Tag Archives: Teresa Stratas

Episode 239. Gwendolyn Killebrew (BHM 2024)

February 8, 2024African American Singers, Bel canto, Black History Month, Black History Month 2024, Canadian Singers, Forgotten Divas, French Opera, Full-Figured Baroque, Giacomo Puccini, Giuseppe Verdi, Great Baritones, Great Tenors, Gustav Mahler, In Memoriam, Mezzo Madness, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, NYCO Divas, Opera in Translation, Orchestral Songs, Richard Wagner, Singers of Color, Twentieth Century Music, Twentieth Century Opera, VerismoAgostino Manni, Agostino Piovene, Andrea Chénier, Antal Dorati, Anton de Ridder, Antonín Dvořák, Antonio Somma, Barbara Scherler, Béatrice et Bénédict, Berislav Klobučar, Bernd Alois Zimmermann, Bohumil Gregor, Božena Němcová, Carlo Bergonzi, Claudio Nicolai, Die Soldaten (Zimmermann), Die Walküre, Edgar (Puccini), Edith Kertész-Gabry, Emilio de’ Cavalieri, Eugène Scribe, Eve Queler, Ferdinando Fontana, Francis Poulenc, Friedrich Lenz, Friedrich Nietzsche, Gail Gilmore, Gary Bertini, George Darden, George Frideric Handel, George Gershwin, Giacomo Puccini, Giuseppe Verdi, Gustav Mahler, Gwendolyn Killebrew, Harald Stamm, Hector Berlioz, Heinrich von Kleist, Heinz Wallberg, Hermann Prey, Hiroshi Wagusaki, Ira Gershwin, James Levine, Jaromír Weinberger, Jaroslav Kvapil, Johann Sebastian Bach, John Moriarty, Joseph Haydn, Karel Jaromír Erben, La fraîcheur et le feu, Leonard Bernstein, Lodovico Ariosto, Luigi Illica, Magnificat (Bach), Maureen Forrester, Maurice Ravel, Max Brod, Miloš Kareš, Nicola Haym, Nicolas Pradon, Nunziano Porta, Oh Kay!, Orlando Paladino (Haydn), Othmar Schoeck, Otto-Werner Mueller, Paul Éluard, Penthesilea (Schoeck), Peter Erckens, Rappresentatione di Anima et di Corpo, Richard Wagner, Rusalka (Dvořák), Seiji Ozawa, Shéhérazade, Sherrill Milnes, Stuart Burrows, Tamerlano (Handel), Teresa Stratas, Thomas Muraco, Tristan Klingsor, Umberto Giordano, Un ballo in maschera, Wilhelmenia Fernandez, William Shakespearecountermelody

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This week’s “Forgotten Diva” is the mezzo-soprano / contralto Gwendolyn Killebrew (26 August 1941 – 24 December 2021), who made an indelible contribution to opera in particular during the active years of her career (1965 – 2009). Though the majority of her career was centered at the Deutsche Oper am Rhein in Düsseldorf, she sang the world over with some of the most important opera companies (including the Metropolitan Opera, San Francisco Opera, the Salzburg Festival, Bayreuth, Washington Opera, Santa Fe Opera, La Monnaie, and the Bayerische Staatsoper), conductors (Pierre Boulez, Gary Bertini, Michael Gielen, Herbert von Karajan, Zubin Mehta, Georg Solti), and stage directors (Patrice Chéreau, Jean-Pierre Ponnelle, August Everding, Giancarlo del Monaco, Christof Loy, and John Dew). She had an enormous repertoire from Monteverdi and Handel to Henze and Fortner, excelling in particular in various Wagner roles. She was also a superb actor, who, through the use minimal gestures and stage business, made an enormous impact. This episode presents her in a wide range of material, including both live and commercial recordings ranging from Cavalieri to Zimmermann, alongside such fellow singers as Teresa Stratas, Carlo Bergonzi, Hermann Prey, Stuart Burrows, Sherrill Milnes, and Gail Gilmore led by conductors Leonard Bernstein, Gary Bertini, Bohumil Gregor, Berislav Klobučar, James Levine, Heinz Wallberg, and Eve Queler. Of special interest is a rare live recording of her prize-winning performance of “Asie” from Ravel’s Shéhérazade at the 1967 International Voice Competition in Montréal. The episode opens with brief memorial tributes to soprano Wilhelmenia Fernandez and pianist Thomas Muraco.

