Tag Archives: Show Boat

Episode 206. Jerry Hadley

July 18, 2023Art Song, Bel canto, Broadway, Crossover, French Opera, Giuseppe Verdi, Great Tenors, In Memoriam, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, Operetta, Orchestral Songs, Pop Icons, Twentieth Century Music, Twentieth Century Opera, Wolfgang Amadeus MozartAlexander Borodin, Anthony Halstead, Arthur Rimbaud, Benjamin Britten, Candide, Carlo Rizzi, Charles Gounod, Charles Mackerras, Cosi fan tutte, Dawn Upshaw, Die tote Stadt, Die Zauberflöte, Edna Ferber, Elmer Rice, Emanuel Schikaneder, Eric Dalheim, Erich Korngold, Franz Lehár, Frederick Weatherly, Fritz Löhner-Beda, Gaetano Donizetti, George Forrest, Georges Bizet, Giuseppe Verdi, Gualtiero Negrini, Henry Lewis, James Levine, Jay Gorney, Jerome Kern, Jerry Hadley, John Mauceri, John McGlinn, Kismet, Kurt Weill, Langston Hughes, Leonard Bernstein, Les Illuminations, Lorenzo da Ponte, Oscar Hammerstein II, Paul Gemignani, Paul Knepler, Pyotr Il’yich Tchaikovsky, Richard Bonynge, Richard Wilbur, Robert Shaw, Robert Wright, Ruth Ann Swenson, Scott Bergeson, Seiji Ozawa, Sherman Edwards, Show Boat, Street Scene, William Boughton, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Yevgeny Onegin, Yip Harburgcountermelody

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Jerry Hadley (16 June 1952 – 18 July 2007) is regarded by many as the most gifted American lyric tenor of the late 20th century. Last month he would have celebrated his 71st birthday. And today is the sixteenth anniversary of his untimely death. I knew Jerry well in the early 2000s when he was dating one of my best friends. Our friendship developed separately from that: in those years in which he was working at rebuilding his voice and career we worked together on a cross-section of his old and new repertoire. At the time of his death, he was no longer romantically involved with my friend, so he and I had drifted apart. Nevertheless, it hit me very, very hard, and I mourn his loss to this day. On that front, I have quite a few things to say about singers and mental illness, and the ruthlessness, implacability, and heartlessness of a profession which so often chews up the most vulnerable of us and spits them back out. When Jerry was at his best, his art sustained him, but the challenges ultimately became too much for him to face. But this episode is primarily a celebration: my primary objective is to present my friend at his exceptional best, in performances, both live and studio, which celebrate his voice, artistry, and spirit, performances which provided his public with some of the finest tenor singing they would ever hear, in that, or any other, era.

WARNING: THIS EPISODE CONTAINS A DISCUSSION OF SUICIDE AND SUICIDAL IDEATION.

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 115. Jules Bledsoe

November 12, 2021African American Singers, Art Song, BHM2023WK2, Black History Month, Crossover, Great Baritones, Lieder, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, Opera in Translation, Operetta, Queer Pride, Schubert, Singers of Color, Twentieth Century MusicAbbie Mitchell, Adelio Zagonara, Afrika-Songs, Aida, Ange Flégier, Anne Roselle, Benny Goodman, Billie Holiday, Colin Davis, Du Bose Heyward, Eugene O’Neill, Frank La Forge, Franz Lehár, George Gershwin, Gianandrea Gavazzeni, Giuseppe Verdi, Ira Gershwin, Irene Dunne, Jake Gardner, Jeanette MacDonald, Jerome Kern, Joan Carlyle, Johannes Brahms, Jules Bledsoe, Kurt Weill, Lawrence Tibbett, Le pays du sourire (Das Land des Lächelns), Leo Robin, Lost in the Stars, Louis Gruenberg, Marie Powers, Maxwell Anderson, Michael Tippett, Nicola Rossi-Lemeni, Oscar Hammerstein II, Porgy and Bess, Richard Whiting, Robert Russell Bennett, Sam Coslow, Show Boat, Snow, Spirituals, The Emperor Jones (opera), The Midsummer Marriage, Todd Duncan, Valaida, Victor Young, W. Franke Harling, Wilfred Pelletier, Wilhelm Groszcountermelody

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This week I present an important African American artist who has been nearly forgotten by history: the bass-baritone Jules Bledsoe (1897-1943). He is most remembered for creating the role of Joe in Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein II’s Show Boat, but he was equally celebrated in his time for his memorable concerts, which took place both here and in Europe, and for his operatic portrayals, most significantly, the title role in Louis Gruenberg’s opera The Emperor Jones, based on the play by Eugene O’Neill, which he portrayed both in the United States and in Europe. When this opera premiered at the Metropolitan Opera in 1933, the legendary baritone Lawrence Tibbett created the title role (in blackface). Barred from singing at the Met because of his race, Bledsoe took his portrayal of Brutus Jones on the road, performing it in a triumphant European tour, but also subsequently in New York in 1934 under the aegis of the short-lived Aeolian Opera Company, which was intended to provide performing opportunities for Black opera singers, but which folded almost immediately. Jules Bledsoe was also a composer who wrote many songs and arrangements of spirituals, as well as a version of Uncle Tom’s Cabin entitled Bondage, as well as his own operatic setting of O’Neill’s Emperor Jones, which may or may not have been performed at the time. Even less well-known and acknowledged is that Jules Bledsoe was a gay man in a relationship with a Dutch white man named Freddy Huygens who at the time of Bledsoe’s premature death was referred to as either his “manager” or his “closest friend.” I present examples of all the extant recorded material I could find by Jules Bledsoe, alongside recorded examples of work by his collaborators Abbie Mitchell, Irene Dunne, Anne Roselle, Marie Powers, Todd Duncan and excerpts from the work of composers W. Franke Harling, Shirley Graham Du Bois, and Louis Gruenberg performed by Jeanette MacDonald, Valaida Snow, Nicola Rossi-Lemeni, and Lawrence Tibbett. Billie Holiday even puts in a special appearance! The episode also includes tributes to the recently departed British soprano Joan Carlyle and the US-American bass-baritone Jake Gardner.

