Tag Archives: Janet Williams

Episode 81. Happy Songs (straight up)

March 21, 2021African American Singers, Art Song, Bel canto, Broadway, Giuseppe Verdi, Happy Birthday, In Memoriam, Lieder, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, Operetta, Pop Icons, Queer Pride, Richard Strauss, Voiceless WondersAaron Copland, Alberta Hunter, Andy Kim, Anthony Newley, Arlene Saunders, Arpad Sandor, Barbara [Monique Serf], Barbra Streisand, Christa Ludwig, Claramae Turner, Conchita Supervia, Dorothy Maynor, Frances Wayne, Franz Allers, Franz Lehár, George Frideric Handel, Gerald Moore, Gioacchino Rossini, Giuseppe Verdi, Harold Arlen, Horace Everett, James Levine, Janet Williams, Jeff Barry, Jo Bouillon, Johannes Brahms, Johnny Nash, Joséphine Baker, Joy Clements, Kathleen Battle, Leopold Stokowski, Leslie Bricusse, Lisa Della Casa, Mahalia Jackson, Margaret Bonds, Maria Callas, Max Hansen, Nancy Wilson, Nina Simone, Norman Treigle, Oleta Adams, Peter Matz, Pointer Sisters, Ralph Benatzky, Richard Cassilly, Richard Fredricks, Richard Strauss, Robert Gilbert, Ted Koehler, The Archies, The Tender Land (Copland & Everett), Tullio Serafin, Woody Herman, Yip Harburgcountermelody

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This week I offset the gloom of last week’s music with straight-up joy. No gimmicks, no goofiness, no weird accents. Whether the composer is Giuseppe Verdi, Ralph Benatzky, Aaron Copland, Oleta Adams, or Harold Arlen, and whether sung by Nancy Wilson, Dorothy Maynor, Tina Turner, Maria Callas, Max Hansen, Conchita Supervia, Barbra Streisand, Mahalia Jackson, Lisa Della Casa, or the Pointer Sisters, all today’s selections are guaranteed to make you feel a little lighter, a little more joyous. And in today’s continuing climate of pandemic uncertainty, who doesn’t need a little more of that?

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 11: Janet Williams Interview III. Der ganze Unterschied

December 1, 2019African American Singers, Bel canto, Full-Figured Baroque, Interview, Singers of ColorAgrippina, Ann Panagulias, Ariadne auf Naxos, Berliner Staatsoper, Bohumil Gregor, Camilla Williams, Carl Heinrich Graun, Christa Ludwig, Cleopatra e Cesare, Dallas Opera, Daniel Gundlach, Das schlaue Füchslein, Deborah Polaski, Der Rosenkavalier, Elektra, George Frideric Handel, Geraldine Farrar, Helena Tattermuschová, Janet Williams, Janice Baird, Judith Blegen, Karina Gauvin, Kathleen Battle, Leistung und Performance Vokal Akademie Berlin, Leos Janacek, Lynn Harrell, Mack Harrell, Marschallin, Mary Mills, Příhody lišky Bystroušky, Regine Crespin, Reri Grist, Richard Strauss, Spirituals, The Cunning Little Vixencountermelody

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In the third and final part of our interview, recorded in July 2019, Janet Williams and I discuss how we reunited in 2004 (several years after our Merola connection); about her vocal studies with Régine Crespin, Denise Duplex, and David Jones; about some of the roles she sang during the illustrious career which took her around the world; and about her current activities with her newly-formed Leistung & Performance Vokal Akademie here in Berlin, where singers gain invaluable professional training in all aspects of what she calls “this illustrious but very difficult profession.” As always, the interview is interspersed with musical interludes and commentary, which are all cited on the Show Notes page (http://countermelodypodcast.com/episode-11-janet-williams-iii/).

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

Episode 10: Régine Crespin. Un doux privilège

November 24, 2019Art Song, Crossover, Giacomo Puccini, Giuseppe Verdi, Mezzo Madness, Needle Drop, Operetta, Richard Strauss, Richard WagnerAnneliese Rothenberger, Bell Telephone Hour, Brigitte Fassbaender, Carlos Kleiber, Claude Debussy, Daniel Gundlach, Denise Duval, Denise Scharley, Der fliegende Holländer, Eliane Lubin, Elisabeth Soderstrom, Fidelio, Franco Corelli, Georges Jouatte, Georges Sébastien, Germaine Lubin, Glyndebourne, Gwyneth Jones, Irene Joachim, Janet Williams, Je tremble en voyant ton visage, John Wustman, José Luccioni, Le promenoir des deux amants, Les dialogues des Carmélites, Les trois valses, Lotte Lehmann, Ludwig van Beethoven, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Mady Mesple, Maria Ewing, Oscar Straus, Paul Finel, Regine Crespin, René Bianco, Richard Wagner, Rita Gorr, Roger Soyer, Shirley Verrett, Suzanne Cesbron-Viseur, Suzanne Sarroca, Xavier Depraz, Yvonne Printempscountermelody

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Régine Crespin, whose Metropolitan Opera debut as the Marschallin in Richard Strauss’s Der Rosenkavalier occurred exactly 57 years ago this week, is featured on this week’s episode. I give an overview of her major roles, with a few surprises, both monumental and insouciante, tossed in. Because of her enormous range and versatility, I will have to return to my subject in the near future in order to do full justice to this great artist.

