Tag Archives: Oscar Wilde

Episode 285. Edda Moser Reappraised

August 31, 2024Art Song, Comic Relief, French Opera, Full-Figured Baroque, Great BaritonesAdelheid Wette, Bruno Weil, Christoph von Dohnányi, Christoph Willibald Gluck, Claudio Nicolai, Clemens von Brentano, Der fliegende Holländer, Die lustige Witwe, Die Zauberflöte, Edda Moser, Elektra, Emanuel Schikaneder, Engelbert Humperdinck, Ernst von Steigentesch, Eugen d’Albert, Euripedes, Franz Lehár, George Frideric Handel, Gerd Feldhoff, Hans Werner Henze, Hänsel und Gretel, Hedwig Lachmann, Heinrich Heine, Heinrich Hollreiser, Heinz Wallberg, Herbert Blomstedt, Hermann Hesse, Hermann Prey, Hugo von Hofmannsthal, Ingeborg Bachmann, Iphigénie en Tauride, Irwin Gage, Ivan Törzs, János Kulka, Jean Dupouy, Jean-Claude Malgoir, Jean-Nicolas Bouilly, Joseph Sonnleithner, Kent Nagano, Leo Stein, Leonore (Beethoven), Lovro von Matačić, Ludwig van Beethoven, Milan Horvat, Nicola Francesco Haym, Nicolas-François Guillard, Oscar Wilde, Pagliacci, Peter Maag, Peter Schneider, Riccardo Muti, Richard Strauss, Richard Wagner, Robert Hale, Ruggero Leoncavallo, Salome, Siegmund Nimsgern, Sophocles, Tannhäuser, Vier letzte Lieder, Viktor Léon, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozartcountermelody

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Lately I have been doing a series of episodes on artists that in my opinion deserve a reassessment, a second glance, if you will. Edda Moser is almost universally regarded as the “best” Queen of the Night that ever walked the earth. Certainly she is the most ominous and menacing, as well as the most monumental of voice and delivery. But there is a false narrative surrounding Frau Moser that over the course of her career, she lost control of her voice and pursued a repertoire that destroyed her voice. In this episode, I plead exactly the opposite: that Moser moved naturally and with dedicated assurance into the heavier roles of Strauss and Wagner, and that her voice from its origins displayed affinity for these more dramatic parts. Some of Edda Moser’s earliest successes were in the stratospheric vocal compositions of Hans Werner Henze, in which she displayed a fearless and limitless virtuosity. During her long career, her roles spanned nearly the entire range of the soprano repertoire, everything from her supreme Mozart characterizations to Hanna Glawari to Nedda to Iphigénie to Senta to Salome. Recently, some late-career live recordings of Edda Moser have appeared on the landscape, and instead of recycling one of my two previous Moser episodes, I have selected choice tidbits from these recordings, as well as more readily available material, that show Moser in all facets of her artistry, focusing on the epic, perhaps, but not overlooking her delicacy, sensitivity, pathos, charm, and delicious sense of humor. Guest singers heard on the episode include some of the finest baritones active during this period, including Siegmund Nimsgern, Hermann Prey, Gerd Feldhoff, Claudio Nicolai, and Robert Hale. Conductors include Heinrich Hollreiser, Riccardo Muti, Herbert Blomstedt, Lovro von Matačić, Christoph von Dohnányi, Kent Nagano, and many others. Give this episode a listen and may find yourself agreeing with me that she is one of the supreme classical vocalists of the twentieth century.

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.

Episode 275. Margaret Tynes (Listeners’ Favorites)

July 27, 2024African American Singers, Black History Month, Crossover, Forgotten Divas, French Opera, Full-Figured Baroque, Giuseppe Verdi, Great Baritones, Great Tenors, In Memoriam, Listeners' Favorites, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, Richard Strauss, Singers of Color, Spirituals, Twentieth Century Music, Twentieth Century OperaA Drum Is a Woman, Aida, Anita Turner-Butler, Antonio Ghislanzoni, Billy Strayhorn, Brock Peters, Creole Folk Songs, DuBose Heyward, Duke Ellington, Francesco Maria Piave, George Gershwin, George Shirley, Georges Bizet, Giovanni Battista Pergolesi, Giuseppe Verdi, Hedwig Lachmann, Ira Gershwin, János Gyulai Gaal, LeVern Hutcherson, Lili Chookasian, Macbeth, Margaret Tynes, Mariette Bey, Massimo Bruni, Oscar Wilde, Pál Varga, Paul Belanger, Porgy and Bess, Richard Strauss, Salome, Spirituals, Stabat Mater (Pergolesi), Thomas Schippers, Warren Edward Vincent, William Shakespearecountermelody

