Tag Archives: Margherita Roberti

Episode 371. Margherita Roberti @ 100 (with August Ventura)

June 27, 2025Bel canto, Forgotten Divas, Giacomo Puccini, Giuseppe Verdi, Great Baritones, Great Contraltos, Great Tenors, Happy Birthday, In Memoriam, Interview, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, Rescue Mission, VerismoAchille de Lauzières, Alberto Erede, Andrea Maffeo, Antonino Votto, Antonio García Gutiérrez, Arturo Colautti, Bruno Bartoletti, Camille du Locle, Charles Duveyrier, Don Carlo, Ernani, Ettore Bastianini, Ettore Caimi, Eugène Scribe, Fernando Previtali, Flaviano Labò, Francesco Cilea, Franco Corelli, Friedrich Schiller, Gastone Limarilli, Giacomo Puccini, Gianandrea Gavazzeni, Giovanni Foiani, Giuseppe di Stefano, Giuseppe Giacosa, Giuseppe Verdi, Gloria (Cilea), I Masnadieri, I vespri siciliani, Joseph Méry, Luigi Illica, Luisa Miller, Manno Wolf-Ferrari, Margaret Jean Roberts, Margherita Roberti, Mario Rossi, Nabucco, Oralia Dominguez, Piero Cappuccilli, Renato Cellini, Salvadore Cammarano, Temistocle Solera, Tosca, Victor Hugo, Victorien Sardoucountermelody

Audio Player

00:00

Use Up/Down Arrow keys to increase or decrease volume.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:40:06 — 86.5MB) | Embed

Subscribe: Spotify | TuneIn | RSS | More

One hundred years ago today, Margaret Jean Roberts was born at the edge of a field before her parents could reach the hospital. The story of how she became Margherita Roberti, one of the leading dramatic sopranos in Italy, and a specialist in the music of Verdi, is a fascinating tale, indeed. My guest today on Countermelody is the author, scholar, and lecturer August Ventura, who a number of years ago unearthed a 1963 documentary entitled “In the Mouth of the Wolf” which features Roberti and her co-stars in Luisa Miller, the opening night of the season in Parma, facing off against a notoriously opinionated public that makes its strong opinions known in no uncertain terms. In 2014 Margherita gifted August with her personal copy of the film, the only known one in existence. My interview with August is supplemented with live recordings of Roberti which reveal her to be a superb singer, endowed with a glorious sense of the expansive Verdi line, a noble sense of utterance, and the vocal range and flexibility required to do justice to the heroines of Verdi’s early period.

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 156. Barely Sang at the Met II

August 5, 2022Bel canto, Canadian Singers, French Opera, Giuseppe Verdi, Great Baritones, Mezzo Madness, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, Opera in Translation, Richard Strauss, Richard Wagner, Twentieth Century Music, VerismoAlban Berg, Alberto Remedios, Alexander Gibson, Alfredo Catalani, Anne Howells, Arrigo Boito, Artur Rodzinski, Carlo Felice Cillario, Charles Bruck, Christel Goltz, Cosi fan tutte, Die Zauberflöte, Dimitri Mitropoulos, Don Giovanni, Eberhard Wächter, Elektra (Strauss), Emanuel, Erna Schlüter, Frank Wedekind, Fromental Halévy, Gabriele d’Annunzio, Gianandrea Gavazzeni, Giuseppe Patanè, Giuseppe Verdi, Herbert Häfner, Hugo von Hofmannsthal, I Masnadieri, Ildebrando Pizzetti, Ilona Steingruber, Jane Rhodes, Jean Bobescu, Joan Carden, Jorma Hynninen, Josef Greindl, Josephine Veasey, Jules Massenet, Kurt Herbert Adler, La forza del destino, Leopold Ludwig, Lorenzo da Ponte, Ludovic Spiess, Luisa Malagrida, Lulu (Berg), Manon (Massenet), Margherita Roberti, Maria Chiara, Marina Krilovici, Metropolitan Opera, Montserrat Caballé, Norma (Bellini), Okko Kamu, Oscar Wilde, Otello, Otto Wiener, Pekka Nuotio, Peter Maag, Ramón Vinay, Richard Verreau, Richard Wagner, Rudolf Moralt, Salome (Strauss), Schikaneder, Sergei Prokofiev, Shirley Verrett, Stafford Dean, Tannhäuser, The Fiery Angel (Prokofiev), Thomas Beecham, Tristan und Isolde, Vincenzo Bellini, Walburga Wegner, Wilfrid Pelletier, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozartcountermelody

