Tag Archives: Franz Werfel

Episode 495. A Birthday Potpourri II (Sneak Preview Edition)

October 15, 2026African American Singers, Art Song, Behind the Iron Curtain, Black History Month 2026, Bubbles on the Nile, Countertenors, Ein Opernabend mit..., Forgotten DivasAdriana Maliponte, Agostino Steffani, Alfred Jerger, Alfredo Silipigni, Alkman, Amor vien dal destino, André Emilianoff, Andrea Maffei, Ángel de Saavedra, Arabella, Cesar Franck, Charles Gounod, Charles Ives, Clemens Krauss, Constantine Cassolas, Daniel Gundlach, Die Macht des Schicksals, Erik Sædén, Francesco Maria Piave, Franz Werfel, Frederick Hammond, Giuseppe Verdi, Halina Łukomska, Hans Udo Müller, Heinz Fricke, Hilda Harris, Hugo von Hofmannsthal, Iris, Jarosław Iwaszkiewicz, Jean Sibelius, Jerzy Sulikowski, Joan Tower, Joaquin Rodrigo, Joel Lester, Johan Ludvig Runeberg, John Angelo Messana, John Bröcheler, John Keats, Joséphine-Blanche Colomb, Karol Szymanowski, Kenneth Montgomery, Kostas Paskalis, La forza del destino, Langston Hughes, Laura Flax, Leonidas Zoras, Les Béatitudes, Luigi Illica, Macbeth, Margaret Bonds, Margarete Teschemacher, Michael Isador, Miriam Gideon, Newell Jenkins, Ortensio Mauro, Parsifal, Patricia Spencer, Paul Hofstede, Pentti Koskimies, Pieśni muezina szalonego, Pietro Mascagni, Reginald Boardman, Richard Strauss, Richard Wagner, Ritva Auvinen, Roland Hayes, Rudolf Jansen, Sandra Browne, Scott Gilmore, Songs of the Lovesick Muezzin, Spas Wenkovv, Sten Envik, Teodoro Llorente, Victor Hugo, Viorica Ursuleac, Virgil, Voices from Elysium, Walther Ludwig, Willis Barnstonecountermelody

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Welcome to the second of my birthday potpourri episodes! I recorded this the day before we left on vacation, in other words, exactly a week ago. The focus this week is on Coming Attractions for the rest of the year and the new season (Season Eight already!) of Countermelody coming in January. We begin with a tribute to Dutch bass-baritone John Bröcheler, who died on September 30 at the age of 81. I have been collecting his recordings for a couple years now and will do a full memorial tribute in the months to come. I’m also planning a series on songs by important twentieth century composers, including Karol Szymanowski (sinuously represented here by Polish soprano Halina Łukomska), Jean Sibelius (powerfully voiced by Finnish soprano Ritva Auvinen) and Miriam Gideon (performed here by the exceptional Greek-American tenor Constantine Cassolas, one of the composer’s favorite collaborators). I’m also planning a special episode on creators of Richard Strauss operas, and as a foretaste we hear an excerpt from Arabella featuring the controversial soprano Viorica Ursuleac and baritone Alfred Jerger. My series of recordings in the Opernabend series on the Eterna label also continues, and the “placeholder” here is Bulgarian heldentenor Spas Wenkoff, heard in an excerpt from Parsifal. I’m also putting together an episode on great German sopranos singing Verdi in German, as represented here by the great Margarete Teschemacher. This will be in tandem with an episode on international Verdi baritones, as exemplified by one of the greatest ever, the Greek Kostas Paskalis. I’ll also be doing individual episodes on singers I’ve been collecting for some time now, including the pathbreaking African American tenor Roland Hayes, the versatile Swedish bass-baritone Erik Sædén, the fearless French-Italian spinto Adriana Maliponte, and two Black mezzos: the velvet-voiced Hilda Harris and the pioneering Trinidadian Sandra Browne. Finally, a pair of episodes paying tribute to the countertenor voice, one entitled “Our Countertenor Forebears,” represented by the heroic-voiced John Angelo Messana. The other, which has been planned and promised for years now as Episode 500, will feature yours truly, Daniel Gundlach, in an episode to be called “Dansplaining,” which will feature sound recordings unearthed from the ashes of my own archives. So, my friends, much to look forward to on Countermelody in the seasons, months, and years to come.

