Tag Archives: Ria Bollen

Episode 487. Jill Gomez In Memoriam

August 21, 2026Art Song, Bel canto, Comic Relief, Crossover, Forgotten Divas, French Opera, Full-Figured Baroque, Great Baritones, Great Contraltos, Great Tenors, Gustav Mahler, In Memoriam, Lieder, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Opera in Translation, Orchestral Songs, Singers of Color, Twentieth Century Music, Twentieth Century Opera, Wolfgang Amadeus MozartAchim von Arnim, Alberto Dominguez, Anatole France, Anthony Lewis, August Strindberg, Barry Wordsworth, Benjamin Britten, Benjamin Luxon, Chants d’Auvergne, Charles-Gaspard Delestre-Poirson, Claude Debussy, Claudio Monteverdi, Clemens Brentano, Colin Davis, David Atherton, David Matthews, Des Knaben Wunderhorn, Die Rose Pilgerfahrt, Domenico Gilardoni, Don Giovanni, Erik Satie, Ernst Poettgen, Eugène Scribe, Felicity Palmer, Franz Grundheber, Gaetano Donizetti, George Frideric Handel, Giovanni Battista Pergolesi, Gustav Mahler, Hans George Ahrens, Henry Pacory, Hermann Levi, Hippolyte et Aricie, Howard Shelley, Hugo Wolf, Ian Partridge, Il giovedì grasso, Jacques Delacôte, Jean Baptiste Racine, Jean-Philippe Rameau, Jeff Atmajian, Jill Gomez, Joaquín Turina, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, John Carewe, John Dryden, John McCabe, Joseph Canteloube, Jules Massenet, Karel Aerts, Lorenzo da Ponte, Louis Frémaux, Louis Gallet, Martin Jones, Maurice Ravel, Michael Tippett, Milton Leeds, Miss Julie (Alwyn), Molière, Moritz Horn, Nicholas Kraemer, Notturni ed alba (McCabe), Ode for St. Cecilia’s Day, Paul Heyse, Philip Hensher, Philip Ledger, Pierre Boulez, Poema en forma de canciones, Powder Her Face, Proses Lyriques, Ramòn de Campoamor, Ria Bollen, Robert Schumann, Robert Tear, Simon-Joseph Pellegrin, Spanisches Liederbuch, Stabat Mater (Pergolesi), Stéphane Mallarmé, Thaïs, The Knot Garden, Thomas Adès, Thomas McKinney, Trois Poèmes de Stéphane Mallarmé, Ugo Benelli, Vernon Handley, Vespro della beata vergine, Vilem Tausky, W.H. Auden, Walther Dürr, William Alwyn, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Wolfgang Gönnenweincountermelody

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Jill Gomez, the brilliant, intrepid Trinidadian-British soprano, known for the last fifteen years of her life as Jill Carnegy, Countess of Northesk, died on August 11, just a few weeks short of her 84th birthday. She is a singer that I have loved and followed for decades, and one whose recordings I collected assiduously and that I had earmarked for a special celebratory episode, one that, like with Ben Luxon a few years ago, is instead being offered as a posthumous tribute. Not nearly as universally known as her younger colleague Felicity Lott, who died this spring, Gomez was a similarly eclectic, adventurous artist. Her accomplishments covered the gamut from the classiest, most pristine singer of Baroque music, to the most deep-delving recitalist, from the most playful purveyor of crossover material to the creator of roles in challenging contemporary operas including Michael Tippett’s The Knot Garden in 1970 and Thomas Adès’s Powder Her Face 25 years later. She also sang a wide range of operatic parts (primarily in the UK) from Mozart to Massenet. This episode, which includes collaborations with Robert Tear, Pierre Boulez, Franz Grundheber, John Constable, Ria Bollen, Felicity Palmer, and Benjamin Luxon, presents as wide-ranging a portrait in sound as you are ever likely to encounter anywhere, including excerpts from all the works mentioned above, to music by Ravel, Donizetti, Turina, Mahler, Schumann, Rameau, Wolf, Monteverdi, Debussy, Pergolesi, and Britten. The icing on the cake is an intimate and exquisite rendition of Satie’s “Je te veux” that will remain in your mind’s ear long after the episode is over.

