Tag Archives: Miguel Gómez-Martínez

Episode 490. José van Dam chante l’éternité

September 11, 2026Art Song, Crossover, French Opera, Giuseppe Verdi, Great Baritones, Gustav Mahler, In Memoriam, Lieder, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, Operetta, Orchestral Songs, Schubert, Singers in Old Age, Twentieth Century Music, Twentieth Century OperaAlain Fondary, Alexandre Arnoux, Antonio García Gutiérrez, Arrigo Boito, Charles Gounod, Charles Trenet, Ciboulette, Cyril Diederich, Dalton Baldwin, Deux mélodies hébraïques, Don Quichotte (Massenet), Don Quichotte à Dulcinée, Francesco Maria Piave, Franz Schubert, Friedrich Rückert, Gabriel Faure, Giuseppe Verdi, Gustav Mahler, Henri Cain, Hugo Wolf, Jacques Ibert, Jacques Le Lorrain, Jean-Claude vanden Eynden, Jean-Louis Rassinfosse, Jean-Philippe Collard, Jean-Philippe Collard-Neven, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Johannes Brahms, José Van Dam, Jules Massenet, Justinus Kerner, Kent Nagano, Kerner-Lieder, Le Fou (Landowski), Léo Chauliac, Louise Bertin, Maciej Pikulski, Marcel Landowski, Maurice Ravel, Michel Plasson, Miguel Gómez-Martínez, Olivier Messiaen, Patrice de La Tour du Pin, Paul Morand, Pierre Boulez, Reynaldo Hahn, Robert de Flers, Robert Schumann, Rückert-Lieder, Saint François d’Assise, Seiji Ozawa, Simon Boccanegra, Sully Prudhomme, Teresa Berganza, Vier ernste Gesänge, Wilhelm Müller, Winterreisecountermelody

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Today we commemorate the quarter century since 9/11, an event that sent shockwaves throughout the world as it was transpiring (and who can forget where they were in those first awful hours?) And yet the aftermath has been so much worse than one could even imagine at the time, and with no end in sight (witness the right-wing populism and divisiveness which have become the order of the day). My heart and spirit cry out in pain every single day and the only consolation, the only balm, my soul receives these days is through art, and particularly for me, as for many of us, music. 2026 has also seen an inordinate number of deaths of people who made a different in the world. As I struggled to come up with a theme and a setlist for today’s episode, one figure kept reappearing at the door: Belgian bass-baritone José van Dam, who died last February at the age of 85. Though I was a lifelong admirer of the singer, and was deeply saddened by his death, I have not yet presented a suitable memorial tribute in his honor. His voice exuded a warmth and humanity that gave his performances and portrayals a particular glow. So I have chosen to present him today singing music appropriate to this solemn occasion: songs of Ravel, Schubert, Gounod, Schumann, Fauré, Brahms, Ibert, Wolf, Mahler, and Trenet; supplemented by arias and scenes by Verdi, Massenet, Landowski, and Messiaen. I’m keeping chatter to a bare minimum on this episode, letting the music, the texts, and van Dam’s voice and artistry, create a patina of consolation for all the complicated emotions raised by this day of mourning and meditation.

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 488. Ileana Cotrubaș In Memoriam

August 29, 2026Behind the Iron Curtain, Bubbles on the Nile, Countertenors, French Opera, Full-Figured Baroque, Giacomo Puccini, Giuseppe Verdi, Great Baritones, Great Tenors, Ileana Cotrubas, In Memoriam, Listeners' Favorites, Mezzo Madness, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, Richard Strauss, Twentieth Century Opera, Verismo, Wolfgang Amadeus MozartA Midsummer Night’s Dream, Ádám Fischer, Adelheid Witte, Alain Guignal, Alexandre Dumas fils, Alfred Maria Willner, Alfredo Kraus, Anthony Rolfe Johnson, Anton Guadagno, Antoni Ros-Marbà, Antonio García Gutiérrez, Arrigo Boito, Barry McCauley, Benjamin Britten, Bernard Haitink, Brigitte Fassbaender, Bruno Bartoletti, Carlos Kleiber, Christian Boesch, Colin Davis, Der Rosenkavalier, Der Schauspieldirektor, Die Zauberflöte, Édouard Blau, Emanuel Schikaneder, Engelbert Humperdinck, Eugène Scribe, Felice Romani, Francesco Cavalli, Francesco Maria Piave, Franco Bonisolli, Frederica von Stade, Gabor Ötvös, Gaetano Donizetti, Georges Hartmann, Georges Pretre, Giacomo Aragall, Giacomo Puccini, Giovanni Faustini, Giuseppe Adami, Giuseppe Giacosa, Giuseppe Verdi, Gottlieb Stephanie, Hänsel und Gretel, Heinz Reichtert, Henri Murger, Herbert von Karajan, Hugo von Hofmannsthal, Ileana Cotrubas, Jakob Grimm, James Bowman, James Levine, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, John Pritchard, José Carreras, José Van Dam, Jules Massenet, L’elisir d’amore, La Boheme, La Calisto. Janet Baker, La rondine, La Traviata, Le nozze di Figaro, Leo Nucci, Lorenzo da Ponte, Luigi Illica, Luis Lima, Matteo Manuguerra, Miguel Gómez-Martínez, Otello, Ovid, Pagliacci, Paul Milliet, Peter Pears, Pierre de Beaumarchais, Renato Bruson, Richard Strauss, Rigoletto, Ruggero Leoncavallo, Ruth Welting, Simon Boccanegra, Tom Krause, Victor Hugo, Vladimir Atlantov, Werther, Wilhelm Grimm, William Shakespeare, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozartcountermelody

