Tag Archives: Francesco Cavalli

Episode 266. Sisters in Sapho (Listeners’ Favorites)

June 14, 2024African American Singers, Art Song, Bel canto, Crossover, Drag Performance, Full-Figured Baroque, Giuseppe Verdi, Great Tenors, Gustav Mahler, Ileana Cotrubas, Lieder, Listeners' Favorites, Margaret Price, Mezzo Madness, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, NYCO Divas, Operetta, Pop Icons, Protest Songs, Queer Pride, Richard Strauss, Schubert, Singers of Color, Twentieth Century Music, Twentieth Century Opera, Wolfgang Amadeus MozartAchille de Lauzières, Achim von Arnim, Aida, Alban Berg, Aldous Huxley, Alessandro Scarlatti, Alfred Hennequin, Alfred-Charlemagne Delacour, Antonio Ghislanzoni, Aribert Reimann, Ariodante, Arleen Augér, Auguste Mariette, Bernice Johnson Reagon, BIGLovely, Brigitte Fassbaender, Camille du Locle, Carl Mathieu Lange, Cecilia Gasdia, Clemens Brentano, Cord Garben, Cosi fan tutte, Cris Williamson, Deidre McCalla, Der Rosenkavalier, Des Knaben Wunderhorn, Don Carlo, Donato Renzetti, Dusty Springfield, Erik Werba, Felice Romani, Felix Mendelssohn, Ferron, Francesco Cavalli, Frank Wedekind, Franz Schubert, Friedrich Cerha, Friedrich Schiller, George Frideric Handel, Georges Pretre, Giovanni Faustini, Giuseppe Verdi, Gundula Janowitz, Gustav Mahler, Heinrich Heine, Heinrich von Waldberg, Holly Near, Hugo von Hofmannsthal, Ileana Cotrubas, James Levine, Janet Baker, Janis Ian, Johann Gabriel Seidl, John Wustman, Joseph Méry, Konstantin Balmont, Krzysztof Penderecki, Kurt Eichhorn, Kurt Weill, La Calisto, La Clemenza di Tito, Lorenzo da Ponte, Lulu, Marek Janowski, Margaret Price, Margie Adam, Maurice Ravel, Meg Christian, Meshell Ndegenocello, Nicolai Gedda, Pietro Metastasio, Raymond Leppard, Reri Grist, Riccardo Muti, Richard Heuberger, Richard Strauss, Robert Lloyd, Ronnie Gilbert, Serge Rachmaninov, Tatiana Troyanos, Toshi Reagon, Victor Léon, Vincenzo Bellini, Walter Mehring, Willy Mattes, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Wolfgang Sawallischcountermelody

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:53:07 — 131.8MB) | Embed

Subscribe: Spotify | TuneIn | RSS | More

It’s been a whirlwind of a week chez Gundlach and I find myself at the end of it without a new episode ready to post. In addition to that, we are already halfway through Pride Month and I realized this morning that I had no new queer material up my sleeve. So I’ll tell you what I’m gonna do: I am going to get to work on a brand new episode which will post sometime early next week. But in the meantime, I’m going to do my own Listener’s Favorite episode, one which I posted during the very first season of Countermelody, a wondrous compilation entitled “Sisters in Sappho.” It features not only two of my favorite mezzos of all time (Tatiana Troyanos and Brigitte Fassbaender – both of whom happen to have been lesbians); but also a sampling of the key figures in the Women’s Music Movement of the 1970s, including Meg Christian, Cris Williamson, Margie Adam, Holly Near, and Deidre McCalla. In celebrating these pop icons, I also pay tribute to those who, in turn, paved the way for them, including icons Janis Ian, Dusty Springfield, and Ronnie Gilbert, as well as tipping my hat to two of the queer Black singers (Toshi Reagon, Meshell Ndegeocello), that followed in the wake of these women. We all owe an enormous debt of gratitude to these extraordinary artists, who paved the way for us, their musical and artistic descendants, at the same time setting standards that will stand the test of time. Vocal guest stars include Janet Baker, Ileana Cotrubas, Cecilia Gasdia, Nicolai Gedda, Margaret Price, Gundula Janowitz, Arleen Augér, and Reri Grist.

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.

