Tag Archives: Giovanni Francesco Busenello

Episode 305. Rage and Despair

November 9, 2024Art Song, Behind the Iron Curtain, Broadway, Forgotten Divas, Great Baritones, Great Contraltos, In Memoriam, Lieder, Mezzo Madness, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, Pop Icons, Protest Songs, Queer Pride, Schubert, Twentieth Century Music, Twentieth Century Opera, Verismo, Wolfgang Amadeus MozartAlexez Zybtsev, Alfredo Catalani, Alonso de Mudarra, Arne Dorumsgaard, Banalités, Claudio Monteverdi, Dalton Baldwin, Die Zauberflöte, Edvard Grieg, Emanuel Schikaneder, Felicia Montealegre, Francis Poulenc, Franz Schubert, George Schick, Gerard Souzay, Gian Carlo Menotti, Gian Francesco Malipiero, Giovanni Francesco Busenello, Guillaume Apollinaire, Hartmut Höll, Irwin Gage, István Kertész, Jennie Tourel, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Judith Raskin, Judy Garland, Julia Ward Howe, Justinus Kerner, Kurt Weill, L’incoronazione di Poppea, La Wally, Leonard Bernstein, Lost in the Stars, Louis Aragon, Luigi Illica, Maria Callas, Martti Talvela, Maxwell Anderson, Mitsuko Shirai, Mort Lindsey, Narcisse Bonnet, Nikolaus Lenau, Nino Sanzogno, Oralia Dominguez, Pavel Lisitsian, Pilar Lorengar, Robert Schumann, Rufus Wainwright, The Consul, Thomas Schippers, Tullio Serafin, Virginia Zeani, Wilhelm Müller, Wilhelmine von Hillern, Winterreise, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozartcountermelody

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Before I traveled to my home state of Wisconsin this week, I had prepared an episode to post this weekend, but in my naïveté, I had not anticipated the catastrophe that happened to my country, and to the world, when the unthinkable occurred this past Tuesday. Since then I have barely had a moment’s rest, feeling gripped by a torrent of negative emotions, rage and despair primary among them. It became apparent to me that I had to give voice to those feelings in order to work through them, and in the process maybe even help my friends and listeners who are struggling with their own versions of this toxic emotional cocktail. So here is the episode I dearly wish I had not felt compelled to produce, one devoted to despair and to rage, as we attempt to convert them into resolve and determination to “stand our ground” and demand that our beloved country not go under, powerless though we may feel at this moment to prevent that from happening. I have chosen work by Poulenc, Mozart, Weill, Monteverdi, Menotti, Schumann, Schubert, and Bernstein, performed by such podcast favorites as Jennie Tourel, Judy Garland, Gérard Souzay, Maria Callas, Oralia Domínguez, Virginia Zeani, Judith Raskin, Pilar Lorengar, and others, to act as our music therapists as we struggle to regain our equilibrium, “Lost in the Stars” though we may feel at this moment.

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 297. In Pace

October 13, 2024African American Singers, Art Song, Behind the Iron Curtain, Bel canto, Broadway, Crossover, French Opera, Full-Figured Baroque, Giacomo Puccini, Great Baritones, Great Tenors, In Memoriam, Lieder, Operetta, Orchestral Songs, Pop Icons, Queer Pride, Schubert, Singers of Color, Twentieth Century MusicAin’t Misbehavin’, André de Shields, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Andy Razaf, Carlo Zangarini, Christopher Keyte, Clairières dans le ciel, Claude Debussy, Claudio Monteverdi, David Belasco, David Cullen, Dick Scanlan, Dominic Cossa, Edward Thomas, Eric Tappy, Erna Spoorenberg, Fats Waller, Francis Jammes, Franz Lehár, Franz Schubert, Franz Welser-Möst, Gaetano Donizetti, Gavin Creel, Gene Page, Geoffrey Pratley, Giacomo Puccini, Giovanni Francesco Busenello, Guelfo Civinini, Hello Dolly!, Helmuth Rilling, Henri Meilhac, Howard Crook, Ivor Gurney, James Darren, Jean Françaix, Jean-Marie Auberson, Jeanine Tesori, Jerry Herman, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Ken Page, Kris Kristofferson, L’incoronazione di Poppea, La Fanciulla del West, Lando Bartolini, Leo Stein, Lili Boulanger, Lucia di Lammermoor, Luther Henderson, Mary-Mitchell Campbell, Maurice Maeterlinck, Meredith Willson, Michael Rafter, Michel-Richard Delalande, Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Pelleas et Melisande, Petula Clark, Philippe Herreweghe, Rachel Yakar, Robbie Roth, Robert Hale, Robert Wilson, Roger Sessions, Salvadore Cammarano, Seiji Ozawa, Seth Rudetsky, Siegfried Lorenz, Sinéad O’Connor, Steve Davislim, T.S. Eliot, Tamás Pál, The Music Man, Tony Hatch, Ute Gfrerer, Vespro della beata vergine, Viktor Léon, Walt Whitman, Walter Scott, When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom’dcountermelody

