Tag Archives: Newell Jenkins

Episode 417. Hail, Queens!

December 5, 2025African American Singers, Bel canto, Broadway, Canadian Singers, Countertenors, Forgotten Divas, Full-Figured Baroque, Great Contraltos, Great Tenors, In Memoriam, Listeners' Favorites, Mezzo Madness, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, Pop Icons, Queer Pride, Rescue Mission, Schubert, Singers of Color, Voiceless Wonders, Wolfgang Amadeus MozartAlbert de Klerk, Alessandro Scarlatti, André Rieu Sr., Anton Heiller, Antonio Vivaldi, Arnold Black, Benita Valente, Bernarda Fink, Claudio Monteverdi, David Lumsden, Domenico Scarlatti, Elly Ameling, Francisco Araiza, Franz Schubert, Fred Barton, Frederick Hammond, George Frideric Handel, Gerald English, Gérard Lesne, Giacomo Puccini, Giovanni Battista Pergolesi, Giovanni Rovetti, Gregorian Chant, Helen Donath, Helmut Müller-Brühl, Jennifer Ryan, Jochen Kowalski, Johann Adolf Hasse, John Angelo Messana, Josef Suk, Klaus Donath, Leonardo Leo, Lorenz Hart, Madeline Kahn, Margaret Marshall, Maureen Forrester, Michael Korn, Newell Jenkins, Pal Joey, Patricia Neway, Rachel Yakar, Reinhard Goebel, Richard Rodgers, Roberta Alexander, Rudolf Ewerhart, Salve Regina, Thomas Provost, Vittorio Negri, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Wolfgang Sawallischcountermelody

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Okay, I confess that the title of this week’s episode is intentionally misleading, but if I told you what it actually was outright, you might not listen, and that would be a great loss! On Monday I celebrated Larry Kert for World AIDS Day, and today, I have made a selection of musical settings of the Marian Antiphon Salve Regina, which translated means, “Hail, Queen,” so there you have the inspiration for the episode. In fact, this is an episode chock-full of particularly glorious singing, and I don’t think you’ll regret spending the time with these glorious Queens of Song (with a few Kings tossed in)! The 11th-century Salve Regina text, far from being dry and dull, provided inspiration for a wide range of composers, primarily of the Baroque (Handel, Vivaldi, Hasse, the Scarlattis, Monteverdi, and a number of others), but also of later vintage (Mozart, Johann Christian Bach, Schubert, and even Puccini). The singers who perform these works are a Who’s Who of Countermelody favorites (Helen Donath, Rachel Yakar, Margaret Marshall, Francisco Araiza, Elly Ameling, and Roberta Alexander) and new friends, including three countertenors (Gérard Lesne, John Angelo Messana, and Jochen Kowalski) who provided inspiration to me as a young singer. Dive right in to this episode, my friends, and never fear: would I steer you wrong? Never! The episode begins with a tribute to Madeline Kahn, who died 26 years ago this 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 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 377. Joan Caplan Memorial Tribute

July 18, 2025Art Song, Bel canto, Comic Relief, Forgotten Divas, Full-Figured Baroque, Giuseppe Verdi, Great Contraltos, Honor Your Mentors, In Memoriam, Lieder, Listeners' Favorites, Mezzo Madness, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, Operetta, Queer Pride, Rescue Mission, Twentieth Century MusicAchim von Arnim, Antonio Salvi, Ariodante, Christian Reinhold, Cinco canciones negras, Clemens Brentano, Des Knaben Wunderhorn, Dido and Aeneas, Felice Romani, Gaetano Donizetti, Georg Friedrich Daumer, George Frideric Handel, Giambattista Martini, Giuseppe Verdi, Gustav Mahler, Harold Aks, Henri Meilhac, Henry Purcell, Hugo Conrat, Jacopo Ferretti, Jacques Offenbach, Jephtha, Joan Caplan, Johann Adolf Hasse, Johannes Brahms, L’Olimpiade, Lieder und Gesänge aus der Jugendzeit, Lucrezia Borgia, Ludovic Halévy, Ludovico Arioso, Martin Pearlman, Messa da Requiem, Nahum Tate, Newell Jenkins, Nicola Rescigno, Peggy Glanville-Hicks, Prosper Mérimée La Périchole, Rafael Alberti, Ruth Rabinow, Stephen Simon, Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird, Thomas Morell, Torquato Tasso, Victor Hugo, Wallace Stevens, Xavier Montsalvatge, Zigeunerliedercountermelody