Episode 70. Paul Robeson: Ballad of an American

January 17, 2021African American Singers, Art Song, BHM2023WK1, Black History Month, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, Protest SongsAlan Booth, Alexander Gretchaninov, Boris Godunov, Duke Ellington, Earl Robinson, Elisabeth Welch, Folk Songs, George Gershwin, Hanns Eisler, Henry Thacker Burleigh, Hirsch Glick, Jerome Kern, John LaTouche, Lawrence Brown, Marc Blitzstein, Mischa Spoliansky, Modest Mussorgsky, Nathaniel Shilkret, Oscar Hammerstein II, Othello, Paul Robeson, Porgy and Bess, Protest Songs, Selim Palmgren, Show Boat, Spirituals, William Shakespearecountermelody

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January 23 is the 45th anniversary of the death of Paul Robeson, who remains one of the most celebrated, and controversial, of all artists. A man of fierce intelligence and convictions, he was naturally gifted in a number of different media. Today I will focus on his accomplishments as a singer, but within the context of his political activism and activities on behalf of oppressed people the world over. He was vilified and hunted as much (if not more) than he was revered and celebrated. In this episode I remember some of his most famous performances and recordings, focusing on his performances of African American spirituals and protest songs, folk songs from around the world, including Russia and China, and works that celebrated the brand of left-wing populism that was in vogue in the 1930s and 1940s, focusing in particular on his recording of the hybrid work, Ballad for Americans, by composer Earl Robinson and lyricist John LaTouche. As the United States faces the potential of a better future that could be offset by violence and divisiveness, let us remember the life and career of a truly great American who paid an enormous price for his convictions, but created the potential context for a better, more just world and country.

Previous episodes that included music by Paul Robeson:

Episode 37 (No More Slavery Chains). www.countermelodypodcast.com/episode-37-no-more-slavery-chains

Episode 55 (Season Two Teaser): www.countermelodypodcast.com/episode-55-season-two-teaser

Episode 65 (The Year 1935): www.countermelodypodcast.com/episode-65-1935-hb2u-mommie-dearest

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.

Episode 52. Operaish Broadway (Crossover Classics VIII)

September 13, 2020African American Singers, Broadway, Comic Relief, Crossover, Mezzo Madness, Needle Drop, Operetta, Pop Icons1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, Adam Guettel, Adolph Green, Alan Jay Lerner, Alfred Drake, Anton Coppola, Audra McDonald, Barbara Cook, Betty Comden, Bruce Yarnell, Camilla Williams, Candide, Carol Brice, Carolyn Leigh, Cesare Siepi, Claibe Richardson, Cy Coleman, Dorothy Sarnoff, Du Bose Heyward, Eve Queler, Ezio Pinza, Florence Henderson, Franco Corelli, Franz Allers, George Forrest, George Gershwin, Georges Bizet, Giorgio Tozzi, Giuseppe Verdi, Harold Arlen, Harold Rome, Helen Traubel, Ira Gershwin, Irving Berlin, Jacques Brel, Jerome Kern, Jerry Ross, Joe Darion, John Raitt, John Reardon, José Van Dam, Judy Kaye, Jule Styne, Kenward Elmslie, Lawrence Winters, Lee Venora, Lehman Engel, Leonard Bernstein, Leslie Scott, Lisa Vroman, Lorenz Hart, Madeline Kahn, Marin Mazzie, Mitch Leigh, Mona Paulee, Nicolai Gedda, Oscar Hammerstein II, Paul Gemignani, Porgy and Bess, Rebecca Luker, Richard Adler, Richard Rodgers, Risë Stevens, Robert Gilbert, Robert Trehy, Robert Wright, Rosemary Clooney, Sheldon Harnick, Shirley Verrett, Show Boat, Stephen Sondheim, The Grass Harp, The Light in the Piazza, Victoria Clark, Yip Harburgcountermelody

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Today’s episode (in celebration of Countermelody’s first birthday!) picks up where the last one left off: more musicals, more opera (and operaish) singers! Excerpts from cast recordings, radio broadcasts, telecasts, and live performances highlight the work of singers who divided their time, to a greater or lesser extent, between the Broadway stage and the operatic stage. We begin with the great bass-baritones (Ezio Pinza, Cesare Siepi, Giorgio Tozzi, and José Van Dam) and move through the great Broadway (and sometime opera) baritones (Alfred Drake, John Raitt, Bruce Yarnell, Robert Trehy, Leslie Scott, Lawrence Winters, and John Reardon) with a nod to other opera singers who have also graced the Broadway stage (Helen Traubel, Shirley Verrett, Mona Paulee, Dorothy Sarnoff, Risë Stevens, Lee Venora, Camilla Williams, and Carol Brice). We then consider singers whose vocal abilities could easily have put them on the opera stage, had they chosen to so devote themselves (Alice Ghostley, Madeline Kahn, Barbara Cook, Florence Henderson, Judy Kaye, Lisa Vroman, Audra McDonald, Victoria Clark, Rebecca Luker, and the late Marin Mazzie). The episode also features tributes to two recently deceased divas (Gabriella Tucci and Christiane Eda-Pierre) as well as a spotlight on the gorgeous soprano Margaret Tynes, who just celebrated her 101st birthday.

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. Please visit the Countermelody website (www.countermelodypodcast.com) for additional content. And please head to our 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!