Tag Archives: Gianfranco Cecchele

Episode 496. Rarissima Martina (Arroyo in Memoriam)

October 23, 2026African American Singers, Black History Month, Black History Month 2026, Bubbles on the Nile, French Opera, Giacomo Puccini, Giuseppe Verdi, Great Baritones, Great Tenors, In Memoriam, Listeners' Favorites, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, Operetta, Richard Wagner, Singers in Old Age, Singers of Color, Spirituals, Twentieth Century MusicAlfred Maria Willner, Andromache’s Farewell, Arnaldo Fusinato, Cantata on the Death of Emperor Joseph II, Carl Maria von Weber, Charles Duveyrier, Der Freischütz, Du Bose Heyward, Eugene Ormandy, Eugène Scribe, Euripedes, Frederic Waldman, Friedrich Kind, Friedrich Laun, Gabriel Faure, George Gershwin, Gerd Albrecht, Giacomo Meyerbeer, Giacomo Puccini, Gianfranco Cecchele, Giuseppe Adami, Giuseppe Verdi, Gustave Charpentier, Hans Gierster, Heinz Reichert, Henri Venanzi, Ira Gershwin, Johann August Apel, John Patrick Creagh, Joseph Eger, L’Africaine, La rondine, Lohengrin, Louise, Ludwig van Beethoven, Martin Rich, Martina Arroyo, Porgy and Bess, Richard Wagner, Samuel Barber, Severin Anton Averdonk, Sherrill Milnes, Sixten Ehrling, Thomas Schipperscountermelody

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African American soprano Martina Arroyo died on October 13 at the age of 90. Tributes have been rolling in from all corners, perhaps especially because Martina Arroyo was a 2013 Kennedy Center Honoree when that still meant something. As such, she is one of an increasingly shrinking proportion of classical musicians who has been thus celebrated. Indeed, if there was ever a universally-admired and -beloved singer in the operatic firmament, it would be Ms. Arroyo. My original intention for this episode was to present her in recordings of art song, but as I compiled repertoire for this week’s tribute, I kept stumbling upon recordings of unexpected operatic and concert repertoire that revealed the soprano’s many virtues in surprising ways. Indeed, some of these recordings are so rare that I doubt that very few of my listeners have ever heard them before: Martina Arroyo singing “Leise, leise”? Or a different live performance of Samuel Barber’s Andromache’s Farewell, which she created during Lincoln Center’s inaugural season? Or a studio recording of “Elsas Traum”? Or, astonishingly and refulgently, even the Poulenc Gloria? I have combined these items with excerpts from recordings almost as uncommon: “Depuis le jour and the “Canzone di Doretta” from a live Concertgebouw concert in 1967; a 1977 Munich concert performance of Meyerbeer’s L’Africaine; a Swedish television Porgy and Bess from 1960; a live 1970 Vespri with Gianfranco Cecchele and Thomas Schippers; and an album of spirituals recorded in 1991, Arroyo’s last studio recording. None of these selections has been heard on any of my previous Martina episodes, and all of them reveal her creamy, delicious tone, impeccable technique, and profoundly satisfying musicianship. I hope that this episode helps expand upon her recorded legacy in ways that will surprise and delight.

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 444. Renata Scotto: Casta Diva

March 9, 2026Bel canto, Great Tenors, Happy Birthday, Honor Your Mentors, In Memoriam, Listeners' Favorites, Mezzo Madness, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, Renata Scotto, VerismoAgostino Ferrin, Alfredo Kraus, Antonio Tonini, Bianca Maria Casoni, Biancamaria Casoni, Carl Maria von Weber, Corrado Benvenuti, Der Freischütz, Ermanno Mauro, Eugène Scribe, Felice Romani, Franco Faccio, Friedrich King, Fulvio Vernizzi, Gaetano Donizetti, Gianfranco Cecchele, Giovacchino Forzano, Giuseppe Patanè, Il franco cacciatore, L’elisir d’amore, La sonnambula, Marie Louise de la Ramée, Mario Rossi, Nello Santi, Nicola Rescigno, Norma, Ouida, Pietro Mascagni, Renata Scotto, Riccardo Muti, Tatiana Troyanos, Vincenzo Bellinicountermelody

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Today’s episode serves numerous purposes: first, as a belated tribute to the great Renata Scotto and in particular her controversial assumption of the title role Vincenzo Bellini’s bel canto masterpiece, Norma. Second, as a memento of International Womens’ Day and Women’s History Month. The remainder of the month will feature various favorite divas in belated Countermelody tributes. In all honesty, this episode also is posted today because I have been quite ill and exhausted upon returning home to Berlin and have not had the energy to post a brand new episode. An earlier version of this episode first saw the light of day in the summer of 2020 in the first season of the podcast. Scotto is heard in some of her earliest recordings, including her first studio recording in 1954 and a live performance from Trieste of Weber’s Il franco cacciatore [AKA Der Freischütz]. Early bel canto triumphs as Adina in Elisir and Amina in Sonnambula serve as a foretaste of possibly her greatest (and certainly her most ambitious and audacious) bel canto heroine, Norma, in which she is heard in early live performances between 1963 and 1978. Fellow singers heard in this episode include Alfredo Kraus, Gianfranco Cecchele, Biancamaria Casoni, Ermanno Mauro and Tatiana Troyanos. Conductors include Giuseppe Patanè, Nicola Rescigno, Nello Santi, Fulvio Vernizzi, and Riccardo Muti.