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This past April, my former voice teacher and treasured friend Joan Caplan died at the age of 92. A few weeks ago, family and friends organized a memorial gathering for which I produced a short audio tribute, which is heard at the beginning of this episode. Before the event, we heard a number of recordings of Joan in her prime that absolutely knocked me on my ear. I was kindly given copies of these recordings from which I have fashioned an expanded episode in her honor. Most of these recordings have simply never been heard before, but I know that Joan was very proud of the work that she did during her active singing career, before she dedicated herself wholeheartedly to her teaching. Her rare live recordings of arias by Handel, Verdi, Donizetti, Purcell, and Hasse display her magnificent technique, while excerpts from her song recitals, including music by Brahms, Mahler, Montsalvatge, and Glanville-Hicks, display her versatility as well as her interpretive insight. I also share personal insights and reminiscences of Joan which will, I hope, reveal the special relationship that I shared with her, which many of her students, friends, and chosen family also experienced. When I last visited Joan, I promised her that I would do what I could to ensure that she would be properly remembered. With this episode, I do my part, to the best of my ability, to keep that promise.

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 102. John Reardon

August 15, 2021African American Singers, Art Song, Bel canto, Broadway, Crossover, Giuseppe Verdi, Great Baritones, In Memoriam, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, Operetta, Queer Pride, Twentieth Century MusicAdolph Green, Alban Berg, Alexander Young, Arrigo Boito, Arthur Siegel, Betty Comden, Bliss Hebert, Candide, Chester Biscardi, Chester Kallman, Christoph von Dohnányi, Denis Deal, Douglass Cross, Edvard Grieg, Evelyn Lear, Franz Allers, Franz Lehár, Fred Rogers, George Cory, George Forrest, Gian Carlo Menotti, Gioacchino Rossini, Giuseppe Verdi, Helena Scott, Henry Butler, Herbert Grossman, Igor Stravinsky, Ira Gershwin, Jerome Kern, Jo Sullivan Lehman Engel, John Koch, John Reardon, Jorge Mester, Judith Raskin, Jule Styne, June Carroll, Kurt Weill, Leonard Bernstein, Leontyne Price, Lisa Della Casa, Marie Collier, Marvin David Levy, NBC Opera, New Faces of 1956, Newell Jenkins, Nicholas Flagello, On the Town, Oscar Hammerstein II, Peter Herman Adler, Ragnar Ulfung, Richard Owen, Robert Craft, Robert Oliver, Robert Wright, Samuel Krachmalnick, Sarah Caldwell, Song of Norway, Stephen Crane, The Flood, The Magic Flute, The Merry Widow, The Rake’s Progress, The Saint of Bleecker Street, W.H. Auden, Walter de la Mare, William Blake, William Orvis, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozartcountermelody

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Here’s another great baritone to help get us through another week: the extraordinarily versatile and talented John Reardon (1930-1988). Possessed of a voice of extraordinary beauty and flexibility, as well as deeply intuitive interpretive powers and a profound musicality and dramatic sensibility, he had everything it took to make his mark in the fields of musicals, operetta, and opera (the latter in both standard, and, even more significantly, contemporary repertoire). I have several rare live recordings as well as some uncommon studio recordings to share with my listeners. Guest stars include Leontyne Price, Judith Raskin, Jo Sullivan, Lisa Della Casa, Alexander Young, Ragnar Ulfung, Evelyn Lear, and Bliss Hebert, in a rare outing as a pianist accompanying Reardon in a 1967 recording of American art songs. I also pay homage to his television appearances, both on NBC Opera and, especially, between 1968 and 1986, as the character “Reardon” in Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, which served to introduce countless multitudes of children to the glories of opera.

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.