Tag Archives: Otto Harbach

Episode 321. Anna Moffo und die leichte Muse

January 2, 2025Broadway, Crossover, Great Tenors, Listeners' Favorites, Needle Drop, Operetta, Pop IconsAdrian Ross, Alfred Grünwald, Anna Moffo, Antonio Amurri, Bela Jenbach, Bert Grund, Berto Pisano, Billy Smith, Butter Sweet, Camillo Walzel, Carl Haffner, Die Csárdásfürstin, Die Dubarry, Die Fledermaus, Die lustige Witwe, Dudley Glass, Earl K. Brent, Edvard Grieg, Emmerich Kálmán, Ennio Morricone, Erich Werner, Franco Pisano, Frau Luna, Friedrich Zell, George Forrest, George Gershwin, Gianni Ferrio, Gino Marinacci, Gino Paoli, Giuseppe Conte, Gräfin Mariza, Gus Kahn, Hagen Galaitis, Hans Carste, Heinrich Bolten-Baeckers, Henri Meilhac, Henri René, Ira Gershwin, Irving Berlin, Jerome Kern Show Boat, Johann Strauss II, Julius Brammer, Karl Millöcker, Lehman Engel, Leo Stein, Lesley Storm, Livio Cervellieri, Ludovic Halévy, Mario Lanfranchi, Nacio Herb Brown, Noël Coward, Oklahoma!, One Night of Love, Oscar Hammerstein II, Otto Harbach, Paganini, Paul Knepler, Paul Lincke, Peter Cornehlsen, Piero Umiliani, René Kollo, Richard Genée, Richard Rodgers, Rida Johnson Young, Robert Merrill, Robert Weight, Rudolf Schock, Sergio Bardotti, Sergio Conti, Sergio Franchi, Sigmund Romberg, Skitch Henderson, Song of Norway, Stanley Grover, The Desert Song, The Kissing Bandit, The Merry Widow, Theo Mackeben, Thomas Fulton, Victor Léon, Victor Scherzinger, Werner Eisbrennercountermelody

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Today’s episode, “Anna Moffo und die leichte Muse,” continues the delicious theme of opera singers “letting down their hair” begun with “Hadley in Wien,” and it also forms a complement and a supplement to the “Anna Moffo Reappraised” episode that I published exactly two years ago. Anna Moffo’s recording career divides into three separate eras and markets: Italy in the late 1950s and early 1960s; which overlapped with the US in the 1960s; and finally Germany in the 1970s and beyond. Each of these eras in the Moffo career was represented on disc in different ways: jazz arrangements of standards from the Great American Songbook in her earliest (and rarest) Italian recordings, followed by breathy Italian pop songs (some even composed by Moffo herself); early twentieth century Broadway operettas and MGM movie musicals in the US when her voice was at its peak; and Viennese operetta for the German-speaking market, as her vocal instrument became more fragile, while it still represented her finest work of that period. Each of these eras and genres is thoroughly explored in this episode. She is partnered in all of this repertoire by some impressive co-stars: Sergio Franchi, René Kollo, Rudolf Schock, and Robert Merrill as duet partners, with musical direction by Ennio Morricone, Henri René, Lehman Engel, and Skitch Henderson. Recordings range from 1960 through 1983, with the vast majority coming from the 1960s. In spite of the vocal and technical frailty displayed in the later recordings, Moffo’s ability to communicate in this repertoire never flagged. And of course throughout her entire career, no singer so consistently presented a more striking image of vocal and physical glamour than did Anna Moffo.

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 299. Rogue Tenors

October 18, 2024African American Singers, Broadway, Crossover, Great Tenors, Listeners' Favorites, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, Operetta, Pop Icons, Singers of Color, Twentieth Century Music, Voiceless WondersAndrew Lloyd Webber, Anton Dermota, Armin Robinson, Arne Dorumsgaard, Arthur Rebner, Arthur William Halifax, Arturo Buzzi-Peccia, Bertolt Brecht, Billy Rose, Billy Strayhorn, Charles Cerné, Charles Mackerras, Consuelo Velázquez; Francis Blanche, Curt Schulz, Damien Sneed, Die Dreigroschenoper, Edward Eliscu, Edward Heyman, Enrico Caruso, Erich Wolfgang Korngold, Ernst Dobrindt, Ethelbert Nevin, F. Charles Adler, Fred G. Bowles, Fritz Wunderlich, Geoffrey O’Hara, Gigi Pisano, Giuseppe Cioffi, Giuseppe di Stefano, Günther Schwenn, Hans Adler, Hans Carste, Hans Schleger, Hans Sommer, Hans Totzauer, Harry Parr Davies, Helge Rosvaenge, Herbert Ernst Groh, Hermann Jadlowker, Hermann Krome, Iller Pattacini, Jacob Gade, Jan Kiepura, Jan Peerce, Jerry Hadley, Jimmy Webb, Jochen Rider, John Constable, Jonas Kaufmann, José Carreras, Joseph Maria Lacalle, Joseph Schmidt, Julius Patzak, Jürgen Hermann, Kenneth McKellar, Kurt Weill, Lawrence Brownlee, Luigi Alva, Marcel Wittrisch, Max Schönherr, Melle Weersma, Ned Washington, Nicholas Brodszky, Noah Stewart, Oscar Hammerstein II, Otto Harbach, Patience Strong, Paul Gemignani, Peter Schaeffers, Peter Schreier, Phil Green, Raymond Legrand, Reginald Boardman, Richard Genée, Richard Kerr, Richard Lewis, Richard Tauber, Robert Cameron Rogers, Robert Farnon, Robert Gilbert, Robert Stolz, Roger Quilter, Roland Hayes, Rudolf Friml, Rudolf Sieczyński, Sammy Cahn, Sandor Harmati, Sebastian Knauer, Stuart Burrows, Sylvan Levin, T.S. Eliot, Tino Rossi, Victor Young, Vincent Youmans, Walter Reisch, Walther Ludwig, Werner Richard Heymann, Will Jennings, Willi Stech, William Shakespeare, Winifred Maycountermelody