Episode 192. Virginia Zeani: The Soul of the Voice

April 14, 2023Behind the Iron Curtain, Bel canto, Full-Figured Baroque, Giacomo Puccini, Giuseppe Verdi, Great Baritones, In Memoriam, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, Twentieth Century Music, Twentieth Century Opera, VerismoAida, Alberto Zedda, Alexander Pushkin, Alexandre Dumas, Alfredo Simonetto, Antonio Ghislanzoni, Arrigo Boito, Aureliano Pertile, Benjamin Britten, Boris Godunov, Carlo Sabajno, Cornel Trailescu, David Belasco, Death in Venice, Don Carlo, Edward Downes, Francesco Cavalli, Francesco Maria Piave, Franz Bauer Theussl, Friedrich Schiller, Gaetano Donizetti, George Frideric Handel, Giacomo Puccini, Gianandrea Gavazzeni, Gioacchino Rossini, Giulio Cesare, Giuseppe Giacosa, Giuseppe Verdi, Gloria Foglizzo, Henry Purcell, Ildebrando Pizzetti, Ion Buzea, James Bowman, Jean Bobescu, Johann Sebastian Bach, Johann Wolfgang Goethe, La Calisto, La Traviata, Leopold Stokowski, Lohengrin, Luigi Illica, Lute Songs, Lydia Lipowska, Madama Butterfly, Matthäus-Passion, Mefistofele, Melitta Muszely, Mihai Bradiceanu, Modest Mussorgsky, Myfanwy Piper, Nicola Rossi-Lemeni, Nicolae Herlea, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Otello, Philip Ledger, Raymond Leppard, Richard Wagner, Robert Stolz, Robert Tear, Salvadore Cammarano, Snegurochka, T.S. Eliot, The Fairy Queen, Thomas Mann, Tosca, Vincenzo Bellezza, Virginia Zeani, Walter Scott, Walther von der Vogelweide, William Shakespearecountermelody

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:38:12 — 106.2MB) | Embed

Subscribe: Spotify | TuneIn | RSS | More

A number of significant classical and opera singers have died in this calendar year, and this episode pays tribute to three of them. First, James Bowman, the most significant British countertenor since Alfred Deller, who died on March 27th in his 82nd year. Second, Melitta Muszely, the Austrian jugendlich dramatisch soprano of Hungarian origin who died in her native Vienna at the age of 95 on January 18. And finally, a loss which reverberated around the operatic world with particularly poignancy and finality, the great Romanian soprano Virginia Zeani, who died on March 20 at the age of 97. While the focus of the episode is on Zeani, I also discuss the significance and contributions of Bowman and Muszely in detail, as well as offering examples of some of their best recordings. In the case of Zeani, I offer a thorough career and biographical overview, including excerpts from her rare studio recordings as well as live material from both the early and late years of her performing career. Also included are recordings by her teachers Lydia Lipowska and Aureliano Pertile, and her husband, the Italian-Russian bass Nicola Rossi Lemeni. And leave it to me to find a way of bringing three such disparate artists as Bowman, Muszely, and Zeani together at the conclusion of the episode!

Episode 89. The Radiant Heather Harper

May 16, 2021Art Song, Full-Figured Baroque, Giuseppe Verdi, Gustav Mahler, Happy Birthday, In Memoriam, Lieder, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, Richard Strauss, Richard Wagner, Schubert, Twentieth Century MusicAlban Berg, Anthony Lewis, Anton Webern, Benjamin Britten, Bernard Haitink, Carlos Païta, Claudio Monteverdi, Colin Davis, David Atherton, Francesco Cavalli, Francis Poulenc, Franz Schubert, Frederick Delius, Frederik Prausnitz, Gary Bertini, George Frideric Handel, Gianandrea Gavazzeni, Giuseppe Verdi, Gustav Mahler, Heather Harper, Helen Donath, Henry Purcell, Horst Stein, Jessye Norman, Johann Sebastian Bach, Johannes Somary, John Shirley-Quirk, Kieth Engen, Leif Segerstam, Luigi Dallapiccola, Maurice Ravel, Meredith Davies, Michael Tippett, Nicolai Gedda, Nicolai Ghiaurov, Norman Mittelmann, Otakar Kraus, Paul Hamburger, Peter Grimes, Pierre Boulez, Raymond Leppard, Rudolf Kempe, Sanford Sylvan, Steuart Bedford, Walter Süsskind, War Requiem, William Walton, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozartcountermelody