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 439. Grace Bumbry, Proud Soprano [Studio Edition]

February 20, 2026African American Singers, Bel canto, Black History Month, Black History Month 2026, Crossover, French Opera, Giacomo Puccini, Giuseppe Verdi, In Memoriam, Listeners' Favorites, Mezzo Madness, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, NYCO Divas, Operetta, Singers of Color, VerismoAdolphe d’Ennery, Aida, Aldo Ceccato, Alfredo Catalani, Amilcare Ponchielli, Andrea Chénier, Andrew White, Ángel de Saavedra, Antonio García Gutiérrez, Antonio Ghislanzoni, Arrigo Boito, Arturo Colautti Charles Chaplin, Auguste Mariette, Camille du Locle, Carlo Zangarini, Der Zigeunerbaron, Die Macht des Schicksals, Don Carlo, Édouard Blau, Ernest Legouvé, Eugène Scribe, Felice Romani, Francesco Cilea, Francesco Maria Piave, François-Benoît Hoffmann, Franz Allers, Franz Werfel, Friedrich Schiller, Giacomo Puccini, Giuseppe Giacosa, Giuseppe Patanè, Grace Bumbry, Gustave Charpentier, Hans Löwlein, Ignaz Schnitzer, Il Trovatore, Johann Strauss II, Joseph Méry, Jules Massenet, La forza del destino, La Gioconda, La Wally, Le Cid, Louis Gallet, Louise, Luigi Cherubini, Luigi Illica, Medea, Mór Jókai, Nicolai Gedda, Norma, Pierre Corneille, Saint-Pol-Roux, Salvadore Cammarano, Stefan Soltesz, Temistocle Solera, Tobia Gorrio, Tosca, Umberto Giordano, Victor Hugo, Victorien Sardou, Vincenzo Bellini, Wilhelmine von Hillerncountermelody

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As we hurtle toward the third anniversary (in May already!) of Grace Bumbry’s death, I have had her very much on my mind. It’s true that I consider her greatest achievement to have been as a Liedersängerin. Others opine that her operatic roles as a mezzo (Carmen, Eboli, Amneris among others) represent her at her very finest. There are fewer who focus on her work as a soprano. And yet, when she sang the most taxing roles in that fach, she often revealed a fearlessness, a fortitude, a determination, a pride that brought out her very best. If one examines her recorded output, one finds her essaying soprano arias almost from her very earliest recordings. I thought it might be fun to continue Diva Week on Countermelody’s Black History Month celebratory episodesby examining her enduring legacy of her recorded output as a soprano. This time I focus exclusively on her studio recordings as a soprano, sometimes (but not always) in roles that she also sang onstage (Norma, Tosca, Gioconda, even Medea). (There’s even a little operetta and a pop standard tossed in for fun.) When La Bumbry first began singing the soprano repertoire, some naysayers predicted irreparable vocal burnout. But they were wrong: until the very end, Grace retained, by virtue of both solid technique and enormous willpower, the same vocal richness and musical and artistic fingerprint that she possessed for more than six decades and which we celebrate in this episode.

Episode 392. Ernst Kozub Revisited [Verdi Edition]

September 8, 2025Canadian Singers, Forgotten Divas, Giuseppe Verdi, Great Baritones, Great Tenors, In Memoriam, Listeners' Favorites, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, Opera in TranslationAida, Alexandre Dumas fils, Andrea Maffei, Ángel de Saavedra, Antonio García Gutiérrez, Antonio Ghislanzoni, Antonio Somma, Arrigo Boito, Auguste Mariette, Camille du Locle, Christoph von Dohnányi, Der Troubadour, Don Carlo, Don Carlos, Edith Lang, Ein Maskenball, Elias, Elijah, Ernst Kozub, Eugène Scribe, Felix Mendelssohn, Francesco Maria Piave, Franz Bauer Theussl, Franz Crass, Franz Werfel, Friedrich Schiller, George London, Gisela Vivarelli, Giuseppe Verdi, Hildegard Rütgers, Horst Stein, Il Trovatore, Joseph Méry, Julius Schubring, La forza del destino, La Traviata, Leopold Ludwig, Luisa Miller, Macbeth, Marek Janowski, Norman Mittelmann, Otello, Rigoletto, Rita Streich, Robert Wagner, Salvadore Cammarano, Un ballo in maschera, Victor Hugo, Vladimir Ruzdak, Vladimir Ruždjak, William Shakespearecountermelody

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Since posting a tribute to German heldentenor Ernst Kozub last year, I have continued combing through both his live and studio output and I have concluded that his work in Verdi is at least as good as his work in Wagner. And that’s saying something! I have a wonderful setlist here which features the great Heldentenor singing everything from the lyric tenor parts of Alfredo in La Traviata and the Duke (or should I say the Herzog?!) in Rigoletto to the dramatic roles of Manrico in Der Troubadour, Radames in Aida and the title role of Otello. Between these two extremes, arias from Luisa Miller, Macbeth, and Ein Maskenball ring out with vigor and even some occasional subtlety! Excerpts from live performances of Don Carlos and La forza del destino (the only Verdi heard here in Italian) from the stage of the Hamburg Opera (where Kozub was fest between 1962 and his premature death in 1971) are a special treat, especially with in duet with phenomenal (though nearly forgotten) colleagues Norman Mittelmann, Vladimir Ruždjak, and Edith Lang (who will be featured next week in an upcoming episode). Legendary German stars Rita Streich and Franz Crass are also heard opposite Kozub in the recording studio. The episode opens with George London singing an excerpt from Mendelssohn’s Elias under the baton of the late Christoph von Dohnányi, who died over the weekend two days before his 96th birthday.

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.