Tag Archives: Kazimierz Kord

Episode 446. Christiane Eda-Pierre and Teresa Żylis-Gara: Hyphenated Rarities

African American Singers, Art Song, Behind the Iron Curtain, Black History Month, Black History Month 2026, Forgotten Divas, French Opera, Full-Figured Baroque, Giacomo Puccini, Giuseppe Verdi, In Memoriam, Johann Sebastian Bach, Lieder, Listeners' Favorites, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, Operetta, Orchestral Songs, Rescue Mission, Richard Strauss, Singers of Color, Twentieth Century Music, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:43:14 — 141.8MB) | Embed

Subscribe: Spotify | TuneIn | RSS | More

Two of the greatest and most versatile sopranos of the late 20th century, Christiane Eda-Pierre and Teresa Żylis-Gara, both departed within a year of each other in the early 2020s. They also happened to have hyphenated last names and also both bear certain artistic similarities to last week’s featured artist, Edith Mathis (who also pops up today in a cameo!) Unlike Mathis, both Eda-Pierre and Żylis-Gara were criminally underrecorded, so any material featuring these singers is even more welcome. In this episode I fill in the blanks with some exceptional live and studio recordings of both artists, including exceptionally rare material (among them a 1967 recording of Christiane Eda-Pierre singing Offrandes by Edgard Varèse and a 1973 air check of Bizet’s La jolie fille de Perth; Teresa Żylis-Gara in 1966 singing an excerpt in Polish from Emmerich Kálmán’s Gräfin Mariza and a 1977 studio recording of an early Karol Szymanowski song cycle). At least six of the recordings featured are simply not currently available anywhere else on the internet and all selections reveal both of these exceptional sopranos at the peak of their achievement. I’ll see you at the end of the week with a brand-new episode.

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 105. Teresa Żylis-Gara In Memoriam

Art Song, Behind the Iron Curtain, Bel canto, Full-Figured Baroque, Giacomo Puccini, Giuseppe Verdi, In Memoriam, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, Richard Strauss, Twentieth Century Music, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:31:52 — 112.3MB) | Embed

Subscribe: Spotify | TuneIn | RSS | More

One of my very favorite singers, the Polish soprano Teresa Żylis-Gara, died on Saturday 28 August at the age of 91. I had been planning a birthday episode dedicated to her next January, but instead I present a heartfelt tribute in memoriam. Over a long career and as her voice developed, Żylis-Gara moved deftly and skillfully from performances of Baroque music through French, Russian, Verdi, and Puccini and even verismo heroines, always with her trademark vocal glamour, technical acuity and musical refinement. I offer live and studio examples of this under-recorded artist, a favorite at the Metropolitan Opera between 1968 and 1984, including early Monteverdi, Bach, and Handel, moving through her career-making assumption of Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni and touching also on her recital work, and concluding with her definitive performances of Desdemona in Otello and Richard Strauss’s Vier letzte Lieder.

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. Twenty-five exclusive bonus episodes are currently available to Patreon supporters.