Tag Archives: Francesco Cilea

Episode 306. Oralia Domínguez Revisited

November 12, 2024Art Song, Bel canto, Canadian Singers, Forgotten Divas, French Opera, Full-Figured Baroque, Giuseppe Verdi, Great Contraltos, Great Tenors, Gustav Mahler, In Memoriam, Listeners' Favorites, Mezzo Madness, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, Orchestral Songs, Richard Wagner, Singers of Color, Twentieth Century Music, VerismoAchim von Arnim, Adriana Lecouvreur, Aida, Alberto Zedda, Antonietta Stella, Antonio Ghislanzoni, Antonio Somma, Antonio Vivaldi, Barry McDaniel, Bruno Maderna, Camille Saint-Saens, Cesare Sterbini, Clara Petrella, Claudio Monteverdi, Clemens Brentano, Das Rheingold, Des Knaben Wunderhorn, Don Carlo, Eugène Scribe, Ferdinand Lemaire, Fernando Obradors, Fernando Previtali, Francesco Cilea, Franco Capuana, Friedrich Schiller, Giacomo Cassetti, Gioacchino Rossini, Giuseppe Verdi, Gustav Mahler, Herbert von Karajan, Igor Markevitch, Il barbiere di Siviglia, Il Trovatore, Irène Aïtoff, Jean Fournet, Jon Vickers, L’Orfeo, Leonard Bernstein, Lili Boulanger, Luigi Ottolini, Nello Santi, Nicola Rescigno, Norman Scott, Oliviero de Fabritiis, Oralia Dominguez, Pierre Beaumarchais, Ramón Gaya, Renato Cellini, Richard Kraus, Richard Wagner, Salvador Moreno, Samson et Dalia, Un ballo in mascheracountermelody

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Today (for what I hope are obvious reasons) begins a short Countermelody series on a few of the greatest singers that Mexico, our neighbor to the south, has gifted to the world. Contralto Oralia Domínguez (25 October 1925 – 25 November 2013) is famed for her collaborations with such musical giants as Maria Callas and Herbert von Karajan, but on her own terms, she ranks alongside those monumental true contraltos like Marian Anderson and Kathleen Ferrier. Though there is no question that she was under-recorded, she left a handful of classic commercial recordings, and a plethora of recorded live performances which an artist both technically grounded and fearless in expression, one whose legato singing exuded repose just as her phenomenal coloratura singing generates genuine excitement. I cannot say enough about this artist, who has rapidly become one of my very favorites! This episode, an expansion of a bonus episode I published a few years ago, features Domínguez in extended operatic scenes by Cilea, Saint-Saëns, and Monteverdi and in religious works by Verdi and Lili Boulanger as well as Spanish and Mexican songs, capped with some stunning vocalism in baroque works by Handel and Vivaldi. Vocal guest stars include the late great Antonietta Stella, Jon Vickers, Barry McDaniel, Luigi Ottolini, and the blazing hot verismo soprano Clara Petrella; conductors include Jean Fournet, Igor Markevitch, Alberto Zedda, Oliviero de Fabritiis, Herbert von Karajan, Fernando Previtali, Nicola Rescigno, Renato Cellini, and Leonard Bernstein. In other words, the “big guns,” an indication of the enormity of the magisterial talent of Oralia Domínguez.

