Tag Archives: Medea

Episode 473. Renata Scotto and the Opera Queens

June 18, 2026Bel canto, In Memoriam, Interview, Listeners' Favorites, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, Opera in Translation, Queer Pride, Renata ScottoAlessandro Pepoli, Anna Bolena, Armida, Carlo Zangarini, Charles Nodier, Euripedes, Eve Queler, Felice Romani, François-Benoît Hoffman, Gaetano Donizetti, Gaspare Spontini, Gioachino Rossini, Giovanni Schmidt, Il Pirata, Ippolito Pindemonte, Isidore Justin Séverin Taylor, La Vestale, Lorin Maazel, Luigi Cherubini, Medea, Pierre Corneille, Renata Scotto, Torquato Tasso, Victor-Joseph Étienne de Jouy, Vincenzo Bellinicountermelody

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We are quickly approaching the third anniversary of the death of Renata Scotto, and that sad commemoration, combined with my desire to produce an episode celebrating Opera Queens, prompted this episode, which features a rare live LP that I once owned a few decades ago and recently returned to my collection. It features live performances of “our diva” from the stage of Carnegie Hall on two different occasions in the mid- to late-1970s: the first, a gala concert on September 12, 1975 with Eve Queler leading the Opera Orchestra of New York on which Scotto performed Rossini (the bravura rondo from Armida) and Donizetti (the mad scene from Anna Bolena). She also sang “Tu che invoco” from Spontini’s La Vestale on that concert, and though it was not included on that record, I have unearthed a live recording of that exact performance, which is also included on the episode. The second concert featured on that LP took place on October 31, 1979 under the baton of Lorin Maazel leading the Cleveland Orchestra, and includes a rare performance of Scotto singing from Cherubini’s Medea as well as the mad scene from Bellini’s Il pirata. In all of these, Scotto is in sterling vocal form, which allows her to fully explore the expressive bel canto possibilities of this music. Since Scotto was also widely accused of being anti-Callas, I also dispute that view with some comments that Scotto made in an interview about Callas’s importance as the high priestess of bel canto. I also intone a few more nasty reviews and comments from those who do not hold Scotto in the same high esteem that I (we!) do. For I, too, am one of those opera queens that we are celebrating today. I just happen to have better taste than those that are dissing our diva!

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 439. Grace Bumbry, Proud Soprano [Studio Edition]

February 20, 2026African American Singers, Bel canto, Black History Month, Black History Month 2026, Crossover, French Opera, Giacomo Puccini, Giuseppe Verdi, In Memoriam, Listeners' Favorites, Mezzo Madness, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, NYCO Divas, Operetta, Singers of Color, VerismoAdolphe d’Ennery, Aida, Aldo Ceccato, Alfredo Catalani, Amilcare Ponchielli, Andrea Chénier, Andrew White, Ángel de Saavedra, Antonio García Gutiérrez, Antonio Ghislanzoni, Arrigo Boito, Arturo Colautti Charles Chaplin, Auguste Mariette, Camille du Locle, Carlo Zangarini, Der Zigeunerbaron, Die Macht des Schicksals, Don Carlo, Édouard Blau, Ernest Legouvé, Eugène Scribe, Felice Romani, Francesco Cilea, Francesco Maria Piave, François-Benoît Hoffmann, Franz Allers, Franz Werfel, Friedrich Schiller, Giacomo Puccini, Giuseppe Giacosa, Giuseppe Patanè, Grace Bumbry, Gustave Charpentier, Hans Löwlein, Ignaz Schnitzer, Il Trovatore, Johann Strauss II, Joseph Méry, Jules Massenet, La forza del destino, La Gioconda, La Wally, Le Cid, Louis Gallet, Louise, Luigi Cherubini, Luigi Illica, Medea, Mór Jókai, Nicolai Gedda, Norma, Pierre Corneille, Saint-Pol-Roux, Salvadore Cammarano, Stefan Soltesz, Temistocle Solera, Tobia Gorrio, Tosca, Umberto Giordano, Victor Hugo, Victorien Sardou, Vincenzo Bellini, Wilhelmine von Hillerncountermelody