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Remember the summer of 2020? The good old days of lockdown? That was the first summer that I was producing Countermelody, and during that time I tried to inject a little levity into the podcast by doing a long series on crossover. One such episode was devoted to a century of tenors singing crossover, reaching back further than a century from Hermann Jadlowker and Caruso himself and extending to the present day. There was such a wealth of gorgeous material which led to an additional bonus episode on such “Rogue Tenors,” which includes (among the German-speaking singers) Helge Rosvaenge, Fritz Wunderlich, Peter Schreier, Richard Tauber, Marcel Wittrisch, Jonas Kaufmann, Anton Dermota, Walther Ludwig, Herbert Ernst Groh, Joseph Schmidt, Jan Kiepura, and Julius Patzak; others include Stuart Burrows, Roland Hayes, Richard Lewis, Lawrence Brownlee, Jan Peerce, José Carreras, Kenneth McKellar, Noah Stewart, Tino Rossi, Luigi Alva, Giuseppe di Stefano, and Jerry Hadley in a wide range of repertoire and styles ranging from Neapolitan songs Kurt Weill; from folk songs to Victorian parlor songs; from operettas and Tonfilm Schlager to jazz and rock. It’s a rollicking good ride; hold on tight and enjoy!

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 264. Rescue Mission (Forgotten Divas Edition)

May 31, 2024African American Singers, Alternate Universe Bel Canto, Bel canto, Black History Month 2024, Forgotten Divas, French Opera, Full-Figured Baroque, Giacomo Puccini, Great Tenors, In Memoriam, Mezzo Madness, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, Orchestral Songs, Pop Icons, Singers of Color, SpiritualsAnnabelle Bernard, Antonio Salvi, Antonio Vivaldi, Ariodante, Arnold Schoenberg, Benny Goodman, Carmen, Christoph Willibald Gluck, Cole Porter, Delcina Stevenson, Didier Gold, Ernest Ragogini, Ethel Ennis, Eugène Scribe, George Frideric Handel, Georges Bizet, Giacomo Meyerbeer, Giacomo Puccini, Giuseppe Adami, Gwendolyn Killebrew, H. Vincent Mitzelfelt, Harold Adamson, Heinrich Hollreiser, Henri Meilhac, Jan Savitt, Jens Peter Jacobsen, Jerome Kern, Johann Sebastian Bach, Johnny Watson, Jonel Perlea, Julius Rudel, Le Prophete, Ludovic Halévy, Mark Russell, Michael Gielen, Orfeo ed Euridice, Otto Harbach, Prosper Mérimée, Ray Noble, Robert Franz Arnold, Ryan Diehl, Slam Stewart, Spirituals, Stef Scaggiari, Veronica Tyler, Walt Namuthcountermelody

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During Black History Month this year I featured a group of five exceptional singers I dubbed, for lack of a better term, “Forgotten Divas.” Each of these women, sopranos Delcina Stevenson, Annabelle Bernard, and Veronica Tyler, mezzo-soprano Gwendolyn Killebrew, and jazz singer Ethel Ennis, represents the peak of achievement in each of their respective fachs. These proved to be among the most popular and far-reaching of my recent episodes. At that time, I promised my listeners that I would continue to seek out rare recordings of each of these women and that, if and when such material surfaced, I would be sure to share it with my listeners. True to my promise, I present a brand-new episode featuring (for the most part) newly discovered material with each of these singers: a live Washington Opera Ariodante from 1971 and a live Carnegie Hall Orfeo ed Euridice from 1967, both with Veronica Tyler; live original language performances of Puccini’s Il tabarro and Meyerbeer’s Le Prophète from the stage of the Deutsche Oper Berlin which starred Annabelle Bernard; Gwendolyn Killebrew singing the Habanera from Carmen, one of her most celebrated roles, as well as the Waldtaube in Schoenberg’s Gurrelieder; rare studio recordings of Delcina Stevenson singing Bach and Vivaldi from the early 1970s; and live material featuring Ethel Ennis over the course of nearly fifty years of her career, 1958 through 2005. As more of this material resurfaces, I will present further episodes of this new “Rescue Mission” series featuring both these singers and others I have already featured on the podcast, performing material that adds to our understanding and appreciation of their artistry.