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 296. Dan’s Operatic Picks

October 8, 2024Art Song, Bel canto, Broadway, Claudia Muzio, Crossover, Eileen Farrell, Forgotten Divas, Giacomo Puccini, Giuseppe Verdi, Great Baritones, Great Tenors, Happy Birthday, In Memoriam, Lieder, Mezzo Madness, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, Pop Icons, VerismoAdriana Lecouvreur, Aksel Schiotz, Alec Wilder, Alfred Bachelet, Alfredo Catalani, Alfredo Simonetti, Andrea Chénier, Andrée Esposito, Angela Lansbury, Antonino Votto, Carl Nielsen, Cesare Siepi, Chanson perpétuelle (Chausson), Charles Cros, Charles Gounod, Christian Morgenstern, Claudio Muzio, Daniel Beckwith, Daniel Gundlach, Don Carlo, Donald Pippin, Edith Mason, Eileen Farrell, Eleanor Steber, Elly Ameling, Ernest Chausson, Ettore Bastianini, Francesco Cilea, Franco Corelli, Franco Ferraris, Franz Lehár, Friedrich Schiller, Georg Solti, Georges Thill, Germaine Féraldy, Giacomo Puccini, Gioacchino Rossini, Giorgio Giorgetti, Giuseppe Verdi, Helmut Winschermann, Hermann Weigert, Hugo Hasslo, I Puritani, I vespri siciliani, Ian Partridge, Il barbiere di Siviglia, István Kertész, Jacques Offenbach, Jacques Prévert, James Quillian, Jean Morel, Jennifer Partridge, Jerry Herman, Johann Sebastian Bach, Jorma Hynninen, Joseph Kosma, Joseph-Étienne Szyfer, Jules Barbier, Jussi Bjorling, La Belle Helene, La Wally (Catalani), Les Contes d’Hoffmann, Loonis McGlohon, Lotte Lehmann, Lucia Popp, Madama Butterfly, Magda Olivero, Manon Lescaut, Maria Vitale, Mario Rossi, Nathaniel Shilkret, Nils Grevillius, Pierre Barbizet, Ralf Gothoni, Ralph Vaughan Williams, Riccardo Chailly, Riccardo Stracciari, Richard Crooks, Roméo et Juliette, Sándor Kónya, Sigmund Romberg, Susan Dunn, Svend Christian Felumb, The Desert Song (Romberg), Umberto Giordano, Victorien Sardou, Vincenzo Bellini, William Shakespeare, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Yrjö Kilpinencountermelody

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I’m still under the weather, but I can’t let that keep me from posting my usual Tuesday episode! Here is another recycled bonus episode, this one posted two years ago in honor of my birthday, which features some of my favorite singers. At that time I posted a brand new episode entitled “Dan’s Picks,” but many of the best selections ended up on the cutting room floor. That hurt my heart so much that I had no choice but to do a companion episode which features a number of things that were lacking from the main episode: first of all, more tenor goodness (Aksel Schiøtz, Franco Corelli, Sándor Kónya, Jussi Björling, Richard Crooks, Ian Partridge); second of all, more burly baritones (Jorma Hynninen, Ettore Bastianini, Riccardo Stracciari, and the lesser-known megawatt talent Hugo Hasslo). Also heard are a number of sopranos that have not received enough Countermelody airtime (Edith Mason, Maria Vitale, Andrée Esposito, Lucia Popp), as well as a number of favorites that we (I?) simply can’t get enough of: Muzio, Lehmann, Olivero, Farrell, Steber. I even set aside modesty to include a brief clip of me from a demo I recorded some time ago, back when I could still sing! Every selection in this episode is very dear to my heart; I hope you will enjoy listening as much as I enjoyed putting it together.

Episode 293. The Mysterious Mara Coleva

September 27, 2024Behind the Iron Curtain, Forgotten Divas, Giacomo Puccini, Giuseppe Verdi, In Memoriam, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, Opera in Translation, Twentieth Century Music, Twentieth Century Opera, VerismoAbbé Prevost, Adriana Lecouvreur, Aida, Alexander Ostrovsky, Alfredo Catalani, Alfredo Simonetto, Ángel de Saavedra, Antonio Ghislanzoni, Arturo Colautti, August Apel, Bruno Rigacci, Caliso Bassi, Carl Maria von Weber, Claudio Guastalla, Der Freischütz, Domenico Oliva, Eligio Possenti, Ernest Legouvé, Eugène Scribe, Francesco Cilea, Francesco Maria Piave, Francesco Molinari-Pradelli, Franco Faccio, Friedrich Laun, Friedrich Schiller, Giacomo Puccini, Gioacchino Rossini, Giuseppe Verdi, Guglielmo Tell, Guillaume Tell, Hans Wiers-Jenssen, Hippolyte Bis, Il franco cacciatore, Johann Friedrich Kind, La Fiamma, La forza del destino, La Wally, Lodovico Rocca, Luigi Illica, Manon Lescaut, Mara Coleva, Marco Praga, Massimo Freccia, Nicola Zaccaria, Ottorino Respighi, Paolo Montarsolo, Victor-Joseph Étienne de Jouycountermelody