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 348. Rescue Mission II

April 8, 2025African American Singers, Art Song, Behind the Iron Curtain, Bel canto, Black History Month, Black History Month 2025, Comic Relief, Crossover, Forgotten Divas, Full-Figured Baroque, Giuseppe Verdi, Great Baritones, Great Contraltos, Great Tenors, In Memoriam, Johann Sebastian Bach, Lieder, Listeners' Favorites, Margaret Price, Mezzo Madness, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, Orchestral Songs, Rescue Mission, Richard Wagner, Singers of Color, Twentieth Century Music, Twentieth Century Opera, Verismo, Wolfgang Amadeus MozartAh Perfido!, Alan Paton, Alexandre Dumas fils, Alfredo Kraus, Anton Guadagno, Arrigo Boito, Benjamin Luxon, Berislav Klobučar, Bruno Walter, Carlo Franci, Carlo Zangarini, Claudio Abbado, Conchita, Cosi fan tutte, David Willison, Dora Wilson, Edith Mathis, El amor brujo, Eleanor Steber, Ellabelle Davis, Eugene Holmes, Ferdinando Bertoni, Francesco Maria Piave, Frederick Weatherly, Fritz Busch, George Frideric Handel, Gilda Cruz-Romo, Giuseppe Verdi, Gloria Davy, Hans Thamm, Helga Görlin, Hermann Lohr, Hugo Cohn, Hugo Conrat, Hugo Hasslo, Janet Baker, Jean Féline, Joaquín Turina, Johann Sebastian Bach, Johannes Brahms, John Alexander, Josefina de Attard, Judith Layng, Karl Böhm, Kjell Olsson, Kurt Weill, La Traviata, Le nozze di Figaro, Léo Chauliac, Leopold Stokowski, Lohengrin, Lorenzo da Ponte, Loris Gavarini, Lost in the Stars, Ludwig van Beethoven, Mady Mesple, Manuel de Falla, Mara Coleva, Margaret Marshall, Margaret Price, María de la O Lejárraga García, Martina Arroyo, Maurizio Vaucaire, Maxwell Anderson, Mefistofele, Musas de Andalucía, Nicolai Ghiaurov, Oralia Dominguez, Orfeo ed Euridice, Paul Misraki, Pierre Louÿs, Pietro Metastasio, Ranieri de’ Calzabigi, Raymond Leppard, Ria Bollen, Riccardo Zandonai, Richard Wagner, Roberta Alexander, Walter Herbert, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Zigeunerliedercountermelody

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After I post a Countermelody episode on a cherished singer, my relationship with these artists continues: one of those manifestataions is that I never stop seeking out rare and unusual recordings featuring those singers. This results in a grab-bag of fascinating and often obscure material that is simply too good not to share with my listeners. Today I present you with the second episode of such genre, which I have collectively dubbed “Rescue Mission.” On this episode I feature singers you’ve heard on the podcast over the course of the past several weeks and months, including, among many others, Janet Baker, Oralia Domínguez, Eugene Holmes, Ellabelle Davis, Gilda Cruz-Romo, Benjamin Luxon, Mara Coleva, Hugo Hasslo, Margaret Marshall, Gloria Davy, and Mady Mesplé, performing work by Handel, Verdi, Weill, Bach, Brahms, Boito, and Mozart. The episode concludes with Eleanor Steber (because, as I affirmed laast week, you can never have enough of her), in a 1949 performance of “Ah, Perfido!” that will have you picking your dislocated jaw up off the floor. Also expect shout-outs to friends of the podcast, old and new, as well as a certain amount of political snippiness!

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 345. A Lenten Litany of Bach Contraltos

March 28, 2025African American Singers, Black History Month, Black History Month 2025, Forgotten Divas, Full-Figured Baroque, Great Contraltos, Great Tenors, Holiday Music, Johann Sebastian Bach, Listeners' Favorites, Mezzo Madness, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, Singers in Old Age, Singers of ColorAdolf Bruck, Aldo Baldin, Alfreda Hodgson, Anna Reynolds, Arleen Augér, Birgit Finnilä, Brigitte Fassbaender, Carol Brice, Carolyn Watkinson, Charles O’Connell, Christian Friedrich Henrici, Craig Smith, Daniel Saidenberg, Diethard Hellmann, Easter Oratorio, Elena Obraztsova, Else Brems, Friedel Beckmann, Günther Ramin, György Lehel, Helmut Winschermann, Helmuth Rilling, Jennie Tourel, Johann Sebastian Bach, Johannes-Passion, John Newmark, Julia Hamari, Karl Richter, Kathleen Ferrier, Lorraine Hunt Lieberson, Marian Anderson, Matthäus-Passion, Mogens Wöldike, Norma Lerer, Osteroratorium, Peter Schreier, Philip Ledger, Picander, Ria Bollen, Samuel Mayes, St. John Passion, St. Matthew Passioncountermelody

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Over the course of the past year, I have done a number of episodes on contraltos singing a wide range of material. Toward the end of last year, I did a program on Bach contraltos, which featured just a few of the best (and my favorite) contraltos in this genre. At the time, I had an overflowing cornucopia of material and today I have reorganized and expanded that material to bring you a set of Bach arias particularly appropriate for the Lenten Season. And thus I present to you today, arias from the Passions sung by Julia Hamari, Marian Anderson (pictured), and Friedel Beckmann, but also cantata arias by such eminent contraltos as Kathleen Ferrier, Lorraine Hunt Lieberson, Carol Brice, Jennie Tourel, Carolyn Watkinson, Ria Bollen, Brigitte Fassbaender, Norma Lerer, Alfreda Hodgson, Birgit Finnilä, Elena Obraztsova (yes, you read correctly!), Anna Reynolds, and Else Brems. Non-contralto guest appearances include Arleen Augér, Peter Schreier, and Aldo Baldin. If you are not a Christian, fear not, for behold, there is much in Bach’s music that draws the listener in on any number of levels, not just (or even primarily) a theological one.