Tag Archives: Georges Tzipine

Episode 388. Sopranos en détresse, Part Deux

August 24, 2025Bel canto, Black History Month, Black History Month 2025, Forgotten Divas, French Opera, Great Baritones, Great Tenors, Honor Your Mentors, In Memoriam, Listeners' Favorites, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, NYCO Divas, Singers in Old Age, Singers of Color, Twentieth Century Music, Twentieth Century Opera, VerismoAbbé Prevost, Adolphe d’Ennery, Alain Vanzo, Albert Wolff, Alfred Bruneau, Alfred Cortot, Alphonse Daudet, Ambroise Thomas, Anatole France, André Cluytens, Anna Caterina Antonacci, Anton Guadagno, Antonio de Almeida, Arthur Bernède, Beverly Sills, Camille du Locle, Carol Vaness, Charles Chaynes, Charles Gounod, Christiane Eda-Pierre, Édouard Blau, Elgar Howarth, Emerson Buckley, Emma Calvé, Emmanuel Bondeville, Ernest Reyer, Erzsébet (Chaynes), Faust, Félia Litvinne, François-Hippolyte Leroy, Georges Bizet, Georges Tzipine, Gerard Souzay, Germaine Féraldy, Germaine Martinelli, Gustave Flaubert, Hector Berlioz, Henri Cain, Henri Duvernois, Henri Meilhac, Henri Trianon, Ivan IV (Bizet), Jacqueline Brumaire, James Morris, Janine Micheau, Jerry Hadley, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, John Bröcheler, Jules Barbier, Jules Claretie, Jules Massenet, Julius Rudel, La Navarraise, Le Cid, Les Troyens, Louis Gallet, Lucia Popp, Ludovic Janvier, Madame Bovary, Manon, Michel Carré, Michel Dens, Michel Sénéchal, Mignon, Nelly Miricioiu, Norman Treigle, Patricia Brooks, Philippe Gille, Pierre Corneille, René Fauchois, Salammbô (Reyer), Sapho (Massenet), Sergiu Comissiona, Thaïs, Vicente Sardinero, Virginie (Bruneau), Yolanda Marcoulescoucountermelody

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A few months ago I published the first of a series of episodes honoring “Over the Top Sopranos,” which presented French repertoire performed by a batch of supremely distressed divas. And today is a follow-up, again featuring “sopranos en détresse” in which I spread the net even wider, featuring every type of soprano from perky coloratura to hefty dramatic and everything in between. The characters represented range from reformed Alexandrian courtesans to vampiric Hungarian murderers. And the chronological spread is wide, too: we sample a wide variety of singers from Félia Litvinne, recorded in 1902, to Anna Caterina Antonacci, recorded in 2009. In between we hear, among others, Germaine Féraldy, Beverly Sills, Emma Calvé, Lucia Popp, Christiane Eda-Pierre (pictured), Patricia Brooks, Germaine Martinelli, Jacqueline Brumaire, Carol Vaness, Nelly Miricioiu, and Janine Micheau. Works range from the familiar (Mignon by Thomas, Manon by Massenet, and Faust by Gounod) to the obscure (Ivan IV by Bizet, Salammbô by Ernest Reyer, Erzsébet by Charles Chaynes, and Virginie by Alfred Bruneau). Attachez vos ceintures; ce sera encore une soirée extravagante!

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 167. Denise Duval

October 21, 2022Art Song, Comic Relief, French Opera, Great Baritones, Happy Birthday, In Memoriam, Needle Drop, Opera in Translation, Operetta, Queer Pride, Twentieth Century Music, Voiceless WondersAlain Vanzo, André Cluytens, André Messager, Camille Saint-Saens, Claude Debussy, Denise Duval, Emmerich Kálmán, Florent Schmitt, Franc-Nohain (Maurice Étienne Legrand), Francis Poulenc, Franz Lehár, Georges Pretre, Georges Tessier, Georges Tzipine, Guillaume Apollinaire, Hans Wilbrink, Hervé (Louis-Auguste-Florimond Ronger), Jacques Jansen, Jean Cocteau, Jean Fournet, Jean Giraudeau, Jean Pomarez, Joseph Peyron, Jules Gressier, L’heure espagnole, La voix humaine, Les dialogues des Carmélites, Les mamelles de Tirésias, Louis Durey, Louise de Vilmorin, Manuel Rosenthal, Marcel Cariven, Maurice Carême, Maurice Maeterlinck, Maurice Ravel, Michel Hamel, Pelleas et Melisande, Raymond Chevreux, Robert Massard, Robert Planquette, Suzanne Sarroca, Vittorio Guicountermelody