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The Bulgarian soprano Mara Coleva (12 March 1922 – 22 October 2014) was a vital and versatile singer, the majority of whose career took place in Italy in the 1950s through the very early sixties. Her most prominent and readily-accessible recordings are all for the RAI (Radio-Televisione Italiana), including the role of Silvana in a 1955 recording from Milano and two Martini & Rossi-sponsored RAI concerts, one in Milano in 1957, and the other in Roma in 1961. These recordings reveal an artist with a well-schooled voice with a powerful dramatic sense, but one whose life remains to a great extent shrouded in mystery. It is an enormous thrill and privilege to present this great (if virtually unknown) artist in repertoire ranging from Rossini, Catalani, Cilea, Verdi, and twentieth-century Italian composers Ottorino Respighi and Lodovico Rocca. The episode ends with Coleva in a surprising and superbly-sung rendition of Agata’s big scena from Il franco cacciatore (better known as Weber’s Der Freischütz!)

Episode 284. Claudia Muzio Revisited

August 27, 2024Art Song, Bel canto, Claudia Muzio, Crossover, Full-Figured Baroque, Giacomo Puccini, Giuseppe Verdi, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, Twentieth Century Music, Twentieth Century Opera, VerismoAlexandre Dumas fils, Alfred Bachelet, Alfred de Musset, Alphonse Daudet, Antônio Carlos Gomes, Antonio Ghislanzoni, Arrigo Boito, Bianca e Fernando, Carlo Roti, Cavalleria Rusticana, Cecilia, Claudia Muzio, David Belasco, Domenico Gilardoni, Emidio Mucci, Émile Moreau, Enrico Golisciani, Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari, Eugène Adénis-Colombeau, Eugène de Mirecourt, Felice Romani, Francesco Cilea, Francesco Maria Piave, Francesco Merli, George Frideric Handel, Giacomo Puccini, Giacomo Rossi, Giovanni Targioni-Tozzetti, Giovanni Verga, Giuseppe Giacosa, Giuseppe Verdi, Guido Menasci, Henri Murger, Il segreto di Susanna, John Luther Long, L’Arlesiana, La Boheme, La Traviata, Léo Delibes, Leopoldo Marenco, Licinio Refice, Lorenzo Molajoli, Luigi Illica, Madama Butterfly, Madame Sans-Gêne, Otello, Paride ed Elena, Pietro Mascagni, Ranieri de’ Calzabigi, Renato Simoni, Rinaldo, Salvator Rosa, Torquato Tasso, Umberto Giordano, Victorien Sardou, Vincenzo Bellini, William Shakespearecountermelody

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Claudia Muzio was known as “the Duse of Song,” a title that might be lost somewhat in time, since it refers to the great stage actress Eleanora Duse, felt to rank among the greatest actresses of all time. She is one of a handful of singers that number among my most beloved vocal artists of all time and all genres. As such, Muzio is not only featured in the theme music to every single Countermelody episode, she was also the rightful star of Countermelody’s hundredth episode. In choosing the repertoire for that episode, I made a too-large selection of must-hear Muzio selections. These spilled over into a bonus episode which I am now releasing for all of my listeners. Among those recordings we hear: Muzio singing Handel; two recordings of Muzio singing Mimì, including her earliest recording, made in 1911; several unusual so-called verismo arias; Muzio as both classicist (Gluck) and bel cantista (Bellini); Muzio singing light classical parlor songs; and then two capstones of her recorded legacy: the “Dio ti giocondi” duet from Otello with the Italian dramatic tenor Francesco Merli; and the death scene from Licinio Refice’s Cecilia, a staged sacra rappresentazione written expressly for Muzio. These last two works were also heard in my recent Renata Scotto memorial tribute, and make for a fascinating comparison between these two great artists.

