Tag Archives: Giacomo Meyerbeer

Episode 264. Rescue Mission (Forgotten Divas Edition)

May 31, 2024African American Singers, Alternate Universe Bel Canto, Bel canto, Black History Month 2024, Forgotten Divas, French Opera, Full-Figured Baroque, Giacomo Puccini, Great Tenors, In Memoriam, Mezzo Madness, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, Orchestral Songs, Pop Icons, Singers of Color, SpiritualsAnnabelle Bernard, Antonio Salvi, Antonio Vivaldi, Ariodante, Arnold Schoenberg, Benny Goodman, Carmen, Christoph Willibald Gluck, Cole Porter, Delcina Stevenson, Didier Gold, Ernest Ragogini, Ethel Ennis, Eugène Scribe, George Frideric Handel, Georges Bizet, Giacomo Meyerbeer, Giacomo Puccini, Giuseppe Adami, Gwendolyn Killebrew, H. Vincent Mitzelfelt, Harold Adamson, Heinrich Hollreiser, Henri Meilhac, Jan Savitt, Jens Peter Jacobsen, Jerome Kern, Johann Sebastian Bach, Johnny Watson, Jonel Perlea, Julius Rudel, Le Prophete, Ludovic Halévy, Mark Russell, Michael Gielen, Orfeo ed Euridice, Otto Harbach, Prosper Mérimée, Ray Noble, Robert Franz Arnold, Ryan Diehl, Slam Stewart, Spirituals, Stef Scaggiari, Veronica Tyler, Walt Namuthcountermelody

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During Black History Month this year I featured a group of five exceptional singers I dubbed, for lack of a better term, “Forgotten Divas.” Each of these women, sopranos Delcina Stevenson, Annabelle Bernard, and Veronica Tyler, mezzo-soprano Gwendolyn Killebrew, and jazz singer Ethel Ennis, represents the peak of achievement in each of their respective fachs. These proved to be among the most popular and far-reaching of my recent episodes. At that time, I promised my listeners that I would continue to seek out rare recordings of each of these women and that, if and when such material surfaced, I would be sure to share it with my listeners. True to my promise, I present a brand-new episode featuring (for the most part) newly discovered material with each of these singers: a live Washington Opera Ariodante from 1971 and a live Carnegie Hall Orfeo ed Euridice from 1967, both with Veronica Tyler; live original language performances of Puccini’s Il tabarro and Meyerbeer’s Le Prophète from the stage of the Deutsche Oper Berlin which starred Annabelle Bernard; Gwendolyn Killebrew singing the Habanera from Carmen, one of her most celebrated roles, as well as the Waldtaube in Schoenberg’s Gurrelieder; rare studio recordings of Delcina Stevenson singing Bach and Vivaldi from the early 1970s; and live material featuring Ethel Ennis over the course of nearly fifty years of her career, 1958 through 2005. As more of this material resurfaces, I will present further episodes of this new “Rescue Mission” series featuring both these singers and others I have already featured on the podcast, performing material that adds to our understanding and appreciation of their artistry.

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 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 183. Martina Arroyo (Black History Month 2023)

February 10, 2023African American Singers, Art Song, Bel canto, BHM2023WK2, Black History Month, Comic Relief, French Opera, Full-Figured Baroque, Giacomo Puccini, Giuseppe Verdi, Happy Birthday, Lieder, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, Orchestral Songs, Pop Icons, Richard Strauss, Schubert, Singers of Color, Twentieth Century Music, VerismoAida, Andromache’s Farewell, Antonio Ghislanzoni, Antonio Somma, Arnold Schoenberg, Burt Bacharach, Charles Mackerras, Colin Davis, David Belasco, Don Giovanni, Donal Nold, Dorothy Maynor, DuBose Heyward, Dusty Springfield, Ermanno Mauro, Ernani, Fausto Cleva, Francesco Maria Piave, Francesco Molinari-Pradelli, Franz Schubert, George Gershwin, Gerd Albrecht, Giacomo Meyerbeer, Giacomo Puccini, Gioacchino Rossini, Giuseppe Giacosa, Giuseppe Verdi, Günter Wand, Gurre-Lieder, Harry T. Burleigh, Hermann Hesse, Ira Gershwin, János Ferencsik, Jens Peter Jacobsen, Joaquín Nin, Johann Sebastian Bach, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Johannes Brahms, Karlheinz Stockhausen, Kurt Eichhorn, L’Africaine, La forza del destino, Lamberto Gardelli, Leonard Hokanson, Lorenzo da Ponte, Luciano Pavarotti, Ludwig van Beethoven, Luigi Illica, Macbeth (Verdi), Madama Butterfly, Martina Arroyo, Max Rudolf, Nicola Rescigno, Porgy and Bess, Regine Crespin, Richard Strauss, Samuel Barber, Sixten Ehrling, Spirituals, Stuart Burrows, Thomas Schippers, Turandot, Un ballo in maschera, Victor Hugo, Vier letzte Lieder, Vittorio Gui, William Shakespeare, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozartcountermelody