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As we hurtle toward the third anniversary (in May already!) of Grace Bumbry’s death, I have had her very much on my mind. It’s true that I consider her greatest achievement to have been as a Liedersängerin. Others opine that her operatic roles as a mezzo (Carmen, Eboli, Amneris among others) represent her at her very finest. There are fewer who focus on her work as a soprano. And yet, when she sang the most taxing roles in that fach, she often revealed a fearlessness, a fortitude, a determination, a pride that brought out her very best. If one examines her recorded output, one finds her essaying soprano arias almost from her very earliest recordings. I thought it might be fun to continue Diva Week on Countermelody’s Black History Month celebratory episodesby examining her enduring legacy of her recorded output as a soprano. This time I focus exclusively on her studio recordings as a soprano, sometimes (but not always) in roles that she also sang onstage (Norma, Tosca, Gioconda, even Medea). (There’s even a little operetta and a pop standard tossed in for fun.) When La Bumbry first began singing the soprano repertoire, some naysayers predicted irreparable vocal burnout. But they were wrong: until the very end, Grace retained, by virtue of both solid technique and enormous willpower, the same vocal richness and musical and artistic fingerprint that she possessed for more than six decades and which we celebrate in this episode.

Episode 410. Magda Olivero Revisited

November 10, 2025Arie antiche, Art Song, Bel canto, Crossover, French Opera, Full-Figured Baroque, Giacomo Puccini, Giuseppe Verdi, Listeners' Favorites, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, Opera in Translation, Richard Wagner, Singers in Old Age, Twentieth Century Opera, VerismoAbbé Prevost, Adriana Lecouvreur, Alberto Donaudy, Alessandro Stradella, Alexandre Dumas fils, Alfonso Gatto, Alfonso Guercia, Arrigo Boito, Bruno Prevedi, Carlo Zangarini, Charles Gounod, Deville (né Alberto Curci), Domenico Oliva, Ermelinda Magnetti, Ernesto Del Priete, Francesco Cilea, Francesco Maria Piave, François-Benoît Hoffmann, Garrick Ohlsson, George Doncieux, Giacomo Puccini, Giosué Carducci, Giuseppe Giacosa, Giuseppe Verdi, Henri Meilhac, Henri Murger, Ivan Davis, Johann Sebastian Bach, Jules Massenet, La Boheme, La Traviata, Luigi Cherubini, Luigi Gerussi, Luigi Illica, Magda Olivero, Manon, Manon Lescaut, Marco Praga, Maria Concetta Balducci, Medea, Mefistofele, Nino Porto, Paolo Tosti, Paul Francis Webster, Philippe Gille, Richard Wagner, Sammy Fain, Sesto Bruscantini, Stefano Donaudy, Tristan und Isoldecountermelody

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If we have to live in a world of extremes, I want it to be a world in which Magda Olivero reigns supreme. Her artistry combined both integrity (personal, vocal, and artistic), alongside originality and fearless risk-taking. She was never afraid to go out on a limb and it was this quality (alongside her extraordinary longevity) that endeared her to so many opera lovers. Today I have culled my Olivero collection and combined excerpts from a number of rare albums in my collection with material culled from The Magda Olivero Archives, maintained by Denis Robert, a friend and confidante of Olivero who has made it his life’s work to present the great diva in all her many facets. We hear the great diva in excerpts from Manon Lescaut, Mefistofele, Traviata, Tristan (!), Bohème, Manon, Medea, and Adriana Lecouvreur (probably her most significant role). In addition, I offer up live excerpts from her two Carnegie Hall recitals as well as rare recordings of Italian songs, including an excerpt from her official farewell appearance in 1991 at the age of 81. There was never another soprano even remotely like her, and if she is your cup of tea (as she most emphatically is mine), this episode will provide an exceptional opportunity to revel in many aspects of her artistry.

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.