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:41:16 — 122.0MB) | Embed

Subscribe: Spotify | TuneIn | RSS | More

I have dreamed of doing an episode on the great Irish soprano Heather Harper (1930 – 2019) since before I began the podcast. As we we find ourselves in close proximity to both the anniversary of her birth on 8 May 1930 and her death on 22 April 2019, I feel compelled to bring that dream to life. A peerless artist, probably most renowned today for her close collaboration with Benjamin Britten, whose War Requiem she learned ten days before the premiere when the scheduled artist, Galina Vishnevskaya, was refused by the Soviet government to participate in the performance. Her crackerjack musicianship is heard to full advantage in 20th century works by Michael Tippett, Leif Segerstam, Anton Webern, Luigi Dallapiccola, Francis Poulenc, William Walton, and Alban Berg. But her focused, flexible instrument also made her an ideal performer of the Baroque repertoire (we hear her in Purcell, Monteverdi, Cavalli, Bach and Handel). And the surprising stores of power she could summon made her a vital and sympathetic heroine in the operas of Wagner, Mozart, Strauss, and Gounod, as well Britten’s Ellen Orford, of which she was the definitive interpreter. She also excelled in the intimate medium of the Lieder recital. Vocal guest stars include Jessye Norman, Helen Donath, Nicolai Gedda, John Shirley-Quirk, Norman Mittelmann, Nicolai Ghiaurov, and others. Conductors heard include Pierre Boulez, Rudolf Kempe, Colin Davis, Raymond Leppard, Gary Bertini, Meredith Davies, Horst Stein, Anthony Lewis, Carlos Païta, Bernard Haitink, Steuart Bedford, Hans Swarowsky, David Atherton, and Gianandrea Gavazzeni. Fasten your seat belts and settle for an overdue tribute to the dazzling versatility and artistry of the great Heather Harper.

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. 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 including artist photos and episode setlists. And please head to my 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.

Episode 40. Sisters in Sappho [Queer Pride I]

June 21, 2020African American Singers, Art Song, Crossover, Giuseppe Verdi, Ileana Cotrubas, Lieder, Mezzo Madness, Music, Needle Drop, Operetta, Pop Icons, Protest Songs, Queer Pride, SchubertAida, Alban Berg, Alessandro Scarlatti, Andrzej Hiolski, Aribert Reimann, Ariodante, Arleen Augér, Beautiful Soul, Best Friend (The Unicorn Song), Brigitte Fassbaender, Cecilia Gasdia, Cinq mélodies populaires grecques, Cord Garben, Cosi fan tutte, Cris Williamson, Deidre McCalla, Der Rosenkavalier, Des Knaben Wunderhorn, Die Teufel von Loudun, Don Carlo, Dusty Springfield, Endimione e Cintia, Erik Werba, Felix Mendelssohn, Ferron, Francesco Cavalli, Franz Schubert, George Frideric Handel, Giuseppe Verdi, Gundula Janowitz, Gustav Mahler, Holly Near, I Capuleti e i Montecchi, Ileana Cotrubas, Janet Baker, Janis Ian, John Wustman, Krzysztof Penderecki, Kurt Weill, La Calisto, La Clemenza di Tito, Lulu, Margaret Price, Margie Adam, Maurice Ravel, Meg Christian, Meshell Ndegeocello, Nicolai Gedda, O don fatale, Raymond Leppard, Reri Grist, Rheinenlegendchen, Richard Heuberger, Richard Strauss, Ronnie Gilbert, Scherza infida, Serge Rachmaninov, Sergei Rachmaninoff, Tatiana Troyanos, Toshi Reagon, Vincenzo Bellini, Wie lange noch, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Wolfgang Sawallischcountermelody

