Porter, Daniel Lesur, Danny Boy, Das Land des Lächelns, Dave Bailey, David Clayton-Thomas, Die Zirkusprinzessin, E.T.A. Hoffmann, Eartha Kitt, Edith Lang, Emmerich Kálmán, Erik Werba, Eugène Bigot, Faye Robinson, Franz Lehár, Frederick Loewe, Frederick Weatherly, Fritz Löhner-Beda, George Frideric Handel, Georges Thill, Germaine Cernay, Gottfried Hämpel, Gustave Cloëz, Harold Arlen, Hoffmanns Erzählungen, House of Flowers, Hugo Wolf, I Married an Angel, Jacques Offenbach, Janina Gillowa, Jean-Paul Jeannotte, Jean-Yves Daniel-Lesur, Jeanne Landry, Jephtha, Jerry Ross, Jimmy Webb, John Ferrante, Johnny Franz, Johnny Mercer, Joseph von Eichendorff, Judith Raskin, Jules Barbier, Julia Hamari, Julius Brammer, Julius Hopp, Keith Mansfield, Larry Weiss, Léopold Dauphin, Les Contes d’Hoffmann, Les Saltimbanques, Lorenz Hart, Louis Debruyère, Louis Ganne, Ludwig Herzer, Macolm Sargent, Madeline Bell, Manuel Rosenthal, Mária Basilides, Martin Isepp, Marty Paich, Maxine Sullivan, Michael Tippett, Michel Philippe-Gérard, Ned Rorem, Percy Bysshe Sheeley, Reginald Boardman, Reynaldo Hahn, Richard Hickox, Richard Lewis, Richard Rodgers, Richard Sgodova, Robert Hanell, Roger Quilter, Roland Hayes, Salena Jones, Sammy Davis Jr., Susan Reed, Terry Donahue, Thomas Morell, Tommaso Giordani, Toni Harper, Tony Osborne, Truman Capote, Victor Léon, Walt Whitman, Walter Jurmann, Wiesław Ochman, Zdzisław Górzyńskicountermelody

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:42:49 — 141.2MB) | Embed

Subscribe: Spotify | TuneIn | RSS | More

One of the things about my podcast that brings me the greatest joy is when I can introduce my listeners to a wide range of singers that need to be better-known. Back when I was preparing birthday episodes in October, I chose literally hundreds of tracks that I wanted to share with my listeners. At the time I made use of only a handful of them, so today I have once again dipped into that vat of gorgeous, expressive voices to bring another foretaste of what’s to come on the podcast. There’s a special section on some amazing tenors (Alain Vanzo, Wiesław Ochman, George Thill, Anton de Ridder, Richard Lewis, Charles Kullman and many others); I also introduce a plethora of singers of color who will be appearing throughout Black History Month (Madeline Bell, Bertice Reading, Maxine Sullivan, the late Iris Williams, Adelaide Hall, Roland Hayes, Faye Robinson, and Toni Harper, along with many others). It’s offered in a spirit of solidarity, communal sharing, and generosity as we face together the tough times ahead.

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

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:51:53 — 131.7MB) | Embed

Subscribe: Spotify | TuneIn | RSS | More

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.

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.