Tag Archives: Richard Genée

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 320. Hadley in Wien

December 29, 2024Crossover, Great Tenors, Holiday Music, In Memoriam, Listeners' Favorites, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Operetta, Twentieth Century MusicAdam Carstairs, Alfred Grünwald, Alfred Maria Willner, Bela Jenbach, Carl Millöcker, Das Land der Liebe, Das Land des Lächelns, Deborah Riedel, Der singende Traum, Der Zarewitsch, Die Herzogin von Chicago, Die Rose von Stambul, Die Zirkusprinzessin, Emmerich Kálmán, Erich Korngold, Ernst Marischka, Ernst Steffan, Franz Lehár, Frasquita, Friederike, Friedrich Zell, Fritz Löhner-Beda, Gasparone, Geroges Berr, Giuditta, Gräfin Mariza, Heinz Reichert, Jerry Hadley, Julius Brammer, Leo Fall, Louis Verneuil, Ludwig Herzer, Meine Schwester und ich, operetta, Paganini, Paul Knepler, Ralph Benatzky, Richard Bonynge, Richard Genée, Richard Tauber, Robert Blum, Schön ist die Welt, Victor Léoncountermelody

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I can think of no more appropriate way to end this difficult year than with another episode lauding my late friend, the sublime American lyric tenor Jerry Hadley. I am of the firm belief that Jerry was one of the finest singers this country has ever produced. Everyone has their favorite among his performances, which display an eclecticism rare among opera singers, but I believe that his artistry found its fullest and truest expression in his performances of Viennese operetta. His bright, sunny vocal timbre, his capacity for vocal shading and dynamics, his sense of both humor and pathos, his ringing high notes, as well as of precision and acuity of his German diction make him an ideal interpreter of this music. The majority of the music heard on this episode comes from two albums of operetta arias that Jerry recorded in 1995 under the baton of Richard Bonynge. This is supplemented by two duets with Australian soprano Deborah Riedel from a series of English-language versions of Lehár operettas also conducted by Bonynge, as well as various live performances of Jerry in the music of Johann Strauss II and Erich Korngold. While Lehár is the most prominently featured composer, we also heard excerpts from work by Emmerich Kálmán, Carl Millöcker, Ralph Benatzky, Leo Fall, and that king of operetta tenors himself, Richard Tauber, who was also quite a capable composer. The episode concludes with reminiscences of my close friendship with Jerry, crowned by a magisterial live performance of “Dein ist mein ganzes Herz.”

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.