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Denise Duval, whose 101st birthday we posthumously commemorate on October 23, will forever be associated with the music of Francis Poulenc, and specifically his operas, in which the lead soprano roles were either created by her, or were written with her in mind. This episode not only presents Duval in excerpts, in live concert and stage performances, of all three roles: Thérèse in Les Mamelles de Tirésias, Blanche de la Force in Les Dialogues des Carmélites, and the unnamed heroine in his searing 1959 monodrama La voix humaine, alongside her performance in the world premiere of her final creation for Poulenc: the brief 1961 monologue La Dame de Monte-Carlo. But Duval was a versatile singer whose many and varied roles may surprise you. I present her also in both French and Viennese operettas by Lehár, Kálmán, Planquette, Messager, and Hervé, as well as operatic roles by Ravel, Debussy, and Saint-Saëns, concert works by Florent Schmitt and Louis Durey, and, from a joint recital with Poulenc, a breathtaking excerpt from Debussy’s Proses lyriques. Duval’s unusual voice and artistic profile defy classification, but this episode seeks to present as full a portrait as possible of this great singer and actor. Heard alongside Duval are tenors Jean Giraudeau, Alain Vanzo, Michel Hamel, and Jean Pomarez; baritones Jacques Jansen, Robert Massard, and Hans Wilbrink; and in an amusing turn, Francis Poulenc himself.

Episode 69. Voiceless Wonders: An Introduction

January 10, 2021African American Singers, Art Song, Broadway, Comic Relief, Drag Performance, Full-Figured Baroque, Happy Birthday, Lieder, Mezzo Madness, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, Pop Icons, Protest Songs, Queer Pride, Voiceless WondersA Little Night Music (Sondheim), Abel Meeropol, Adele Astaire, Alberta Hunter, Alec Wilder, André Cluytens, Andy Razaf, Audrey Hepburn, Aufstieg und Fall der Stadt Mahagonny, Barbara, Bertolt Brecht, Billie Holiday, Bob Dylan, Bourvil, Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Bruno Seidler-Winkler, Bud McCreary, Celius Dougherty, Chita Rivera, Claude Debussy, Divine, Dody Goodman, Emmerich Zillner, Erich Kunz, Eugen Jochum, Fats Waller, Follies (Sondheim), Frances Gershwin, Francis Poulenc, Franz Schubert, Fred Astaire, Fred Ebb, Geoffrey Parsons, George Bizet, George Gershwin, Georges Tzipine, Gerhard Stolze, Hans Werner, Harry Plunket Greene, Helmut Krebs, Henry Mancini, Hildegard Knef, Hoagy Carmichael, Hugues Cuenod, Ira Gershwin, Jacques Offenbach, Jane Bathori, Johann Sebastian Bach, John Kander, Johnny Mercer, Josef Hochmuth, Joséphine Baker, Judi Dench, Julie Wilson, Julius Patzak, Kander and Ebb, Karl Erb, Kurt Weill, L’aigle noir, Les Contes d’Hoffmann, Lotte Lenya, Lou Reed, Mabel Mercer, Madeleine Grey, Manos Hadzidakis, Marlene Dietrich, Maurice Ravel, Meg Christian, Melina Mercouri, Michel Sénéchal, Mildred Bailey, Moon River, Never On Sunday, Noël Coward, Pete Seeger, Pierre Bernac, Povla Frijsh, Randall Thompson, Rudolf Sieczyński, Schubert Winterreise, Shoot Your Shot, Stephen Sondheim, Strange Fruit, The Fugs, The Times They Are A-Changin’, Where Have All the Flowers Gone, Winterreisecountermelody

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Some of the greatest singers in history are not necessarily the most vocally-gifted. This is the first of what I hope will be a series of episodes devoted to such artists. I consider singers across many genres: recitalists (Pierre Bernac, Madeleine Grey, Povla Frijsh, Jane Bathori), cabaret (Mabel Mercer, Noël Coward, Julie Wilson, Barbara, Lotte Lenya), musicals (Fred and Adele Astaire, Chita Rivera), pop music (Bob Dylan, Lou Reed), jazz (Billie Holiday, Alberta Hunter), actors (Audrey Hepburn, Melina Mercouri, Judi Dench, Hildegard Knef, Divine), and even comedians (Dody Goodman, Bourvil), with special focus on a few of the voiceless tenors who hold a special place in my heart (Hugues Cuenod, Karl Erb, Helmut Krebs, Julius Patzak). At the end, I feature two aging icons (Marlene Dietrich and Joséphine Baker) in unforgettable live performances of two protest songs that are painfully relevant at this moment in time. Composers include Alec Wilder, George Gershwin, Kurt Weill, Franz Schubert, Stephen Sondheim, Francis Poulenc, Abel Meeropol, Claude Debussy, Kander and Ebb, Pete Seeger, Carl Orff, Manos Hadzidakis, Fats Waller, Maurice Ravel, and Rudolf Sieczyński. Please join me for this very special episode. But prepare yourselves for an emotional wallop.

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. 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.