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On March 7, 2024, the legendary African American soprano Margaret Tynes died at the age of 104. During the second season of Countermelody, I featured the singer, who at the time was a mere 101 years old, on one of my Black History Month episodes. She was a unique artist, fearlessly forging her own musical, dramatic, and vocal path, aided and abetted by a strong voice with a powerful top register. Though she made a number of significant appearances in her homeland earlier in her career (including a televised appearance in Duke Ellington’s jazz suite, A Drum Is a Woman), her later successes were focused primarily in Europe, where she was particularly celebrated for her extraordinary Salome, with which she created a sensation in Spoleto in 1961, and her Lady Macbeth. Excerpts from all of these and more are featured on this episode, which also includes spirituals and Creole folk songs, as well as arias and duets from Aida, Carmen, and Porgy and Bess. Guest artists include LeVern Hutcherson, most remembered today for his appearances on stage and screen in Porgy, and George Shirley, the first African American tenor to sing at the Metropolitan 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.” 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 245. Tell It to the World – Germany

February 27, 2024African American Singers, Broadway, Crossover, Great Tenors, Interview, Needle Drop, Opera in Translation, Operetta, Pop Icons, Queer Pride, Singers of Color, Twentieth Century Music, Voiceless WondersAdolf Dallapozza, Alan Jay Lerner, Alfred Grünwald, Annika Meier, Axel Kottmann, Axel Wandtke, Barry Kosky, Bastian Reiber, Bendix Dethleffsen, Benedict Fellmer, Birger Heymann, Carol Schuler, Carsten Meyer, Claudia Kühne, Cole Porter, Dagmar Manzel, David Savran, Der schwarze Hecht, Der Silbersee, Eberhard Büchner, Eduard Mörike, Eine Frau die weiß was sie will, Emil Sautter, Erik Charrell, Erika Gesell, Ersan Mondtag, Franz Allers, Frederick Loewe, Fritzi Massary, Georg Kaiser, George Kranz, Gerd Natschinski, Gisela May, Gottfried Bretifuss, Guido Masanetz, Günter Neumann, Hanne Roos, Hans Schenker, Hans Schindler, Herbert Fritsch, Herr Fressack und die Bremer Stadtmusikanten, Horst Schulze, Hubert Wild, Hugo Wolf, Im weißen Rößl, In Frisco ist der Teufel los, Ira Gershwin, James Holmes, Jean-Pierre Cornu, Jessica Früh, Johannes Fehring, Julia Koci, Julia Migenes, Jürg Amstein, Jürgen Degenhardt, Karel Deseure, Karin Huebner, Kiss Me Kate, Kitty Carlisle, Koen Schoots, Kurt Weill, La Cage aux Folles, Lady in the Dark, Lawrence Leonard, Lena Schwarz, Leonard Bernstein, Linie 1, Lisa-Katrina Mayer, Louis Verneuil, Magdalena Irmann, Marcel Prawy, Matthias Witting, Mauritius Janowski, Max Hansen, Mein Freund Bunbury, Michael Brandt, Michael Wilhelmi, Miriam Maertens, My Fair Lady, Nehrun Aliev, No Ticket, Olive Moorefield, Oscar Straus, Oscar Wilde, Paul Burkhard, Paul Godwin, Rahel Hubacher, Rainer Luhn, Ralph Benatzky, Ralph Möbius, Ralph Steitz, Richard Baravalle, Richard Wester, Rio Reiser, Robert Hanell, Robert Hunger-Bühler, Roland Gilbert, Roman Hinze, Roman Vinuesa, Ruth Rosenfeld, Stephen Sondheim, Susanne Wolf, Tags: Jerry Herman, Tell It to the World, The Black Rider, Tom Waits, Ton Scheine Scherben, Volker Ludwig, West Side Story, White Horse Inn, William Gaxton, William S. Burroughscountermelody

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Here is the second of a two part series in celebration of David Savran’s new book, Tell It to the World: The Broadway Musical Abroad, a monumental study on transnationalism and the Broadway-style musical. In the first part, David and I spoke about (and played examples from) the rich culture surrounding musicals in South Korea. Today’s episode focuses on Germany and the influx of Broadway musicals since World War II. Although the German-speaking world has a long tradition of popular music theatre, most notably operetta, the arrival of American musicals (beginning in 1955 with Kiss Me, Kate) made a very big splash. In 1961, My Fair Lady opened in West Berlin, became a sensational success, and permanently changed the shape of German musical theatre. Both Kiss Me, Kate and My Fair Lady are part of the first wave of Broadway musicals that have become part of the standard repertoire in state-subsidized theatre (the others include Cabaret, Anatevka (Fiddler on the Roof), West Side Story, La Cage aux Folles, and Hair).