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Last week on Feburary 2, the beloved African American soprano Martina Arroyo turned 86 years old. Although the Countermelody birthday tribute to Ms. Arroyo is a week late, it is nonetheless profoundly heartfelt. I have always valued the artistry and voice of this artist who often referred to herself as “The Other One” (because she was so frequently confused with today’s birthday diva, Leontyne Price). In preparing this episode, however, I flipped over into fan girl mode: was there anything that Martina Arroyo could not do? Of course she was celebrated as one of the premiere Verdi sopranos of her day (or, indeed, of the twentieth century), and there are ample examples on the episode that give testament to her supremacy in that repertoire. But she was also an intrepid performer of contemporary music, creating important works by both Karlheinz Stockhausen and Samuel Barber. Her performances of baroque music, while very much following an earlier style of performance practice, are vivid and insightful. Her affinity with French grand opera style is off the charts, as evidenced by an excerpt from Meyerbeer’s L’Africaine. She also could have pursued a path as a Mozart and Strauss singer, and selections by both of these composers prove her mastery of this genre as well. She also had the power to be a full-fledged dramatic soprano, as shown by her live performances of Schoenberg’s Gurre-Lieder and the title role in Puccini’s Turandot. And yet her subtlety as a recitalist is shown in live and studio Lieder performances. And the fervor and vigor of her performance of spirituals is a thing of joy. This episode is full of surprises but one thing is not surprising at all: the degree of dedication and commitment of this artist, which continues to this day with the performance and education initiative of the Martina Arroyo Foundation. (The episode begins with a brief tribute to Burt Bacharach, who died yesterday at the age of 94.)

Episode 163. Season Four Preview

September 23, 2022African American Singers, Art Song, Behind the Iron Curtain, Broadway, Crossover, French Opera, Full-Figured Baroque, Giacomo Puccini, Great Baritones, Gustav Mahler, Happy Birthday, Lieder, Mezzo Madness, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, NYCO Divas, Opera in Translation, Operetta, Pop Icons, Queer Pride, Singers of Color, Twentieth Century Music, Verismo, Voiceless WondersAbe Polakoff, Albert Willemetz, Alec Wilder, Alfred Heller, André Girard, André Jolivet, André Mauprey, André Messager, Andrée Esposito, Andrzej Hiolski, Anna Moffo, Arnold Sundgaard, Carl Tillius, Carol Litvin, Carol Neblett, Das Land des Lächelns, Denise Duval, Don Costa, Donal Nold, Doru Popovici, Eduard Mörike, Eleanor Steber, Enrico DiGiuseppe, Ernst Kozub, Federico García Lorca, Franz Lehár, Franz Schreker, Frasquita (Lehár), Fritz Jahoda, Gabriel Bacquier, Gerald Moore, Gerard Souzay, Gertrude Grob-Prandl, Giacomo Meyerbeer, Giacomo Puccini, Gilda Cruz-Romo, Gustav Mahler, Hans Willi Häusslein, Heinrich Isaac, Heitor Villa-Lobos, Helen Donath, Helena Christenko, Henry Wright, Hermann Scherchen, Hugo Wolf, Hugues Cuenod, Igor Kipnis, Jacques Leguerney, Jean Laforge, Jean Marietti, Jean-Yves Daniel-Lesur, Joaquín Nin, Joel Cohen, Johann Sebastian Bach, Johannes Brahms, Judith Raskin, Julius Rudel, Kurt Ollmann, La Boheme, La Fanciulla del West, Louis Emié, Manuel Rosenthal, Marina Krilovici, Martina Arroyo, Mary Dibbern, Max Lichtegg, Meinhard von Zallinger, Michael Devlin, Milton Kaye, Nicolai Gedda, Oskar Merikanto, Pierre de Ronsard, Raymond Chevreux, Richard Volkmann, Robert Massard, Robert Schumann, Roberta Alexander, Sammy Davis Jr., Shannon Bolin, Sonny Curtis, Viktor Sund, Walt Whitman, William Ledbettercountermelody