Episode 263. Contralto Central

May 24, 2024African American Singers, Art Song, Behind the Iron Curtain, Bel canto, Black History Month, Black History Month 2024, Broadway, Forgotten Divas, French Opera, Full-Figured Baroque, Gustav Mahler, In Memoriam, Lieder, Mezzo Madness, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, Orchestral Songs, Pop Icons, Queer Pride, Richard Wagner, Singers of Color, SpiritualsAafje Heynis, Adriana Lecouvreur, Alec Redshaw, Alec Wilder, Alexander Pushkin, Alphons Diepenbrock, Andrès Wheatley, Armando La Rosa Parodi, Arnold Sundgaard, Boris Khaikin, Carmen, Caroline Kaart, Cassandra Wilson, Cesare Sterbini, Charles Baudelaire, Charles Gounod, Christoph Willibald Gluck, Clara Butt, Cloë Elmo, Cor Lemaire, Das Rheingold, Édouard Blau, Edward Elgar, Émile Augier, Émile Deschamps, Ernestine Schumann-Heink, Eugène Scribe, Eugenia Mantelli, Ewa Podleś, Felix de Nobel, Florence Kopleff, Florica Cristofereanu, Folk Songs, Francesco Cilea, Franz Schubert, Frederick Stone, Friedrich Rückert, Gaetano Donizetti, Georges Bizet, Georges Hartmann, Germaine Cernay, Giacomo Meyerbeer, Gioachino Rossini, Gustav Mahler, Gustave Cloëz, Hall Johnson, Helen Watts, Henri Meilhac, Herbert Hughes, Il barbiere di Siviglia, Jasmin White, Jimmy Webb, Johann Sebastian Bach, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, John Fletcher, Jules Massenet, Kathleen Ferrier, Kerstin Thorborg, Kindertotenlieder, Kosti Vehanen, La favorita, Langston Hughes, Le Prophete, Ludovic Halévy, Margaret Bonds, Marguerite D’Alvarez, Marian Anderson, Matthias Claudius, Mikhail Glinka, Milton Kaye, Nina Simone, Norma Procter, Orphée et Euridice, Paul Milliet, Peter Warlock, Philippe Riga, Pierre Beaumarchais, Prosper Mérimée, Richard Gannett, Richard Wagner, Robert Burns, Robert Shaw, Rosario Bourdon, Ruslan and Lyudmila, Sandy Dennis, Sapho (Gounod), Sea Pictures, Shannon Bolin, Sigrid Onégin, Spirituals, Thurston Dart, Václav Neumann, Valentina Levko, Valerian Shirkov, Vera Little, Věra Soukupová, Voltaire, Werthercountermelody

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Finally, the first in my long-promised series on the contralto voice! The contralto is a rara avis in the today’s opera and classical music scene, and yet back in the day, there seem to have been more of them before the public. And of course contraltos have always been a powerful presence on the popular music scene, whether in blues, disco, jazz, or as purveyors of the Great American Songbook. There is no way that I can cover all of the great (and near-great) contraltos in recorded history, but that doesn’t mean I’m not going to try! Today’s selections span a wide chronological range , even for this podcast: nearly 120 years, and include voices both fleet and monolithic (and sometimes both). We begin with a tribute to the late Polish coloratura contralto Ewa Podleś and along with way we hear the most famous contraltos like Kathleen Ferrier and Marian Anderson, and jazz and pop contraltos like Nina Simone and Cassandra Wilson. We also sample singers from the earlier twentieth century such as Ernestine Schumann-Heink, Cloe Elmo, Clara Butt, Eugenia Mantelli, Kerstin Thorborg, and Sigrid Onégin (about whom I spill some major tea!) Throughout the episode are sprinkled some of the most beautiful voices of any kind that I have ever heard: the Scottish Caroline Kaart, the Romanian Florica Cristofereanu, the Czech Věra Soukupová, the Dutch Aafje Heynis, the French Germaine Cernay, the British Norma Procter, and the Russian Valentina Levko. And if like me you have despaired of ever hearing another true contralto again in our lifetime, we hear in young Jasmin White cause for rejoicing. And if your favorites are not heard today, fear not, for this is the tip of the iceberg: many more great singers will follow when the series continues in two weeks.