Episode 217. Patricia Neway Revisited

October 4, 2023Art Song, Bel canto, Broadway, Crossover, Full-Figured Baroque, Giuseppe Verdi, Great Baritones, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, NYCO Divas, Twentieth Century MusicAndrea Maffei, Arnold Black, Dieterich Buxtehude, Donald Homuth, Ezio Cappelli, Frederick Dvonch, Giuseppe Verdi, Herman Chessid, Ippolito Pindemonte, Jacopo Vittorelli, James Joyce, Jerome Kern, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, John Gruen, Lehman Engel, Lorenzi Stecchetti, Luigi Balestra, Mary Martin, Oscar Hammerstein II, Otto Harbach, Patricia Neway, Pietro Mascagni, Pietro Metastasio, Renata Scotto, Richard Rodgers, Robert Colston, Rocco Emanuele Pagliara, Stephen Douglass, The Sound of Music, Thomas Mayer, Vincenzo Bellini, Walter Baracchicountermelody

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Today I revisit the artistry of the great Patricia Neway (1919-2012), a singer of extraordinary versatility, dramatic power, and musical sensibility. She is no doubt most famous for two of her Broadway creations: the role of the beleaguered Magda Sorel in Gian Carlo Menotti’s tragic opera The Consul, first produced on Broadway in 1950, and of the Mother Abbess in Rodgers and Hammerstein’s final musical, 1959’s The Sound of Music. But the genesis for this episode was my recent discovery of her rare 1953 album of Italian art songs. Her voice was an unusual one, dusky yet capable of extraordinary colors, chiaroscuro, leggerezza, and agility, all of which are foregrounded in the aforementioned album of songs by Bellini, Verdi, and Mascagni. I also include a few brief excerpts of Neway singing material ranging from a sacred cantata by Buxtehude to settings of texts by James Joyce to a refined yet playful rendition of “My Favorite Things.” Of which she is definitely one!

The episode opens with a tribute to James Jorden, who died on October 3.

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 152. Patricia Neway

July 8, 2022Art Song, Broadway, French Opera, Full-Figured Baroque, Great Baritones, Mezzo Madness, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, Pop Icons, Protest Songs, Twentieth Century Music, VerismoA Hand of Bridge (Barber), Arnold Black, Arnold Voketaitis, Carlisle Floyd, Carlo Maria Giulini, Carousel (Rodgers & Hammerstein), Christoph Willibald Gluck, Dialogues of the Carmelites, Dietrich Buxtehude, Franca Duval, Francis Poulenc, Frederick Dvonch, Genia Las, George Bernanos, Gian Carlo Menotti, Iphigénie en Tauride, Israel Citkowitz, Jack Elliott, James Joyce, Jerome Kern, John Gruen, Joseph Machlis, Julius Rudel, Lehman Engel, Maria Golovin (Menotti), Norman Treigle, Oscar Hammerstein II, Otto Harbach, Patricia Neway, Peter Herman Adler, Regina Sarfaty, Richard Cross, Richard Rodgers, Robert Colston, Rosemary Kuhlmann, Ruth Kobald, Samuel Barber, The Consul (Menotti), The Sound of Music (Rodgers & Hammerstein), Thomas de Hartmann, Vladimir Golschmanncountermelody

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Today begins a new summer series on Countermelody, celebrating mid-century music-making in New York City between the years 1950 and 1975. We begin with a celebration of Patricia Neway (1919-2012), one of the towering figures of the operatic – and Broadway – stages. Two of her greatest assumptions, in fact, took place on the Broadway stage: Magda Sorel in Gian Carlo Menotti’s opera The Consul, which premiered on Broadway in 1950, and the Mother Abbess in Rodgers and Hammerstein’s final stage music, The Sound of Music, for which Neway was awarded the 1960 Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical. Neway combined an unusual voice of startling, sometimes raw, power, with an acting ability rarely seen, especially on the operatic stage. Neway’s range easily encompassed contralto roles as well as dramatic soprano parts. This episode features audio excerpts from rare kinescopes of her performances of Poulenc’s Dialogues of the Carmelites as Menotti’s Maria Golovin, as well as her galvanizing portrayal of Magda Sorel from a 1960 film. She also displays her stunning musical versatility in music by Buxtehude, Barber, Gluck, and the late Carlisle Floyd, as well as settings by Israel Citkowitz, John Gruen, and Thomas de Hartmann of texts by James Joyce from a rare 1959 recording. In addition, I dispel forever the fake news, all pervasive claims to the contrary, that Patricia Neway and someone named Frances Breeze, an exact contemporary of Neway’s, are one and the same person.

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.