Audio Player

00:00

Use Up/Down Arrow keys to increase or decrease volume.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:30:52 — 93.6MB) | Embed

Subscribe: Spotify | TuneIn | RSS | More

This week is the conclusion of my presentation on world-class singers who made a minimal number of appearances at the Metropolitan Opera. My arbitrary parameters for this episode were singers who appeared (approximately) between the years 1950 and 1975 and sang fewer than ten performances in total at that venerable institution. Among the artists featured are the British singers Josephine Veasey and Anne Howells (both of whom we lost earlier this year), as well as Stafford Dean and Alberto Remedios; the French-Canadian tenors Léopold Simoneau and Richard Verreau; the Romanians Ludovic Spiess and Marina Krilovici; the US-American dramatic coloratura Margherita Roberti; the Australian super-soprano Joan Carden; the Italian sopranos Maria Chiara and Luisa Malagrida; the French falcon Jane Rhodes; the Austrians Eberhard Wächter and Otto Wiener; the Finnish heldentenor Pekka Nuotio; and the Germans Josef Greindl, Walburga Wegner, Erna Schlüter and Christel Goltz. Met stalwarts Monserrat Caballé, Shirley Verrett, Ramón Vinay, and Jorma Hynninen are featured as vocal guest stars; conductors include such greats as Dimitri Mitroupoulos, Gianandrea Gavazzeni, Thomas Beecham, Carlo Felice Cillario, and Arthur Rodziński..

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 90. Gone But Not Forgotten (In Memoriam I)

May 23, 2021African American Singers, Art Song, Bel canto, Giuseppe Verdi, Great Baritones, In Memoriam, Mezzo Madness, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, Operetta, Pop Icons, Protest Songs, Voiceless WondersAngelo Mori, Anne Feeney, Barbara Hendricks, Bedřich Smetana, Biserka Cvejić, Charley Pride, Elias Rahbani, Ennio Morricone, Francesco Cilea, Gerry and the Pacemakers, Gerry Marsden, Giuseppe Verdi, Harold Budd, Jimmie Rodgers, John Shirley-Quirk, Julian Bream, Leon Fleisher, Libuše Domanínská, Marcella Reale, Margherita Roberti, Michel Trempont, Muriel Smith, Osian Ellis, Pyotr Il’yich Tchaikovsky, Ruggero Leoncavallo, Sándor Sólyom Nagy, SOPHIE, Tamara Sorokina, Vladislav Piavko, Zoltán Kodálycountermelody

Audio Player

00:00

Use Up/Down Arrow keys to increase or decrease volume.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:04:25 — 72.0MB) | Embed

Subscribe: Spotify | TuneIn | RSS | More

Christa Ludwig, celebrated two weeks ago, is not the only great singer and musician to have departed this earthly realm in recent months. This episode presents a wide cross-section of great musicians we have lost, not just singers, and not just classical musicians. Included are many opera singers who today are less well-known, including Sándor Sólyom Nagy, Libuše Domanínská, Margherita Roberti, Tamara Sorokina, Angelo Mori, Marcella Reale, Biserka Cvejić, and Michel Trempont. A wide range of composers including Ennio Morricone, Elias Rahbani, and Harold Budd, also receive a nod, as do instrumentalists Leon Fleisher, Osian Ellis, and Julian Bream, and non-classical artists such as Anne Feeney, Charley Pride, Gerry Marsden, Jimmie Rodgers, and SOPHIE. Only once before on the podcast have I presented such a kaleidoscopic memorial episode; it is good to be reminded of the full range of expression pursued by great musicians of all stripes. Guest stars today include Barbara Hendricks, Muriel Smith, and John Shirley-Quirk. The tributes continue next week.

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.

Pictured: Biserka Cvejić as Amneris