Episode 166. Dan’s Picks

October 14, 2022African American Singers, Art Song, Bel canto, Broadway, Canadian Singers, Eileen Farrell, French Opera, Full-Figured Baroque, Giuseppe Verdi, Great Baritones, Happy Birthday, Lieder, Margaret Price, Mezzo Madness, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, Pop Icons, Queer Pride, Renata Scotto, Richard Strauss, Schubert, Singers of Color, Sylvia Sass, Twentieth Century Music, VerismoAdele Addison, Adolphe Adam, Adriana Lecouvreur, Alexander Kipnis, Alfredo Catalani, Angela Lansbury, Aribert Reimann, Arturo Basile, Brigitte Fassbaender, Carl Maria von Weber, Carlo Sabajno, Charles Gounod, Der Freischütz, Die Ägyptische Helena, Donald Pippin, Edwin McArthur, Elisabeth Rethberg, Elisabeth Soderstrom, Ferdinand Leitner, Francesco Cilea, Frank Bibb, Franz Schubert, George Frideric Handel, Georges Pretre, Georges Thill, Gerard Souzay, Gianandrea Gavazzeni, Giovanni Battista Bassani, Giuseppe Verdi, Gundula Janowitz, Heinrich Heine, Hina Spani, Hugo von Hoffmansthal, I Puritani, Il Trovatore, Jacqueline Bonneau, James Lockhart, Jephtha (Handel), Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Johannes Brahms, Kirsten Flagstad, Klaus Groth, Kurt Weill, La Wally (Catalani), Lamberto Gardelli, Le Postillon de Longjumeau, Leonard Bernstein, Leontyne Price, Lodoletta (Mascagni), Ludwig Rellstab, Malcolm Sargent, Margaret Price, Maria Callas, Nicolai Gedda, Oliviero de Fabritiis, Oralia Dominguez, Paul Badura-Skoda, Pietro Mascagni, Ralph Vaughan Williams, Renata Scotto, Richard Lewis, Richard Strauss, Richard Woitach, Roméo et Juliette, Sylvia Sass, Teresa Stratas, Vincenzo Bellini, Walter Mehring, William Shakespeare, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozartcountermelody

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This week I celebrated my birthday, so today is the second of this month’s birthday celebrations. A number of my listeners have been asking me for a while to post an episode featuring my favorite singers and recordings. So here it is! We lead off with a brief memorial tribute to Angela Lansbury, who died in the early California morning of my birthday. The rest of the episode features many recordings that I first got to know as I began exploring the world of great singing on records. Leontyne Price, Maria Callas, Alexander Kipnis, Elisabeth Söderström, Richard Lewis, Renata Scotto, Adele Addison, Gundula Janowitz, Margaret Price, Teresa Stratas, Gérard Souzay: all of these artists were formative figures in my early listening experience. My appreciation of some others came later: Hina Spani, Brigitte Fassbaender, Georges Thill, Sylvia Sass, Nicolai Gedda, Kirsten Flagstad. By this late date, all of them have been favorite artists of mine for decades and are represented on the episode by some of their greatest recordings. The episode concludes with a brief tribute to the English composer Ralph Vaughan Williams on the occasion of his 150th birthday, also celebrated this week.

