Tag Archives: Michelangelo Veltri

Episode 373. Carol Neblett: Girl of the Golden West

July 4, 2025Art Song, Bel canto, Forgotten Divas, French Opera, Giacomo Puccini, Giuseppe Verdi, Great Baritones, Great Tenors, Honor Your Mentors, In Memoriam, Interview, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, NYCO Divas, Operetta, Rescue Mission, Richard Strauss, Twentieth Century Music, Twentieth Century Opera, Verismo, Wolfgang Amadeus MozartAbbé Prevost, Abe Polakoff, Alexandre Dumas fils, Alfred Maria Willner, Anatole France, Anton Guadagno, Antonio García Gutiérrez, Ariadne auf Naxos, Ariettes oubliées, Arrigo Boito, Barry Morell, Bruno Bartoletti, Carl Suppa, Carlo Gozzi, Carlo Zangarini, Carol Neblett, Charles Wendelkon-Wilson, Chris Nance, Claude Debussy, Cornell MacNeil, Darlene Lawrence, David Belasco, Dominic Cossa, Don Yule, Enrico Di Giuseppe, Erich Wolfgang Korngold, Francesco Maria Piave, Georges Rodenbach, Giacomo Puccini, Giambattista Moresco, Gian Carlo Menotti, Gian Piero Mastromei, Giangiacomo Guelfi, Gilda Cruz-Romo, Giuseppe Adami, Giuseppe Giacosa, Guelfo Civinini, Gustave Charpentier, Heinz Reichert, Henri Meilhac, Hugo von Hofmannsthal, Idomeneo, Il Trovatore, Imre Pallo, Ion Piso, James Levine, John Pritchard, Jules Massenet, Julian Patrick, Julius Korngold, Julius Rudel, Kenneth Schermerhorn, Knud Anderson, La Fanciulla del West, La rondine, La Traviata, Louis Gallet, Louis Quilico, Luciano Pavarotti, Luigi Illica, Manon, Michael Devlin, Michelangelo Veltri, Paul Schott, Paul Verlaine, Philippe Gille, Renato Simoni, Richard Strauss, Rigoletti, Rigoletto, Salvadore Cammarano, Silvio Varviso, Stefan Schermerhorn, Thaïs, The Telephone, Tosca, Turandot, Victor Hugo, Victorien Sardou, William Ledbetter, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozartcountermelody

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Today is the day that the United States formerly celebrated its independence. But the events of recent months have not made me feel much like celebrating. As I racked my brain to think of an “American” (read: US-American) of whom we could be truly proud, my mind flew to Carol Neblett, one of the great (if relatively unsung) voices of the 1970s and beyond. Carol died prematurely and unexpectedly in November 2017, and from the earliest days of the podcast, it has been my intention to bring increased attention to her incandescent voice and artistry. For a while, her son Stefan Schermerhorn and I have been planning to do such a tribute, but as with so many such plans, life got in the way. With the looming national holiday, however, I felt the urgent need to do a Carol Neblett episode. So I contacted Stefan earlier this week to ask him if he had any reminiscences to share with us as I was preparing this urgently-needed episode. He returned with an absolutely charming Fourth of July anecdote which begins the tribute. There follows a plethora of live recordings of near-definitive performances of an enormous range of roles that were core to Carol’s repertoire: Violetta, Ariadne, Thaïs, Marietta, Manon, Musetta, Louise, Tosca, Magda in La Rondine, Margherita in Mefistofele, Leonora in Il Trovatore, and Elettra in Idomeneo. Also well-represented is no doubt her most celebrated portrayal: Minnie in La Fanciulla del West. Being a tall and statuesque California-born blonde made Carol a physically ideal Minnie, but even moreso, it was THAT VOICE which allowed her to negotiate all of the part’s considerable vocal difficulties and made her legendary in the part. This is the first of a planned series of Neblett episodes that I hope will bring you as much delight in listening as it did me in preparing it. And in this undeniably grim period of our nation’s history, we desperately need Carol Neblett as a shining example of the brilliance of which the United States is still capable.