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:48:57 — 129.0MB) | Embed

Subscribe: Spotify | TuneIn | RSS | More

The first of my two Queer Pride episodes is devoted to a group of pioneering lesbians in the 1970s and beyond, in both classical and pop music. Two iconic mezzo-sopranos whose careers began in the 1960s and extended through the 1990s are the Greek-American Tatiana Troyanos and Brigitte Fassbaender, daughter of the German baritone Willi Domgraf-Fassbaender. I explore the similarities and differences in the repertoire and career paths of these two unique artists, and share examples of them singing repertoire from Handel to Weill, Scarlatti to Penderecki, with particular focus on Fassbaender’s Lieder performances and Troyanos’s work in bel canto. Then I turn to key figures in the Women’s Music Movement of the 1970s, including Meg Christian, Cris Williamson, Margie Adam, Holly Near, and Deidre McCalla, while also paying tribute to those who, in turn, paved the way for them, including Janis Ian, Dusty Springfield, and Ronnie Gilbert. We also acknowledge the work of queer African American singers, including Deidre McCalla, Meshell Ndegeocello, and Toshi Reagon. We all owe an enormous debt of gratitude to these extraordinary artists, who created a world of possibility for their musical and artistic descendants, at the same time setting standards that will stand the test of time. Vocal guest stars include Janet Baker, Ileana Cotrubas, Margaret Price, Nicolai Gedda, Gundula Janowitz, Arleen Augér, Cecilia Gasdia, and Reri Grist.

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 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.

Episode 15. Hail and Farewell

December 30, 2019African American Singers, Art Song, Bel canto, Crossover, Great Baritones, In Memoriam, Lieder, Needle Drop, Pop Icons, Singers of Color, Twentieth Century Music, VerismoAldo Ciccolini, Allee Willis, Amilcare Ponchielli, Andre Previn, Andy Williams, Ann Crumb, Before the Parade Passes By, Beim Schlafengehen, Carol Channing, Cecilia Sisson, Chego de saudade, Chris Lowe, Clydie King, Dalton Baldwin, Daniel Gundlach, Daryl Dragon, David Breitman, Diahann Carroll, Doda Conrad, Dominick Argento, Dusty Springfield, Edgar Leslie, Eduard Mörike, Ekkehard Wlaschiha, Elisabeth Soderstrom, Erlkönig, Ethel Ennis, Francesco Cavalli, Francisco Casanova, Franz Schubert, Fred E. Ahlert, Friedemann Layer, From the Diary of Virginia Woolf, Funny Girl, George Crumb, Gerald English, Heather Harper, Henri Sauguet, Hermit Songs, Hilde Zadek, Honey and Rue, Hugo Wolf, I am not seaworthy, Jackie Moore, Janet Baker, Jean-Christophe Benoît, Jerry Herman, Jessye Norman, Joan Carlyle, João Gilberto, Johann Strauss II, Jörg Demus, Joseph Rouleau, Jules Massenet, Julius Rudel, Kathleen Battle, Komm Hoffnung, Le Cid, Leonore, Ludwig van Beethoven, Marcello Giordani, Margaret Lewis, Marion Delorme, Martin Isepp, Maurice Ravel, Max Jacob, Michel Legrand, Music to Watch Girls By, Neil Tennant, Ode to Billie Joe, Pagliacci, Paul Badura-Skoda, Pet Shot Boys, Peter Schreier, Raymond Leppard, Reconsider Me, Richard Strauss, Rolando Panerai, Sainte, Samuel Barber, Sanford Sylvan, Scott Baker, Show Girl (revue), Sid Ramin, Stéphane Mallarmé, The Captain and Tennille, The Moon Was Yellow, The Music that Makes Me Dance, Theo Adam, Toni Morrison, Toni Tennille, Victoria Clark, Vier letzte Lieder, Visions infernales, What Are You Doing the Rest of Your Life?, What Have I Done To Deserve This?, Wilma Lipp, Wolfgang Sawallischcountermelody

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 2:10:56 — 203.1MB) | Embed

Subscribe: Spotify | TuneIn | RSS | More

We set our sights on the New Year, at the same time giving a backward glance, in mostly reverse chronological order, to those singers and other musicians, whose contributions have immeasurably enhanced our lives. I’ve prepared a whopper of an episode that traverses many genres and styles, but which, as always, remains faithful to the mission of the podcast: to bring you the most interesting and communicative singers. From João Gilberto to Marcello Giordani, from Sanford Sylvan to Rolando Panerai, from Heather Harper to Ann Crumb: they’re all here, with a few surprises sprinkled along the way. Three last-minute entries to the Hail and Farewell sequence are Peter Schreier, Allee Willis, and Jerry Herman, all of whom died in the last week.

Countermelody is a new 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 also visit the Countermelody website for updates, additional content, and to pledge your support. www.countermelodypodcast.com