We also look at the development of home-grown Broadway-style musicals in both West and East Germany from the 1960s through the 1980s and their subsequent impact on the work of experimental theatre makers. The next to last chapter of the book studies the musical farces directed by the great theatrical innovator, Herbert Fritsch, since 2011. The last focuses on the work of Barrie Kosky at the Komische Oper Berlin and how he turned that house into the foremost theatre in Germany for innovative re-imaginings of Broadway musicals, with emphasis on iconoclastic stagings by Kosky (and other directors) of the work of Kurt Weill. We play examples from many of the thrilling productions about which David writes which deserve to be known by a much wider audience. Along the way we also listen to nearly a century’s worth of performances by some legendary performers of German operetta and musicals, including Fritzi Massary, Olive Moorefield, Gisela May, Max Hansen, Dagmar Manzel, Horst Schulze, Ruth Rosenfeld, Julia Migenes, Julia Koci, and the late Rainer Luhn.

Episode 238. Delcina Stevenson (BHM2024)

February 2, 2024African American Singers, Art Song, Bel canto, Black History Month, Black History Month 2024, Broadway, Crossover, Forgotten Divas, French Opera, Full-Figured Baroque, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, Singers in Old Age, Singers of Color, Twentieth Century Music, Twentieth Century Opera, Verismo, Wolfgang Amadeus MozartAida, Alessandra Marc, Alexander Pushkin, Antonio Ghislanzoni, Armen Guzelimian, Auguste Mariette Bey, Camille du Locle, Claudio Guastalla, David Atkins, Delcina Stevenson, Dina van Driesten, Edward Boatner, Eugene W. Hancock, Gioacchino Rossini, Giuseppe Verdi, Gustave Charpentier, Hans Wiers-Jenssen, Heinrich Heine, Jean Périsson, Johann Sebastian Bach, Johannes Brahms, Joseph Shore, La Fiamma (Respighi), Louise (Charpentier), Maurice Jarre, Oscar Wilde, Ottorino Respighi, Péchés de vieillesse, Robert Bass, Sergei Rachmaninov, Sharon Davis, Spirituals, Stephen Sondheim, Sweeney Todd, T.K. Wang, Tania Agins, Ted Puffer, Vincent Mitzelfelt, William Pillin, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozartcountermelody

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I am so grateful to all the listeners who did introductions to their favorite episodes last month. It provided me with a little bit of needed breathing space and now I am back raring to go with my first new episode for 2024, just in time for Black History Month 2024! There is a secondary theme for this month which is “Forgotten Divas,” a favorite topic of mine at any time of year. The term “forgotten” needs to be taken with a grain of salt, because these women are anything but forgotten among those who experienced their singing, teaching, or friendship live and in person. Nevertheless, for want of a better term (Divas Who Deserve to Be As Well-Remembered as Any of Their More Famous Counterparts seems a little wordy), I’ll stick with the designation I chose.

Today’s artist is the only “Forgotten Diva” who is still with us, soprano Delcina Stevenson, born 29 September 1933, so this enables me to also “give flowers” (to coin a present-day term I actually like) to her directly. She was born in Kansas and graduated from Kansas University. After moving to California in 1960, she coached and studied with Lotte Lehmann, Gwendolyn Koldofsky, Martial Singher, and William Vennard, and was a protégée early in her career of Kurt Herbert Adler at the San Francisco Opera. She has lived and performed around the world, primarily in California, New York, and Germany. She possessed one of the most exquisite lyric soprano voices I have ever heard, one which never aged, but simply grew more lush and voluminous. The musical excerpts I have compiled feature her in live and studio recordings from over the course of more than 30 years, ranging Mozart to Sondheim to Rossini, in which that voice is on shimmering display. I am thrilled to introduce (or reintroduce) her to you.