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 364. Grace Bumbry: Proud Soprano (Live Edition)

June 2, 2025African American Singers, Bel canto, Black History Month, Black History Month 2025, French Opera, Giacomo Puccini, Giuseppe Verdi, Great Baritones, Great Tenors, Happy Birthday, In Memoriam, Interview, Listeners' Favorites, Mezzo Madness, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, NYCO Divas, Richard Strauss, Singers in Old Age, Singers of Color, Twentieth Century OperaAida, Amilcare Ponchielli, Anton Guadagno, Antonio García Gutiérrez, Antonio Ghislanzoni, Arrigo Boito, Auguste Mariette, Berislav Klobučar, Donato Renzetti, DuBose Heyward, Ernani, Eugène Scribe, Felice Romani, Francesco Maria Piave, Franco Corelli, Frank Little, Gaetano Donizetti, George Gershwin, Giacomo Meyerbeer, Giacomo Puccini, Giuseppe Giacosa, Giuseppe Patanè, Giuseppe Verdi, Grace Bumbry, Gregg Baker, Hedwig Lachmann, Il Trovatore, Ippolito Pindemonte, Ira Gershwin, James Levine, L’Africaine, Lorin Maazel, Louis Quilico, Luigi Illica, Michelangelo Veltri, Nabucco, Nello Santi, Norman Bailey, Oscar Wilde, Peter Maag, Porgy and Bess, Richard Strauss, Salome, Salvadore Cammarano, Shirley Verrett, Temistocle Solera, Tobio Gorria, Tosca, Victor Hugo, Victorien Sardoucountermelody

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It’s Pride Month, and what better time to focus on queer musical culture in all its various manifestations! As far back as I can remember, I have been an Opera Queen, and today I kick off our queer celebrations with the a tribute to one of our favorite divas, the late Grace Bumbry. The chutzpah that she demonstrated throughout her career found particularly thrilling manifestation when she began transitioning to soprano roles in the early 1970s. Always an intrepid singer, Bumbry had a confidence, a fearlessness that swept all before it. Sometimes her reach exceeded her grasp, but even so, the results were always breathtaking, more often than not in a good way. I am not going to make the tired claim that Bumbry should have remained a mezzo and that when she started singing soprano, she destroyed her instrument. This tired trope is belied by the evidence at hand, including an active singing career that lasted more than 60 years. A while back I did a version of this episode featuring her studio recordings of the soprano repertoire, but there’s a wild, abandoned quality to her soprano singing that is especially compelling in live recordings. So today I have sought out live performances captured on recordings between 1971 and 2007 (at a seventieth birthday concert) which reveal La Bumbarina at her most thrilling, including excerpts from Tosca, La Gioconda, Il Trovatore, Nabucco, Porgy and Bess, Ernani, L’Africaine, Aida, Salome, and Anna Bolena with such co-stars as Franco Corelli, Norman Bailey, Louis Quilico, and her beloved frenemy Shirley Verrett. If you love Grace, you don’t want to miss this episode.

Episode 169. Grace Bumbry

November 4, 2022African American Singers, Art Song, Crossover, French Opera, Giacomo Puccini, Giuseppe Verdi, Great Baritones, Lieder, Mezzo Madness, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, Richard Strauss, Schubert, Singers of Color, VerismoAlexander Schmalcz, Amilcare Ponchielli, Andrea Maffei, Andrew White, Beaumont Glass, Berislav Klobučar, Detlev von Liliencron, Francesco Maria Piave, Franz Liszt, Franz Schubert, Friedrich Rückert, Giacomo Puccini, Giuseppe Adami, Giuseppe Verdi, Grace Bumbry, Gustave Charpentier, Hector Berlioz, Helmut Deutsch, Hermann Allmers, Jacques Revaux, Johann Gabriel Seidl, Johann Jacobi, Johann Mayrhofer, Johannes Brahms, John Fiore, Jules Massenet, Julius Mosen, Kenneth Collins, La Gioconda, Leonard Hokanson, Les nuits d’été, Macbeth, Michelangelo Veltri, Nabucco, Norman Bailey, Norman Newell, Oscar Wilde, Paul Anka, Renato Simoni, Richard Strauss, Robert Schumann, Roger Webb, Salome, Shirley Verrett, Spirituals, Stefan Soltesz, Temistocle Solera, Théophile Gautier, Turandot, Umberto Balsamo, Victor Hugo, William Shakespearecountermelody