P.S. Two years ago I did another Happy Birthday To Me episode, which featured performances by some of my favorite pop divas. The episode can be found for a limited time at the top of my LinkTree chain.

Episode 90. Gone But Not Forgotten (In Memoriam I)

May 23, 2021African American Singers, Art Song, Bel canto, Giuseppe Verdi, Great Baritones, In Memoriam, Mezzo Madness, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, Operetta, Pop Icons, Protest Songs, Voiceless WondersAngelo Mori, Anne Feeney, Barbara Hendricks, Bedřich Smetana, Biserka Cvejić, Charley Pride, Elias Rahbani, Ennio Morricone, Francesco Cilea, Gerry and the Pacemakers, Gerry Marsden, Giuseppe Verdi, Harold Budd, Jimmie Rodgers, John Shirley-Quirk, Julian Bream, Leon Fleisher, Libuše Domanínská, Marcella Reale, Margherita Roberti, Michel Trempont, Muriel Smith, Osian Ellis, Pyotr Il’yich Tchaikovsky, Ruggero Leoncavallo, Sándor Sólyom Nagy, SOPHIE, Tamara Sorokina, Vladislav Piavko, Zoltán Kodálycountermelody

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Christa Ludwig, celebrated two weeks ago, is not the only great singer and musician to have departed this earthly realm in recent months. This episode presents a wide cross-section of great musicians we have lost, not just singers, and not just classical musicians. Included are many opera singers who today are less well-known, including Sándor Sólyom Nagy, Libuše Domanínská, Margherita Roberti, Tamara Sorokina, Angelo Mori, Marcella Reale, Biserka Cvejić, and Michel Trempont. A wide range of composers including Ennio Morricone, Elias Rahbani, and Harold Budd, also receive a nod, as do instrumentalists Leon Fleisher, Osian Ellis, and Julian Bream, and non-classical artists such as Anne Feeney, Charley Pride, Gerry Marsden, Jimmie Rodgers, and SOPHIE. Only once before on the podcast have I presented such a kaleidoscopic memorial episode; it is good to be reminded of the full range of expression pursued by great musicians of all stripes. Guest stars today include Barbara Hendricks, Muriel Smith, and John Shirley-Quirk. The tributes continue next week.

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.

Pictured: Biserka Cvejić as Amneris

Episode 82. Magda Olivero: La Verissima

March 28, 2021Giuseppe Verdi, Happy Birthday, Needle Drop, VerismoAdriana Lecouvreur, Alfredo Catalani, Arrigo Boito, Arturo Basile, Beniamino Gigli, Francesco Cilea, Franco Alfano, Fulvio Vernizzi, Giacomo Puccini, Gianni Schicchi, Giuseppe Verdi, La Fanciulla del West, La Traviata, Lino Puglisi, Loreley (Catalani), Magda Olivero, Manon Lescaut, Mefistofele (Boito), Otello (Verdi), Sammy Fain, Turandot, Ugo Tansinicountermelody

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This week we celebrate the recent 111th birthday of the great Italian verista Magda Olivero. An extraordinary artist whose unusual career saw her taking a ten-year hiatus just as her career was gaining steam, to return in 1950 at the express request of the composer Francesco Cilea, who felt that her portrayal of the title role of his Adriana Lecouvreur was definitive (and of course he was right!) Olivero made a Metropolitan Opera debut as Tosca at the advanced age of 65; even after her official retirement, she continued to make occasional appearances in concert, including her final one at the age of 99! She began with a modest but capable voice and developed it into a finely-tuned instrument capable of taking on the most dramatic repertoire, including Cherubini’s Medea and Minnie in La fanciulla del West, but always capable of the finest pianissimo shadings. Her voice displays an extraordinary range of color and her dramatic acumen has never been matched. This week’s episode features a number of her live appearances in Amsterdam, including an extraordinary Adriana Lecouvreur from 1965 which features her at her artistic and vocal peak. The episode also features excerpts from an extraordinary live concert at the Church of San Jacopino in Firenze on 28 March 1969 which includes nearly superhuman displays of vocal skill and dramatic insight. Magda Olivero lived to the age of 104; though she is no longer with us on earth, her artistry continues to inspire and delight lovers of opera and singing.