Episode 375. Gilda Cruz-Romo In Memoriam

July 11, 2025Bel canto, Giacomo Puccini, Giuseppe Verdi, Great Baritones, Great Tenors, Happy Birthday, Honor Your Mentors, In Memoriam, Listeners' Favorites, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, NYCO Divas, Singers of Color, VerismoAbbé Prevost, Aida, Alexandre Dumas fils, Andrea Chénier, Andrea Maffei, Ángel de Saavedra, Antonio Ghislanzoni, Arrigo Boito, Auguste Mariette and Temistocle Solera, Carlo Bergonzi, Carlo Gozzi, Carol Neblett, Cesare Siepi, Colenton Freeman, Domenico Oliva, Emerson Buckley, Enrico Di Giuseppe, Felice Romani, Francesco Maria Piave, Francesco Molinari-Pradelli, Franco Corelli, Gabriele Bellini, Giacomo Puccini, Gianfranco Cecchele, Gilda Cruz-Romo, Giuseppe Adami, Giuseppe Giacosa, Giuseppe Verdi, Henri Murger, John Alexander, Julius Rudel, La Boheme, La forza del destino, La Traviata, Luigi Illica, Macbeth, Manon Lescaut, Marco Praga, Mefistofele, Nell Rankin, Nino Sanzogno, Norma, Renato Simoni, Riccardo Muti, Salador Novoa, Silvano Carroli, Umberto Giordano, Vincenzo Bellini, Walter Herbert, William Ledbetter, Zubin Mehtacountermelody

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Back in December I published my first episode honoring the superb soprano Gilda Cruz-Romo, as part of my series honoring Mexican opera singers. In my research, I amassed a large number of live recordings from which I intended to cobble together a second episode in honor of her upcoming birthday. I was distracted by some family issues and, her February birthday came and went, and now, alas, Gilda is no longer with us. But to pay tribute to this exceptional artists, I have assembled a brand new setlist which seeks to do at least partial justice to the breadth and depth of her exceptional career. After last week’s episode featuring Carol Neblett, here is another exceptional soprano whose talent brought glory to the stage of the New York City Opera in the early days of her career and went on to become an important member of the Metropolitan Opera as well. We hear extended excerpts of a number of her Paraderollen, including Aida, Violetta, Manon Lescaut, Mimì, Leonora di Vargas, and Maddalena di Coigny, as well as two later-career roles that might surprise you. Guest artists heard on the episode include Silvano Carroli, Carlo Bergonzi, Cesare Siepi, Colenton Freeman, John Alexander, Gianfranco Cecchele, Enrico Di Giuseppe, Salvador Novoa, and Franco Corelli; conductors include Julius Rudel, Zubin Mehta, Francesco Molinari-Pradelli, Nino Sanzogno, and Riccardo Muti. Carol Neblett even puts in a brief appearance!

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 or yearly support at whatever level you can afford.

Episode 330. Martina Arroyo in Duet

February 3, 2025African American Singers, Black History Month, French Opera, Full-Figured Baroque, Giuseppe Verdi, Great Baritones, Great Tenors, Happy Birthday, Listeners' Favorites, Mezzo Madness, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, Richard Wagner, Singers of Color, VerismoAida, Andrea Maffei, Anna Moffo, Antoni Ros-Marbà, Antonio de Almeida, Antonio García Gutiérrez, Antonio Ghislanzoni, Auguste Mariette, Berislav Klobučar, Bernd Weikl, Biserka Cvejić, Bruno Bartoletti, Camille du Locle, Carlo Bergonzi, Cavalleria Rusticana, Don Carlo, Fausto Cleva, Francesco Maria Piave, Francesco Molinari-Pradelli, Franco Bonisolli, Franco Corelli, Friedrich Schiller, Fromental Halévy, George Frideric Handel, Gerd Albrecht, Giacomo Meyerbeer, Gianfranco Cecchele, Giorgio Lamberti, Giovanni Targioni-Tozzetti, Giovanni Verga, Giuseppe Verdi, Grace Bumbry, Guido Menasci, Il Trovatore, Joseph Méry, Judas Maccabaeus, L’Africaine, Lamberto Gardelli, Lohengrin, Lorin Maazel, Ludmila Dvořáková, Macbeth, Martina Arroyo, Matteo Manuguerra, Maurice Abravanel, Pietro Mascagni, Richard Wagner, Salvadore Cammarano, Shirley Verrett, Temistocle Solera, Thomas Morell, Thomas Schippers, William Shakespearecountermelody

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What better way to start off this Black History Month 2025 celebration than with a birthday tribute to beloved African American diva Martina Arroyo, who turned 88 yesterday, February 2?! Though she is universally regarded as one of the premier Verdi spinto sopranos of the second half of the Twentieth Century, Arroyo was equally adept at a wide range of other composers as well. In this episode, which focuses on Martina in duet, many of those composers are represented as well, from Handel to Meyerbeer to Mascagni, with a little Wagner thrown in for good measure. And what an amazing line-up of duet partners, including two of our most beloved African American mezzos/sopranos, Shirley Verrett, and Grace Bumbry. Also heard are Franco Corelli, Carlo Bergonzi, Anna Moffo, Franco Bonisolli, Bernd Weikl, Gianfranco Cecchele, Sherrill Milnes, Ludmila Dvořáková, and Giorgio Lamberti. Raise a glass to this supreme soprano, and prepare your ears for a deeply satisfying experience!