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Today I present part two of my “In Memoriam” series, honoring treasured singers who have recently died. This week I focus on male singers, covering the gamut from opera singers (Dominic Cossa, Lando Bartolini, Eric Tappy, Steve Davislim, Siegfried Lorenz) to pop stars (James Darren, Kris Kristofferson); early music singers (Howard Crook) to Broadway icons (Ken Page, Gavin Creel). As with last week’s episode, each of these singers left an indelible mark in their respective musical field(s) and each loss is felt profoundly, especially those like Steve Davislim and Gavin Creel, whose time to leave this earth came much too soon. Musically speaking this is a particularly eclectic episode, featuring everything from Monteverdi and Delalande, to country western standards. Other singers heard in the episode include André de Shields and Ute Gfrerer, as well as other artists who died over the course of the last year, including Robert Hale, Norman Shetler, Rachel Yakar, and Sinéad O’Connor.

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 170. Oralia Domínguez

November 11, 2022Art Song, Bel canto, French Opera, Full-Figured Baroque, Giuseppe Verdi, Gustav Mahler, Happy Birthday, In Memoriam, Mezzo Madness, Mirella Freni, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, Singers of Color, Twentieth Century MusicAida, Albert de Klerk, Alberto Zedda, Alceste, Alcina, Antonio Ghislanzoni, Antonio Vivaldi, Arrigo Boito, Camille Saint-Saens, Christoph Willibald Gluck, Claudio Monteverdi, Das Lied von der Erde, Edmundo Baez, Eugène Scribe, Euripides, Falstaff, Federico García Lorca, Felix de Nobel, Ferdinand Lemaire, Ferenc Fricsay, Gaetano Donizetti, George Frideric Handel, George van Renesse, Georges Bizet, Geraint Evans, Gioacchino Rossini, Giovanni Francesco Busenello, Giuseppe Verdi, Guido Picco, Gustav Mahler, Hans Bethge, Henri Meilhac, Irène Aïtoff, Jean Fournet, Jean Martinon, Joan Sutherland, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, József Simándy, Juditha triumphans, Jules Massenet, L’incoronazione di Poppea, La favorita, La favorite, La Gioconda, Lamberto Gardelli, Li-Tai-Po, Ludovic Halévy, Ludovico Ariosti, Maria Callas, Martina Arroyo, Mirella Freni, Monica Sinclair, Nelly Wagenaar, Nicola Rescigno, Oliviero de Fabritiis, Oralia Dominguez, Paul Kletzki, Petite messe solennelle, Prosper Mérimée, Ranieri de’ Calzabigi, Raymond Leppard, Richard Kraus, Salvador Moreno, Samson et Dalila, Silvestre Revueltas, Victor Hugo, Vittorio Gui, Werther, William Shakespearecountermelody

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Earlier this year, in an episode entitled “Women of Color Sing Mahler,” I provided many of my listeners to their first exposure to the Mexican contralto Oralia Domínguez (25 October 1925 – 25 November 2013). Domínguez 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 underrecorded, 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! The episode features Domínguez in a wide range of material, from Monteverdi, Handel, and Vivaldi to the meat and potatoes roles in the standard operatic repertoire (Verdi, Rossini, Donizetti, Ponchielli, Saint-Saëns, Massenet) as well as less familiar fare by Michael Tippett and Mexican composers Silvestre Revueltas and Salvador Moreno. Along the way our Earth Goddess is joined by fellow singers Joan Sutherland, Martina Arroyo, Mirella Freni, József Simándy, Monica Sinclair, and, of course, Maria Callas. A bonus episode published concurrently on Patreon presents Domínguez in extended operatic scenes and further rare song material.