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Ileana Cotrubaș, the exquisite Romanian soprano, departed this earthly plane last week at the age of 87. She was one of the operatic artists I most revered and respected, both for her musical and artistic integrity and for her constant search for greater dramatic truth in her portrayals. Her characterizations of Violetta, Mimì, Gilda, Adina, Susanna, and Pamina, among others, were peerless. As her career developed, she assumed “bigger” repertoire, in which, on her own terms, she was frequently as successful as her earlier repertoire. This episode, wrung straight from my mourning heart, celebrates all aspects of her operatic repertoire, including late career additions such as Amelia in Simon Boccanegra, Desdemona in Otello, and Charlotte in Werther, the role in which she took her farewell from the operatic stage. In seeking a framework in which to commemorate her, I chose duets exclusively. And, oh, the singers with whom she is partnered: José Carreras, Vladimir Atlantov, Giacomo Aragall, Franco Bonisolli, Alfredo Kraus, Luis Lima, Barry McCauley, Janet Baker, Brigitte Fassbaender, Frederica von Stade, James Bowman, Ruth Welting, Renato Bruson, Tom Krause, José van Dam, Christian Boesch, Matteo Manuguerra, Leo Nucci: the absolute crème de la crème of the great singers of that era. She will be forever remembered and held dearly in the hearts of all who loved her singing and artistry.

Episode 295. Requiescat

October 6, 2024Art Song, Behind the Iron Curtain, Bel canto, Broadway, Forgotten Divas, Full-Figured Baroque, Giacomo Puccini, Giuseppe Verdi, In Memoriam, Mezzo Madness, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, Opera in Translation, Pop Icons, Richard Strauss, Richard Wagner, Singers in Old Age, Twentieth Century Music, Twentieth Century Opera, Verismo, Wolfgang Amadeus MozartAntonio García Gutiérrez, Antonio Votto, April Cantelo, Benjamin Britten, Bob Wilson, Bruce Blunt, Carlo Pepoli, Celestina Casapietra, Christine Weidinger, Corneliu Murgu, Daphne, David Belasco, David Hemmings, David Willcocks, Deborah Roberts, Edo de Waart, Edward Heyman, Elena Mauti-Nunziata, Eric Crozier, Erich Wolfgang Korngold, Fernández Shaw, Frank Eyton, Gaetano Donizetti, George Frideric Handel, Georges Bizet, Georges Rodenbach, Giacomo Puccini, Giuseppe Verdi, Gregorio Allegro, Grigoire Iosub, Herbert Kegel, I Puritani, Il Trovatore, Ivor Gurney, Janis Paige, Jodie Devos, John Dryden, John Fletcher, John Luther Long, Johnny Green, Josef Gregor, Julius Korngold, Karan Armstrong, La jolie fille de Perth, La vida breve, Laurence Equilbey, Le nozze di Figaro, Lohengrin, Lorenzo da Ponte, Lucine Amara, Madama Butterfly, Manuel de Falla, Margaret Cable, Maria di Rohan, Max Rudolf, Miguel Gómez-Martínez, Nicolas Krüger, Paul Schott, Peter Phillips, Peter Warlock, Philip Heseltine, Pierre Beaumarchais, Reinhard Peters, Richard Bonynge, Richard Strauss, Richard Wagner, Robert Sour, Rosemary Barnes, Roy Campbell, Ruth Hesse, Salvadore Cammarano, Sanda Şandru, Sesto Bruscantini, St John of the Cross, The Little Sweep, The Tallis Scholars, Vincenzo Bellini, Walter Scott, William Mathias, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozartcountermelody

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Today on Countermelody is the first of two memorial episodes paying tribute to singers that we’ve lost just in the past few months. Applying the completely arbitrary rubric of gender, today I am focusing on sopranos (with two mezzo-soprano interlopers); my next episode will carry the memorial torch for all the male singers who’ve recently died. Today’s subjects ranged in age from only 35 to nearly 102 at the time of their deaths, and from Broadway star to early music singer: Jodie Devos, April Cantelo, Lucine Amara, Celestina Casapietra, Christine Weidinger, Elena Mauti Nunziata, Deborah Roberts, and Sanda Şandru; lower-voiced interlopers include Janis Paige, Margaret Cable, and Ruth Hesse. If you know some of these names, you know that you will be some mellifluous serenading; if you don’t, prepare yourself for a wide range of music from Renaissance polyphony to American pop standards, with operatic selections ranging from Donizetti to Falla.

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.