Episode 232. Janet Williams and Paul Padillo Introduce Maria Ewing (Listeners’ Favorites III)

January 7, 2024African American Singers, Bel canto, Black History Month, Crossover, Giacomo Puccini, Gustav Mahler, In Memoriam, Listeners' Favorites, Mezzo Madness, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, Operetta, Orchestral Songs, Richard Strauss, Singers of Color, Twentieth Century Opera, Verismo, Wolfgang Amadeus MozartAndrew Davis, Antonio de Almeida, Bernard Haitink, Bob Merrill, Carl Orff, Carmen, Carol Neblett, Christiane Eda-Pierre, Claude Debussy, Claudio Abbado, Claudio Monteverdi, Dale Duesing, Dennis Bailey, Dido and Aeneas, Dmitri Shostakovich, Don Giovanni, Elizabeth Collier, Eric Tappy, Francis Poulenc, François Le Roux, Funny Girl, George Bizet, Giacomo Puccini, Gioacchino Rossini, Gustav Mahler, Harold Arlen, Henri Meilhac, Henry Purcell, Horst Stein, Iain Sutherland, Idomeneo, Il barbiere di Siviglia, Jacques Offenbach, James Levine, Janet Williams, Jean Cocteau, Jean Rigby, Jerome Kern, John Pritchard, John Wilson, Jule Styne, Jules Massenet, Kurt Masur, L’incoronazione di Poppea, La Périchole, La voix humaine, Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk, Le nozze di Figaro, Leonard Slatkin, Lorenzo da Ponte, Ludovic Halévy, Marc Soustrot, Maria Ewing, Maurice Maeterlinck, Maurice Ravel, Myung-Whun Chung, Nahum Tate, Oscar Hammerstein II, Oscar Wilde, Patrick Devin, Paul Padillo, Pelleas et Melisande, Raymond Leppard, Richard Hickox, Richard Rodgers, Richard Rodney Bennett, Richard Strauss, Romano Gandolfi, Ruggero Raimondi, Salome, Shane Hill, Shéhérazade, Siegmund Nimsgern, Simon James, Simon Rattle, South Pacific, Sylvain Cambreling, Ted Koehler, Tosca, Tristan Klingsor, Werther, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozartcountermelody

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January 9 is already the second anniversary of the death of the iconoclastic (and iconic) Maria Ewing, who died of cancer in her home outside of her native Detroit on January 9, 2022. She was an artist both admired and derided during her lifetime, whose importance since her death has only become more apparent. It so happens that two of my most faithful listeners, Janet Williams and Paul Padillo, chose the episode that I published in her honor as their favorite episode. Paul is a passionate opera advocate who maintains a blog as well as a Facebook page in which he writes with extraordinary eloquence about the musical genre we all adore. Janet is celebrated throughout the world as one of the finest singers of her generation who has gone on to become one of the most important voice teachers in the world today, teaching, with compassion and common sense, a technique grounded in the essentials of bel canto. Their spoken introductions to the episode highlight different aspects of what made Ewing so special. For Paul, he became a lifelong fan after hearing her performance of Blanche de la Force in Poulenc’s operatic masterpiece, The Dialogues of the Carmelites. For Janet, it was a shared provenance (both were natives of Detroit) as well as a common mentor, the late David Di Chiera, who founded and ran Michigan Opera Theatre, the company featured both Maria and Janet in some of their first operatic appearances. Maria’s passing hit me particularly hard because at the time of her death, I was in the midst of creating a special episode in her honor and had been immersing myself in her fascinating performances, finding myself more and more in awe of her one-of-a-kind artistry. This tribute episode is simply not to be missed.

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!”

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

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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..

Episode 127. Maria Ewing in Memoriam (Black History Month 2022)

February 4, 2022African American Singers, Bel canto, Black History Month, Broadway, Crossover, French Opera, Full-Figured Baroque, Giacomo Puccini, Gustav Mahler, In Memoriam, Mezzo Madness, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, Operetta, Richard Strauss, Singers of Color, Twentieth Century Music, VerismoAndrew Davis, Antonio de Almeida, Bernard Haitink, Bob Merrill, Carl Orff, Carmen, Carol Neblett, Christiane Eda-Pierre, Claude Debussy, Claudio Abbado, Claudio Monteverdi, Dale Duesing, Dennis Bailey, Dido and Aeneas, Dmitri Shostakovich, Don Giovanni, Elizabeth Collier, Eric Tappy, Francis Poulenc, François Le Roux, Funny Girl, George Bizet, Giacomo Puccini, Gioacchino Rossini, Gustav Mahler, Harold Arlen, Henri Meilhac, Henry Purcell, Horst Stein, Iain Sutherland, Idomeneo, Il barbiere di Siviglia, Jacques Offenbach, James Levine, Jean Cocteau, Jean Rigby, Jerome Kern, John Pritchard, John Wilson, Jule Styne, Jules Massenet, Kurt Masur, L’incoronazione di Poppea, La Périchole, La voix humaine, Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk, Le nozze di Figaro, Leonard Slatkin, Lorenzo da Ponte, Ludovic Halévy, Marc Soustrot, Maria Ewing, Maurice Maeterlinck, Maurice Ravel, Myung-Whun Chung, Nahum Tate, Oscar Hammerstein II, Oscar Wilde, Patrick Devin, Pelleas et Melisande, Raymond Leppard, Richard Hickox, Richard Rodgers, Richard Rodney Bennett, Richard Strauss, Romano Gandolfi, Ruggero Raimondi, Salome, Shane Hill, Shéhérazade, Siegmund Nimsgern, Simon James, Simon Rattle, South Pacific, Sylvain Cambreling, Ted Koehler, Tosca, Tristan Klingsor, Werther, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozartcountermelody