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Though the great diva Grace Bumbry has often been featured on Countermelody, I have not yet done a full episode on this incomparable artist. Today’s episode seeks to remedy that, and to celebrate a singer whose contribution and influence extends back many decades and continues to this very day. Normally when I consider an artist so well-renowned, I try to offer a perspective that sheds different light on that singer. So today’s Bumbry celebration considers three aspects of her artistry that have received somewhat less attention. While her successes in a wide range of mezzo soprano repertoire are well-known and well-documented, her soprano assumptions have been somewhat more controversial. I highlight numerous scenes and arias, including from Macbeth, Salome, Turandot, and Nabucco, in both live and studio performances, that shed light on the enormous prowess and fearlessness with which she confronted these roles. Alongside such larger-than-life impersonations are Bumbry’s intimate and detailed performances as a Lieder singer, a tribute to her training under that matchless singer and teacher Lotte Lehmann, with whom Bumbry studied at the Music Academy of the West. Recordings of art song by Schubert, Schumann, Brahms, Strauss, Liszt, and Berlioz, made over the course of 45 years are also a testament to Bumbry’s vocal longevity and technical prowess. In recent years, Grace Bumbry has devoted her time to the care, nurturing, and training of young singers under the aegis of a program she has named “The Bumbry Way.” The episode closes with a definitive performance of the song “My Way,” which incorporates and encapsulates all the colors of this extraordinary singer in all her fearlessness, self-assurance, determination, vulnerability, and strength. Evviva “The Bumbry Way!”

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 5: Shirley Verrett I. La Nera Callas

October 20, 2019African American Singers, Bel canto, Giuseppe Verdi, Mezzo Madness, Needle Drop, Singers of ColorAnna Caterina Antonacci, Camille Saint-Saens, Carmen, Christa Ludwig, Christoph Willibald Gluck, Claudio Abbado, Cornelie Falcon, Covent Garden, Don Carlo, Eugene Ormandy, Eve Queler, Fritz Reiner, Georges Bizet, Giacomo Meyerbeer, Giuseppe Verdi, Grace Bumbry, Il Trovatore, Imre Pallo, Jon Vickers, Julius Rudel, Justino Diaz, La Scala, Luciano Pavarotti, Marian Anderson, Maurizio Arena, Michelangelo Veltri, Philadelphia Orchestra, Richard Cassilly, Richard Lewis, Samson et Dalila, Shirley Verrett, Tom Krause, Un ballo in maschera, Zwischenfachcountermelody

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This episode is the first of two on one of my favorite singers, the Zwischenfachsängerin Shirley Verrett. Renowned in the United States for her performances of Verdi mezzo-soprano parts, particularly Azucena in Il Trovatore and Eboli in Don Carlo, the late singer commanded an enormous repertoire, comprising bel canto and French roles, on which she left her indelible stamp. I focus in particular on the French roles she performed at the Opéra de Paris from the mid-1980s through the early 1990s, as well as her Verdi soprano roles, including Amelia in Un ballo in maschera and the title role in Aida. Known in the Italian press as La Nera Callas [The Black Callas], Verrett is heard in this episode singing Brahms, Gluck, Saint-Saëns, and Verdi roles for both soprano and mezzo-soprano. Special attention is paid to her newsworthy appearances with fellow African American mezzo-cum-soprano, Grace Bumbry, the first of which, a joint Carnegie Hall concert in 1982, honored the iconic contralto Marian Anderson on the occasion of her 80th birthday.