Episode 9: Janet Williams Interview Part II: Serendipity @ Merola

November 18, 2019African American Singers, Interview, Singers of ColorAlfredo Kraus, Ariadne auf Naxos, Berliner Staatsoper, Brigitte Fassbaender, Camilla Williams, Carl Heinrich Graun, Carlos Kleiber, Carmen Jones, Cleopatra e Cesare, Daniel Gundlach, Donald Runnicles, Fred Berndt, George Frideric Handel, Giacomo Puccini, Gianna Rolandi, Gianni Schicchi, Giulio Cesare, Gundula Janowitz, Harolyn Blackwell, Ileana Cotrubas, Janet Williams, Joan Sutherland, John Wustman, Kathleen Battle, Lloyd Arriola, Lucia Popp, Maria Jeritza, Marilyn Horne, Marlene Dietrich, Merola Opera Program, My Ship, Parsifal, Paula Ingram, Regine Crespin, Ruth Ann Swenson, San Francisco Opera, Tosca, Virginia Zeanicountermelody

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Episode 9: Janet Williams Interview Part II: Serendipity @ Merola. In this episode, Janet relives her early career experiences, including time that both she and Daniel spent at the Merola Opera Program of the San Francisco Opera. She describes the continuing influence and tutelage of Camilla Williams; tells about her study in Paris with the great Régine Crespin, the mentorship of Marilyn Horne, and the inspiration of Harolyn Blackwell and Kathleen Battle; and elucidates how she was hired for a two-year Festvertrag at the Berliner Staatsoper and how, 27 years later, she still calls Berlin home. The episode is peppered throughout with musical examples.

Episode 8: Williams and Williams

November 10, 2019African American Singers, BHM2023WK1, French Opera, Giuseppe Verdi, Lieder, Needle Drop, Singers of ColorAida, Berliner Staatsoper, Borislav Bezala, Camilla Williams, Celius Dougherty, Detroit, George Frideric Handel, Georges Bizet, Giuseppe Verdi, Janet Williams, Jules Massenet, Laszlo Halasz, Léo Delibes, Les pecheurs de perles, Manon, MGM Records, New York City Opera, Nina Koshetz, Povla Frijsh, Semele, Spirituals, Undine Smith Moorecountermelody

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Episode 8: Williams and Williams. As a supplement to the first part of my interview last week with Janet Williams, I offer a cache of rare studio recordings by Camilla Williams, supplemented by live material sung by Janet Williams from the artist’s private archives. Among other material featured are excerpts from Camilla’s rarely-heard album of spirituals on the MGM Records label, and a concert given by Janet Williams in her home town of Detroit in 1989, capped by a stunning rendition of Undine Smith Moore’s arrangement of the spiritual “Watch and Pray,” dedicated to Camilla Williams.

Episode 7: Janet Williams, Part I: No Accidents

November 3, 2019African American Singers, Interview, Singers of ColorAngel Blue, Anna Moffo, Beverly Sills, Boris Bazala, Camilla Williams, Carmen, Cass Tech High School, Dennis Collins, Detroit, Diana Ross, Falstaff, Geri Allen, I Have a Dream, In the Shadow of the Stars, Janet Williams, Joan Sutherland, Kim Jordan, La Boheme, Leontyne Price, Mahalia Jackson, March on Washington, Maria Callas, Marion Szekely Freschl, Mme. Freschl, O patria mia, Pace pace mio Dio, Porgy and Bess, Shirley Verrett, The Supremescountermelody

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Episode 7: Janet Williams, Part I: No Accidents. I am particularly excited to present the first of a three-part interview with the distinguished American soprano and pedagogue Janet Williams, who also happens to be one of my dearest friends. We met when we were both apprentice artists at the Merola Opera Program of the San Francisco Opera. Since then Janet established herself as one of the premiere lyric coloratura sopranos of her generation and is now highly respected as a pedagogue, clinician, and mentor. In this portion of our discussion, we speak about Janet’s formative years in Detroit and how she found her way into the opera world, despite an early interest in gospel singing and the desire of becoming a backup singer à la The Supremes. Particular attention is paid to her tutelage under the distinguished African American soprano and civil rights icon Camilla Williams (as Janet points out, no relation!) As usual, copious musical excerpts are sprinkled throughout the interview.