Tag Archives: Helmut Reinold

Episode 384. Vera Little Revisited

African American Singers, Bel canto, Black History Month, Black History Month 2025, Comic Relief, Forgotten Divas, Giuseppe Verdi, Great Contraltos, Honor Your Mentors, In Memoriam, Mezzo Madness, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, Opera in Translation, Singers of Color, Spirituals, Twentieth Century Music, Twentieth Century Opera, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

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On June 3, 2024, the Berlin Senate’s Department of Culture installed a memorial plaque in honor of African American contralto and Deutsche Oper star Vera Little at her former residence. Little, who lived from 1927 to 2012, and spent the majority of her adult life in Berlin, was a dazzlingly gifted singing actress who sang everything from bel canto to Carmen to creating two roles in operas by Hans Werner Henze. This episode makes use of newly-acquired recordings of Little singing Carmen and Dame Quickly in Falstaff. We also sample the work of Little’s extraordinarily gifted brother, the tragically short-lived jazz trumpeter Booker Little, as well as several excerpts (read by your host) from Tears in My Eyes, published in 1978, the first of Vera Little’s several published books of memoirs and poetry. The episode concludes with the majority of Little’s 1957 single solo recording, Twelve Spirituals, on Decca Records, containing arrangements by Harry Burleigh, William Dawson, and Hall Johnson accompanied by Domincan-French pianist Andrès Wheatley.

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 289. Meet Vera Little

African American Singers, Bel canto, Black History Month 2024, Forgotten Divas, Great Contraltos, Mezzo Madness, Needle Drop, NYCO Divas, Richard Strauss, Singers of Color, Twentieth Century Music, Twentieth Century Opera, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

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On Monday June 3, 2024, a new memorial plaque commemorating African American mezzo-soprano Vera Little (10 December 1928 – 24 October 2012) was unveiled at her former residence in Berlin’s Charlottenburg neighborhood. Little is remembered today as the first Black singer to appear as Carmen on the stage of Berlin’s Städtische Oper, soon to be renamed the Deutsche Oper Berlin. At the time of that appearance there were cries and protests about her hiring instead of an “equally capable” German singer. And yet, when Little returned to the stage of the Deutsche Oper in 1963, now singing the role of Amneris, she became one of the central singers in the ensemble of that company, being named a Kammersängerin there in 1970. This episode examines the life and career of Vera Little, from her birth in Memphis through her decades-long residence in Berlin. It is a fascinating, circuitous path, and one which is documented only sporadically on recording. On this episode, I play excerpts from Little’s only solo recording, a 1957 Decca records release of spirituals recorded in France, as well as her recordings on Deutsche Grammophon of Der junge Lord by Hans Werner Henze, and Richard Strauss’s Daphne. In addition, there are live recordings of Little singing Baba the Turk in Stravinsky’s The Rake’s Progress, Giovanna Seymour in Donizetti’s Anna Bolena, and Beroe in Henze’s Die Bassariden, which Little created in its 1966 world premiere at the Salzburg Festival. Vera Little was also an author, who published four books of memoir and poetry, and just yesterday I obtained a copy of her first book, 1978’s Tears in My Eyes, from which I read a number of excerpts. I had known Little’s name for decades, but had never fully explored her legacy before. It is here (and on an accompanying bonus episode) my honor and privilege to present a great (and somewhat forgotten) artist for your delectation. Today’s vocal guest stars include Kostas Paskalis, Hilde Güden, Anneliese Rothenberger, and Teresa Żylis-Gara.

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.