Tag Archives: L’amico Fritz

Episode 450. Onelia Fineschi Sings the Undoing of Women

March 30, 2026Forgotten Divas, French Opera, Giacomo Puccini, Giuseppe Verdi, Great Baritones, Great Tenors, Happy Birthday, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Opera in Translation, VerismoAbbé Prevost, Alexandre Chatrain, Alfredo Catalani, Andrea Chénier, Ángel de Saavedra, Angelo Zanardini, Arrigo Boito, Arturo Basile, Bruno Ragacci, David Belasco, Domenico Oliva, Émile Erckmann, Falstaff, Francesco Albanese, Francesco Maria Piave, Galliano Masini, Giacomo Puccini, Gino Sinimberghi, Giuseppe Giacosa, Giuseppe Morelli, Giuseppe Verdi, Henri Meilhac, Henri Murger, John Luther Long, Jules Massenet, L’amico Fritz, La Boheme, La forza del destino, La Wally, Luigi Illica, Madama Butterfly, Manon Lescaut, Marco Praga, Mario del Monaco, Mefistofele, Nicola Daspuro, Onelia Fineschi, Otello, P. Suardon, Pagliacci, Philippe Gille, Pietro Mascagni, Riccardo Santarelli, Ruggero Leoncavallo, Tito Gobbi, Tosca, Toti dal Monte, Tullio Serafin, Umberto Giordano, Victorien Sardou, Wilhelmine von Hillerncountermelody

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Onelia Fineschi (1921 – 2004) was one of the finest Italian lyric sopranos of her era. Probably most famous today for having provided the singing voice of Gina Lollobrigida in a 1948 filmed version of Pagliacci, she had a wide-ranging repertoire and an up-and-down career trajectory that lasted, however, nearly 25 years. Initially I became interested in Fineschi because one of my listeners gifted me with a visually arresting Cetra LP of her 1947 recordings of various opera arias, which, upon listening, revealed an equally arresting and technically solid voice with a characteristically Italian timbre. But the more I explored what little I could about her, several issues that emerged seemed particularly relevant to Women’s History Month. For instance, many 20th century female singers had truncated careers or complicated personal lives because of the demands that their voices made upon their lives. I uncovered some ambiguous comments regarding Fineschi’s marriage to the tenor Francesco Albanese (1912 – 2005), that seemed to imply that this may have been the case with her. Furthermore, much of the standard repertoire that she sang bears out the contention of French philosopher, scholar and author Catherine Clément that opera enacts “the undoing of women.” Nearly every excerpt I play explores this theme, from the “slutty” Nedda in Pagliacci (who, we are led to believe, as a free spirit, gets what she deserves) to Tosca, Manon, Mimì, Margherita in Mefistofele, Desdemona, Leonora de Vargas, Maddalena di Coigny, and Cio-Cio-San, all of them expiring, sometimes gently, sometimes violently to the most glorious music. So apart from simply resuscitating a fine lyric soprano, this episode at least scratches the surface on the topic of women in opera from a feminist vantage point, centering around the problems of inherent misogyny and sexual abuse of women that is practically baked into the business itself. Featured voices alongside Fineschi’s include Tito Gobbi, Mario del Monaco, Giuseppe di Stefano, and Mr. Fineschi himself, Francesco Albanese.

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 412. Luciano and Mirella Go Home Again

November 17, 2025Bel canto, French Opera, Giacomo Puccini, Giuseppe Verdi, Great Tenors, Happy Birthday, In Memoriam, Listeners' Favorites, Needle Drop, Opera in Translation, VerismoAlexandre Chatrain, Alexandre Dumas fils, Amilcare Ponchielli, Armando Gatto, Arrigo Boito, Caliso Bassi, Carlo Gozzi, Charles Duveyrier, Édouard Blau, Émile Erckmann, Ettore Caimi, Eugène Scribe, Felice Romani, Francesco Maria Piave, Gaetano Donizetti, Georges Hartmann, Giacomo Meyerbeer, Giacomo Puccini, Giuseppe Adami, Giuseppe Giacosa, Giuseppe Verdi, Henri Murger, I vespri siciliani, Jean-François Bayard, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Jules Massenet, Jules-Henri Vernoy de Saint-Georges, L’Africaine, L’africana, L’amico Fritz, L’elisir d’amore, La Boheme, La figlia del reggimento, La fille du regiment, La Gioconda, La Traviata, Leone Magiera, Luciano Pavarotti, Luigi Illica, Marco Marcello, Mirella Freni, Nello Santi, Nicola Daspuro, P. Suardon, Paul Milliet, Pietro Mascagni, Renato Simoni, Tosca, Turandot, Victor Hugo, Victorien Sardou, Werthercountermelody