Episode 80. Sad Songs (with a twist)

March 14, 2021Art Song, Comic Relief, Full-Figured Baroque, Great Baritones, Gustav Mahler, In Memoriam, Mezzo Madness, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, Schubert, Twentieth Century Music, Voiceless WondersAlexander Young, Alfredo Simonetto, Andréa Guiot, Ariettes oubliées, Banalités (Poulenc), Bernard Kruysen, Bethany Beardslee, Brigitte Fassbaender, Castor et Pollux (Rameau), Cathy Berberian, Charles Griffes, Charles Panzéra, Christoph Willibald Gluck, Claude Debussy, Claudio Monteverdi, Das Lied von der Erde, Dido and Aeneas, Die schöne Müllerin, Dylan Thomas, Eduard Mörike: Mörike-Lieder (Wolf). Irmgard Seefried, Felix de Nobel, Fiona MacLeod, Francis Poulenc, Franz Schubert, Gabriel Faure, George Szell, Georges Pretre, Gérard Souzay; Dalton Baldwin, Giacomo Puccini, Giovanni Francesco Busenello, Guillaume Apollinaire, Gustav Mahler, Heinrich Heine, Henry Purcell, Hugo Wolf, Igor Stravinsky, Irwin Gage, Jacques Leguerney, James Joyce, Janet Baker, Jayme Ovalle, Jean Fournet, Jean-Baptiste Rameau, Jean-Paul-Égide Martini, Jeanette Scovotti, Johannes Brahms, John Dowland, Jorma Hynninen, Julian Bream, Kurt Ollmann, L’incoronazione di Poppea, Les dialogues des Carmélites, Lois Marshall, Madeleine Panzéra-Baillot, Magda Olivero, Manuel Bandeira, Maria Callas, Mary Dibbern, Nan Merriman, Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Noël Lee, Orphée et Eurydice, Paul Verlaine, Peter Pears, Phyllis Bryn-Julson, Pierre Bernac, Ralf Gothoni, Renée Doria, Reynaldo Hahn, Robert Helps, Robert Schumann, Seiji Ozawa, Suor Angelica, Victor Graef, Vier ernste Gesänge, Wilhelm Müller, William Sharp (Fiona MacLeod)countermelody

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It’s been a year since the pandemic sent us all into various degrees of lockdown, panic, and depression. In certain parts of the world there is no end in sight, while in other parts, medical expertise is being blatantly defied as lockdown measures are carelessly lifted. I did a survey of my friends and listeners this week regarding their favorite sad songs, and I got hit with an avalanche of a wide range of not-happy music. In this episode I am limiting myself to so-called “classical” music. Because the music itself is so heavy, I impersonate (at the top of the episode) a radio announcer for WOKE-FM, a fictional Milwaukee “Top 40 Classical Radio Station,” who is taking calls from all over the world from listeners requesting their favorite sad music. These spurious callers have invariably good taste, and request some glorious music, albeit very sad indeed, by some transcendent performers, including Irmgard Seefried, Maria Callas, Janet Baker, Pierre Bernac, Nan Merriman, Lois Marshall, Peter Pears, and two beautiful French sopranos, Renée Doria and Andréa Guiot, who, at extremely advanced ages, each recently departed this earth. Composers from Dowland, Rameau, and Monteverdi are represented, alongside Poulenc, Schubert, Mahler, Debussy, and Stravinsky. The episode also includes guest vocal appearances by singers, including Cathy Berberian, Magda Olivero, Charles Panzéra, Jorma Hynninen, and Bethany Beardslee, who will receive full-episode treatment in the near future. Ultimately, we return to the atmosphere of a normal Countermelody episode, and are deeply moved by the singers, composers, and music represented.

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.