This episode was prepared with the kind assistance and input of Denis Robert, who maintains the Magda Olivero Archives page on YouTube. He was a personal friend of the artist and has done much to meticulously preserve her artistry and keep her legacy alive. He has provided me with high-quality masterings of many of the recordings featured on today’s episode and also regaled me with wonderful personal anecdotes and reminiscences of this great artist.

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 30. Giulietta Simionato (Mezzo Madness I)

April 12, 2020Giuseppe Verdi, Mezzo Madness, Needle DropAcerba voluttà (Adriana Lecouvreur), Adriana Lecouvreur, Aida, Annie Get Your Gun, Anything You Can Do, Canzone del velo, Cavalleria Rusticana, Che farò senza Euridice, Christoph Willibald Gluck, Don Carlo, Ettore Bastianini, Francesco Cilea, Franco Corelli, Franco Ghione, Già i sacerdoti adunansi (Aida), Giacomo Meyerbeer, Gianandrea Gavazzeni, Gioacchino Rossini, Giulietta Simionato, Giuseppe Verdi, Gli Ugonotti, Herbert von Karajan, Hertha Töpper, I Capuleti e i Montecchi, Il barbiere di Siviglia, Jon Vickers, La Cenerentola, La Scala, Les Huguenots, Margarete Sjöstedt, Maria Callas, Mezzo Madness, Non più mesta, Norma, O don fatale, Oh rimembranza (Norma), Orfeo ed Euridice, Pietro Mascagni, Salzburg Festival, Teatro San Carlo, Una voce poco fa, Vincenzo Bellinicountermelody

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Today’s episode, a celebration of the delicious and versatile Italian mezzo-soprano Giulietta Simionato (1910-2010), kicks off a miniseries in celebration of the mezzo-soprano voice. The centerpiece of the episode is a 10-inch London/Decca recording entitled Operatic Recital by Giulietta Simionato which features arias of Rossini, Bellini, and Verdi. The remainder of the episode features live and studio recordings, primarily from La Scala and Salzburg, by Simionato with distinguished partners, including Maria Callas, Franco Corelli, Jon Vickers, Ettore Bastianini, Gianadrea Gavazzeni, Antonino Votto, Carlo Maria Giulini, and Herbert von Karajan. Works include Il barbiere di Siviglia, Cavalleria rusticana, I Capuleti e i Montecchi, Don Carlo, Adriana Lecouvreur, Orfeo ed Euridice, Norma, La Cenerentola, Gli Ugonotti, L’Italiana in Algeri, and Aida, with one special Easter egg at the end. This episode, dedicated to my dear friend Gloria Parker, also features a tribute to the late German mezzo-soprano Hertha Töpper. A te la buona Pasqua!

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 support at whatever level you can afford.