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Today some real meat and potatoes Italian opera. Oh, wait, perhaps we should call it spaghetti alla bolognese rather than meat and potatoes. So often on the podcast I bring singers to the fore that are not as well known as some of the biggest stars in opera. But today I bring you both Luciano Pavarotti and Mirella Freni, two of the most popular and celebrated Italian opera stars in the history of opera, especially opera in the late twentieth century. As many already know, the two singers both grew up in Modena, where their working-class mothers worked in the same cigar factory; as budding opera singers, they subsequently studied voice with the same teacher in Mantova. They remained lifelong friends and often sang together, especially in La Bohème. In 1980, the two returned to their native Modena where they performed together at the Teatro Comunale di Modena, known since 2021 as the Teatro Comunale Pavarotti-Freni. The concert was conducted by Freni’s ex-husband Leone Magiera, also a native of Modena. In this concert, they performed duets from their shared repertoire: Elisir d’amore, Traviata, and L’amico Fritz. They also performed solo arias from La figlia del reggimento and Vespri siciliani (Freni) and Werther and L’africana (Pavarotti). The material is supplemented on today’s episode with arias from both singers in contemporaneous live performances at the Arena di Verona. And this entire songfest is topped with the cherry of a live 1965 concert on French television of “O soave fanciulla” in which their joined voices are heard in the first flush of youth.

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 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 198. Cesare Valletti

May 26, 2023African American Singers, Art Song, Bel canto, French Opera, Full-Figured Baroque, Giuseppe Verdi, Great Tenors, In Memoriam, Lieder, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, Pop Icons, Schubert, Twentieth Century Music, Voiceless Wonders, Wolfgang Amadeus MozartAlessandro Scarlatti, Alexandre Dumas, Cesare Valletti, Cosi fan tutte, David Bowie, Dichterliebe, Eduard Mörike, Edvard Grieg, Eleanor Steber, Eugène Scribe, Felice Romani, Francesco Maria Piave, Franz Schubert, Friedrich Martin von Bodenstedt, Fritz Stiedry, Gaetano Donizetti, Gianandrea Gavazzeni, Gioacchino Rossini, Giuseppe Antonicelli, Giuseppe Verdi, Hector Berlioz, Heinrich Heine, Hugo Wolf, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Jules Massenet, L’amico Fritz, L’italiana in Algeri, La Traviata, Leo Taubman, Les nuits d’été, Lorenzo da Ponte, Mafalda Favero, Maria Callas, Matthäus von Collin, Nicola Rescigno, Pietro Mascagni, Robert Schumann, Rosanna Carteri, Ruth and Thomas Martin, Stefano Donaudy, Théophile Gautier, Tina Turner, Tito Schipa, Vittorio Gui, Werther, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozartcountermelody

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Today’s episode celebrates the Italian tenore di grazia Cesare Valletti (18 December 1923 – 13 May 2000), perhaps the last in a lineage of Italian lyric tenors. Valletti studied under his illustrious predecessor Tito Schipa and rapidly conquered first the Italian opera houses, and then the world stages, with his small-scale but superbly produced voice and his spontaneous yet exacting musicianship. From 1953 through 1960 he was a mainstay of the Metropolitan Opera and also performed at opera houses and festivals worldwide under some of the greatest conductors and at the side of the greatest singers of his day. We hear a sampling of his greatest operatic roles, including duets with Eleanor Steber, Rosanna Carteri, and Maria Callas, as well as the repertoire in which – nearly unique for an Italian singer – he excelled: art song. The combination of his Italianate timbre with his scrupulous and imaginative musicianship makes for an ineffable and deeply satisfying artistic experience. He made five LPs of recital repertoire, including two live recitals from the stage of Town Hall in New York City, excerpts of which are all offered here. The episode begins with a tribute to the beloved Queen of Rock ‘n’ Roll: Tina Turner, who died on Tuesday at the age of 83.