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Today Countermelody is in limbo: balanced between Seasons Three and Four. Over the past few months I’ve been planning the course of the upcoming season and this episode consists of musical tidbits (bocconcini, if you will) of some of the singers and themed series that I am planning for Season Four. Included are retrospectives of singers Judith Raskin, Roberta Alexander, Sammy Davis, Jr., Helen Donath, Hugues Cuénod, Anna Moffo, Denise Duval, and Nicolai Gedda, all of whom are “sampled” today. I’m also planning programs on; “Great Singers We’ve Never Heard Of;” the music of Alec Wilder; the Black male singer as European émigré; “Behind the Iron Curtain;” explorations of both Orchestral Songs and Rare Twentieth-Century Operas; and “Great Singers in Old Age;” as well as, naturally, a closer examination of many of those New York City Opera divas to whom I provided an introduction last week. The new season will also be more interactive, with livestream interviews planned with various fascinating (and legendary!) figures in the world of opera and classical music. Thanks to all for your continued support, friendship, and listenership; see you next week for the debut of Season Four of Countermelody!

Episode 71. Eidé Noréna

January 24, 2021Art Song, Bel canto, Full-Figured Baroque, Giuseppe Verdi, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, Opera in TranslationAgathe Backer-Gröndahl, Ambroise Thomas, Charles Gounod, Edvard Grieg, Eide Norena, Gabriel Faure, George Frideric Handel, Giacomo Meyerbeer, Giacomo Puccini, Gioacchino Rossini, Giuseppe Verdi, Harold Arlen, Herman Bemberg, Jacques Offenbach, Kaja Eide, Kaja Eidé Noréna, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, Piero Coppola, Victoria Clark, Waldemar Thrane, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Yip Harburgcountermelody

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Kaja Eidé Noréna (1884-1968, née Karoline Hansen), the Norwegian lyric-coloratura soprano, is one of the greatest singers of her generation, and nearly forgotten today. She made her concert debut at the age of 19 and in 1907 began her operatic career as Amor in Orfeo ed Euridice. In 1909 she married the actor Egil Eide, through whose coaching she became celebrated for her dramatic portrayals. Under her married name Kaja Eide she became one of the Norway’s most famous singers, though her career was essentially a provincial one until, mid-career, she restudied her technique and rebuilt her voice, which led to her La Scala debut as Gilda under the baton of Arturo Toscanini (and under her new professional name, Eide Norena). She went on to an international career, performing in the world’s most celebrated opera houses, including the Metropolitan Opera, Covent Garden, the Salzburg Festival, and, particularly, the Paris Opéra. Her repertoire was a wide one, ranging from Ophélie to Desdemona, and her vocal technique was solid to the point of near-perfection, her legato singing being particularly remarkable. What sets her apart, and what makes her one of my favorite singers, is her profoundly musical interpretations allied to her keen dramatic sense. The majority of the recordings featured on the episode are from the 1930s. Noréna retired in 1938 and spent the remainder of her life in Switzerland, where she died in 1968. Noréna is, for me, everything that a great singer should be, and it is a particular honor for me to feature her on the podcast.

A bonus episode posted today on my Patreon page (www.patreon.com/countermelody) features Noréna in the role of Juliette in Gounod’s opera, including both live and studio recordings of duets with Charles Hackett and Gaston Micheletti.