Episode 1. Welcome to Countermelody, or Claudia and Zazà

September 12, 2019MusicA te o cara, Adriana Lecouvreur, Agnese di Hohenstaufen, Alberto Franchetti, Alfred Bachelet, Alfredo Catalani, Alfredo Silipigni, Allan Dwan, Allan Segall, Als flotter Geist, Alvino Misciano, Amelia al ballo, Amelita Galli-Curci, Amilcare Ponchielli, Andrea Chénier, Anita Cerquetti, Antoine Boësset, Anton Coppola, Aprile Millo, Arne Dorumsgaard, Arrigo Boito, Arturo Buzzi-Peccia, Arturo Toscanini, Bachelor Hall, Bianca e Fernando, Bidu Sayao, Boesset, Bonjour Suzon, Cary Grant, Cecil B. DeMille, Cecilia, Charles Long, Charles Simon, Chère nuit, Christoph Willibald Gluck, Cincinnati Opera, Clara Petrella, Clarence Brown, Claudette Colbert, Claudia Muzio, Denia Mazzola Gavazzeni, Der Roland von Berlin, Der Zigeunerbaron, Dir che ci sono al mondo, Domenico Alaleona, Edipo Re, Edith Mason, Edoardo Garbin, Eide Norena, Eleonora Duse, Emma Carelli, Emmy Destinn, Enrico Caruso, Erich Korngold, Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari, Ernestine Schumann-Heink, Esser madre è un inferno, Eugenia Mantelli, Eva Le Gallienne, Eva von der Osten, Fedora, Florence Quartararo, Francesca da Rimini, Francesco Cilea, Franco Alfano, Franco Corelli, Franco Ghione, Franz Schubert, Friedrich Hollaender, Gabrielle Réjane, Gaspare Spontini, George Cukor, Geraldine Farrar, Gerard Powers, Gerard Souzay, Giacinto Prandelli, Giacomo Lauri-Volpi, Giacomo Meyerbeer, Giacomo Puccini, Gianandrea Gavazzeni, Giancarlo Menotti, Gioacchino Rossini, Giovanni Martinelli, Giulio Crimi, Giuseppe Danise, Giuseppe de Luca, Giuseppe Verdi, Gloria Swanson, Guglielmo Tell, Guillaume Tell, Gus Kahn, H.B. Warner, Harrison Fisher, Heinrich Rehkemper, Hercule de Fontenailles, homosexuality, Hugo Hasslo, I Puritani, Il barbiere di Siviglia, Il tabarro, Il Trittico, Isa Miranda, Isadora Duncan, Italo Montemezzi, Jacqueline Bonneau, Jacques Offenbach, Jean Sibelius, Jeanette MacDonald, Joan Crawford, Johann Stauss II, Jorma Hynninen, King of Kings, La Fanciulla del West, Le Prophete, Léo Delibes, Licinio Refice, Lilo, Lodoletta, Loreley, Lorenzo Molajoli, Lotte Lehmann, Luca Canonici, Madama Butterfly, Madame Sans-Gêne, Mafalda Favero, Magda Olivero, Maria Pedrini, Mario Sammarco, Mary Garden, Mefistofele, Miriam Hopkins, Mrs. Leslie Carter, Nelson Eddy, O del mio amato ben, O prêtres de Baal, Oliviero de Fabritiis, Ombra di nube, Paride ed Elena, Pasquale Amato, Patricia Craig, Pauline Frederick, Pierre Berton, Pietro Mascagni, Ralf Gothoni, Randolph Scott, Renata Scotto, Renato Castellani, Rene Gaveau, Resurrection, Riccardo Zandonai, Risurrezione, Rosa Ponselle, Rosa Raisa, Rosina Storchio, Ruggero Leoncavallo, Selva opaca, Senza mamma, Sigmund Romberg, silent film, Smouldering Fires, Sorgi o padre, Spiagge amate, Stefano Antonucci, Stefano Donaudy, Sunset Boulevard, Suor Angelica, Teatro Grattacielo, The Fighting Westerner, The Girl of the Golden West, This Modern Age, Titta Ruffo, Umberto Giordano, Un bel dì, Una voce poco fa, Victor Maurel, Victorien Sardou, Vincenzo Bellini, Vittorio Gnecchi, Wolfgang Windgassen, Yvette Guilbert, Zaza, Zazà piccola zingaracountermelody

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Our first episode answers the question on everyone’s lips: “Where did the logo and the theme music come from?” We discuss the legendary Italian diva Claudia Muzio whose series of iconic recordings, particularly those recorded shortly before her premature death in 1936, are so extraordinary that they have kept her reputation intact to this day. We consider in particular her November 1920 recording of an aria from Ruggero Leoncavallo’s little-remembered verismo opera Zazà, in which her extraordinary artistry is on full display.

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