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. Bonus episodes available exclusively to Patreon supporters are currently available and further bonus content including interviews and livestreams is planned for the upcoming season.

Episode 121. Auld Acquaintance I

December 23, 2021African American Singers, Art Song, Behind the Iron Curtain, Eileen Farrell, Full-Figured Baroque, Giuseppe Verdi, Great Baritones, Holiday Music, Lieder, Mezzo Madness, Mirella Freni, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, Operetta, Pop Icons, Protest Songs, Renata Scotto, Richard Wagner, Singers of Color, Twentieth Century Music, VerismoAlban Berg, Alexander Pushkin, Allen Rogers, Antoinette Vischer, Antonio Rubino, Barry McDaniel, Benjamin Britten, Bernard Kruysen, Bo Bergman, Borislav Bezala, Camilla Williams, Carlo Alberto Rossi, Cathy Berberian, César Cui, Christmas songs, Claudio Arrau, Claudio Monteverdi, David Garvey, Dusty Springfield, e.e. cummings, Eileen Farrell, Elisabeth Soderstrom, Elza van der Ven, Ernesto Lecuona, Eugene Ormandy, Gabriel Faure, Gabriele d’Annunzio, Georg Friedrich Daumer, Georg Philipp Telemann, George Shirley, Gianfranco Rivoli, Gilbert Bécaud, Gioacchino Rossini, Giuseppe Verdi, Gloria Davy, Heather Harper, Huguette Dreyfus, Il barbiere di Siviglia, Janet Baker, Jean Lamy, Jennie Tourel, Johann Christian Bach, John Raitt, Jonas Kulka, Jorma Hynninen, Josef Ulsamer, Julia Migenes, Karl Weigl, L’amico Fritz, Lawrence Winters, Leone Magiera, Leslie Scott, Lionel Hampton, Loonis McGlohon, Luciano Berio, Luciano Pavarotti, Manny Curtis, Margaret Marshall, Mirella Freni, Nicola Daspuro, Nicolae Herlea, Odetta, Ottorino Respighi, Pagliacci, Paolo Tosti, Peter Altenberg, Pierre Boulez, Pierre Delanoë, Pietro Mascagni, Pino Calvi, Renata Scotto, Richard Wagner, Robert McFerrin, Robert Stolz, Rosanna Carteri, Rudolf Ewerhart, Ruggero Leoncavallo, Scott Walter, Shirley Verrett, Spirituals, Stig Westerberg, Sully Prudhomme, Tannhäuser, Teresa Żylis-Gara, Ture Rangström, Walter Calé, Werner Eisbrenner, Xavier Cugat, Yi-Kwei Szecountermelody

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This special episode, the first of two year-end celebrations, presents artists who have already been featured on Countermelody in rare recordings that have recently become available to me. A few of the artists heard include George Shirley, Heather Harper, Lawrence Winters, Elisabeth Söderström, Camilla Williams, Julia Migenes, John Raitt, Gloria Davy, Rosanna Carteri, Mirella Freni, Robert McFerrin, Margaret Marshall, Yi-Kwei Sze, Eileen Farrell, Shirley Verrett, Cathy Berberian, and many, many others in recordings, most from my personal collection, which you may not have heard before. This is a gift of love and gratitude from me to my listeners and supporters, a backward glance at all of the great singers who have been heard on the podcast over the past two and a half years, a theme which will continue next week. I look forward to continuing with new topics and new singers as we move into 2022.

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. Bonus episodes available exclusively to Patreon supporters are currently available and further bonus content including interviews and livestreams is planned for the upcoming season.