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The exceptional, distinctive Maria Ewing died of cancer on January 9 at her home outside of her native Detroit at the age of 71. Even before her death, I had been planning an episode on Maria Ewing, who last fall received an enormous amount of press as the mother of actor and director Rebecca Hall, whose latest film, Passing, was hitting the screens in a big way. The film is about two light-skinned Black friends in the 1920s, one of whom makes the conscious decision to present as white. The implication in much of the press was that Maria Ewing had done the same and was being taken to task for having done so. In actuality, Maria Ewing spoke frequently about her father’s apparent African American roots, and never actively tried to hide her (at times murky) family history. But, I submit to you, this is not the real story. In this episode, the first of my Black History Month 2022 series, I attempt to present as full a musical portrait of the artist as possible, allowing listeners to experience the unique musical and dramatic genius (and I use the term advisedly) of this fascinating artist. Few singers can survive comparison with Maria Callas. Maria Ewing, for all her demonstrable flaws, was one of the few artists that merit such a comparison. In this episode we hear Ewing in a wide range of material, from Purcell’s Dido to Puccini’s Tosca, with a nod to her two most famous roles, Carmen and Salome; an emphasis on both her Mozart portrayals and a focus on her aplomb with French music; and a sampling of her flair for pop music and jazz. I also discuss her sometimes controversial vocalism and role assumptions which in turn led to her blanket dismissal by her detractors. But in the end, it is her fascinating combination of carnality and innocence which made her unique. I remain, as I always have been, a devoted member of Club Ewing. This is a long-overdue Countermelody tribute to a unique and irreplaceable singer.

Episode 113. Edda Moser

October 31, 2021Art Song, French Opera, Full-Figured Baroque, Giuseppe Verdi, Happy Birthday, Lieder, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, Opera in Translation, Operetta, Richard Strauss, Richard Wagner, Schubert, Twentieth Century MusicAlfredo Kraus, Anton Paulik, Arleen Augér, August Wenzinger, Boris Blacher, Christoph von Dohnányi, Christoph Willibald Gluck, Clara Schumann, Clemens Brentano, Der fliegende Holländer, Die Fledermaus, Die Zauberflöte, Don Carlo, Edda Moser, Erik Werba, Eugene Kohn, Fidelio, Franco Bonisolli, Franz Schubert, Friedrich Rückert, Georg Singer, George Frideric Handel, Giuseppe Patanè, Giuseppe Verdi, Hans Werner Henze, Heinrich Isaac, Heinz Wallberg, Ingeborg Bachmann, Iphigénie en Tauride, Ivan Törzs, Jacques Offenbach, James Levine, Jocelyne Taillon, Johann Abraham Peter Schulz, Johann Strauss II, Johannes Brahms, José Van Dam, Josef Hopferweiser, Julius Rudel, Kostas Paskalis, La Clemenza di Tito, La Traviata, Leonard Hokanson, Leopold Hager, Les Contes d’Hoffmann, Ludwig van Beethoven, Mitridate Re di Ponto, Oscar Wilde, Paul Sacher, Riccardo Muti, Richard Strauss, Richard Wagner, Rigoletto, Salome, Theo Adam, Werner Krenn, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Wolfgang Sawallischcountermelody

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On 27 October the great German dramatic coloratura Edda Moser celebrated her 83rd birthday. Celebrated as the greatest Queen of the Night ever, Edda Moser’s operatic career was centered on the music of Mozart but also included so much more. I present, it is true, two rare live examples of her singing the music of Mozart, but I also include her performances of music by Henze, Lehár, Verdi, Handel, Gluck, Johann and Richard Strauss, Offenbach, and Boris Blacher, as well as precious examples of her singing of Lieder, including songs by Brahms, Schubert, and Clara Schumann. I conclude with her reading of a beloved poem in tribute to her ongoing commitment to German language and culture. Vocal guest stars this week include Kostas Paskalis, Alfredo Kraus, José van Dam, Arleen Augér, and Theo Adam. Geliebte Frau Moser, wir erfreuen uns an Ihrer Kunstfertigkeit als begnadete Sängerin und Ihrem Vorbild als kulturelle Fahnenträgerin.