And a link to the article about Noréna that I wrote in 2007 for my long-defunct blog: www.counterleben.blogspot.com/2007/07/fairy-from-ice.html

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 43. Gl’amour I (Bastille Day 2020)

July 12, 2020African American Singers, Operetta, Pop IconsAndrée Esposito, Bizet Carmen, Charles Gounod, Christoph Wilibald Gluck, Denise Duval, Depuis le jour, Emma Calvé, Emma Luart, Fanny Heldy, Francis Poulenc, Françoise Pollet, Géo Koger, Georges Bizet, Geraldine Farrar, Germaine Cernay, Germaine Féraldy, Giacomo Meyerbeer, Giuseppe di Stefano, Glamour, Gounod Faust, Gounod La Reine de Saba, Gounod Mireille, Grace Bumbry, Gustave Charpentier, Gustave Cloëz, Janine Micheau, Jennie Tourel, Jessye Norman, Joséphine Baker, Jules Massenet, Léo Delibes, Leo Robin, Lisette Oropesa, Mady Mesple, Mary Lewis, Massenet Hérodiade, Massenet Le Cid, Massenet Manon, Massenet Thaïs, Maurice Chevalier, Orphée et Eurydice, Oscar Straus, Pleurez mes yeux, Regine Crespin, Renée Doria, Robert le Diable, Shirley Verrett, Teresa Żylis-Gara, Vincent Scottocountermelody

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Another nation, la belle France, has a birthday right around the corner, and today I hoist the Tricolore to celebrate La Fête Nationale. I had planned this episode several weeks ago but when the worldwide #BlackLivesMatter protests began, I felt the need to respond in kind with two episodes featuring music of protest and hope. Today I present the first of two consecutive episodes on French Glamour, for after all, who does Glamour better than the French? I also consider the manner in which exoticism and imperialism make an appearance in French opera in particular. I present a veritable mad rush of great French singers, all possessed of personal poise and vocal appeal. Singers range from such classical artists as Mady Mesplé (whose recent passing we belatedly acknowledge), Régine Crespin, Janine Micheau, Germaine Cernay, Emma Calvé, Renée Doria, Jennie Tourel, Denise Duval, Andrée Esposito, Germaine Féraldy, Françoise Pollet (as well as exemplary Belgian sopranos Emma Luart and Fanny Heldy) to pop singers Joséphine Baker (French by adoption!), and Maurice Chevalier. We allow such non-French interlopers as Geraldine Farrar, Giuseppe di Stefano, Grace Bumbry, Mary Lewis, Teresa Żylis-Gara, Lisette Oropesa, and my beloved Shirley Verrett, many of whom also lived extensively in France, to make their contributions in song to this celebration. And who better than the late Jessye Norman to cap the episode with her rousing rendition of La Marseillaise, as she did in 1989 for the French Bicentennial?

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 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 5: Shirley Verrett I. La Nera Callas

October 20, 2019African American Singers, Bel canto, Giuseppe Verdi, Mezzo Madness, Needle Drop, Singers of ColorAnna Caterina Antonacci, Camille Saint-Saens, Carmen, Christa Ludwig, Christoph Willibald Gluck, Claudio Abbado, Cornelie Falcon, Covent Garden, Don Carlo, Eugene Ormandy, Eve Queler, Fritz Reiner, Georges Bizet, Giacomo Meyerbeer, Giuseppe Verdi, Grace Bumbry, Il Trovatore, Imre Pallo, Jon Vickers, Julius Rudel, Justino Diaz, La Scala, Luciano Pavarotti, Marian Anderson, Maurizio Arena, Michelangelo Veltri, Philadelphia Orchestra, Richard Cassilly, Richard Lewis, Samson et Dalila, Shirley Verrett, Tom Krause, Un ballo in maschera, Zwischenfachcountermelody

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This episode is the first of two on one of my favorite singers, the Zwischenfachsängerin Shirley Verrett. Renowned in the United States for her performances of Verdi mezzo-soprano parts, particularly Azucena in Il Trovatore and Eboli in Don Carlo, the late singer commanded an enormous repertoire, comprising bel canto and French roles, on which she left her indelible stamp. I focus in particular on the French roles she performed at the Opéra de Paris from the mid-1980s through the early 1990s, as well as her Verdi soprano roles, including Amelia in Un ballo in maschera and the title role in Aida. Known in the Italian press as La Nera Callas [The Black Callas], Verrett is heard in this episode singing Brahms, Gluck, Saint-Saëns, and Verdi roles for both soprano and mezzo-soprano. Special attention is paid to her newsworthy appearances with fellow African American mezzo-cum-soprano, Grace Bumbry, the first of which, a joint Carnegie Hall concert in 1982, honored the iconic contralto Marian Anderson on the occasion of her 80th birthday.

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