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 168. The Haunted (Opera) House

October 28, 2022African American Singers, Mezzo Madness, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, NYCO Divas, Singers of Color, Twentieth Century MusicAldous Huxley, Alejo Pérez, Anna Moffo, Antonín Dvořák, Benjamin Britten Henry James, Bernard Ładysz, Bohumil Gregor, Božena Němcová, Charles Bruck, Charles de Coster, Charles Wilson, Chester Kallman, Claudio Guastalla, Der Schmied von Gent, Die Teufel von Loudun, Doktor Faust, Emanuel Balaban, Eugene Conley, Ferruccio Busoni, Francesco Molinar-Pradelli, Franz Schreker, George Shirley, Gian Carlo Menotti, Hans Sotin, Hans Wiers-Jenssen, Hilde Güden, Horst Wilhelm, Igor Stravinsky, James Levine, Jane Rhodes, Jaroslav Kvapil, Jascha Horenstein, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, John Corigliano, Karel Jaromír Erben, Krzysztof Penderecki, La Fiamma (Respighi), Leigh Melrose, Mack Harrell, Mara Coleva, Maralin Niska, Marek Janowski, Marie Powers, Myfanwy Piper, Ottorino Respighi, Pierre Beaumarchais, Rusalka (Dvořák). Gwendolyn Killebrew, Serge Prokofiev, Tatiana Troyanos, Teresa Stratas, The Fiery Angel, The Ghosts of Versailles, The Medium (Menotti), The Rake’s Progress, The Turn of the Screw (Britten), uvu Mpofu, Valery Bryusov, W.H. Auden, William M. Hoffman, Xavier Deprazcountermelody

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This week’s episode celebrates Halloween while at the same time initiating my new ongoing series on Twentieth Century Opera. From Dvořák’s Rusalka, premiered in Prague in 1901, through Corigliano’s The Ghosts of Versailles, premiered in New York in 1991, there is a wealth of operatic material, some barely remembered today, that touches upon various aspects of the occult, be that witches, devils, exorcisms, demonic possessions, or those that conjure the dead. Alongside the aforementioned works, this episode also features work by Benjamin Britten, Gian Carlo Menotti, Igor Stravinsky, Ferruccio Busoni, Franz Schreker, Serge Prokofiev, Ottorino Respighi, and Krzysztof Penderecki, performed by Teresa Stratas. Tatiana Troyanos, George Shirley, Anna Moffo, Mack Harrell, Maralin Niska, Gwendolyn Killebrew, Jane Rhodes, and others in performances recorded between 1949 and… nearly yesterday. Some of it is folksy, some humorous, some creepy, some horrific, but it is peopled by characters that either haunt or are haunted.

Episode 166. Dan’s Picks

October 14, 2022African American Singers, Art Song, Bel canto, Broadway, Canadian Singers, Eileen Farrell, French Opera, Full-Figured Baroque, Giuseppe Verdi, Great Baritones, Happy Birthday, Lieder, Margaret Price, Mezzo Madness, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, Pop Icons, Queer Pride, Renata Scotto, Richard Strauss, Schubert, Singers of Color, Sylvia Sass, Twentieth Century Music, VerismoAdele Addison, Adolphe Adam, Adriana Lecouvreur, Alexander Kipnis, Alfredo Catalani, Angela Lansbury, Aribert Reimann, Arturo Basile, Brigitte Fassbaender, Carl Maria von Weber, Carlo Sabajno, Charles Gounod, Der Freischütz, Die Ägyptische Helena, Donald Pippin, Edwin McArthur, Elisabeth Rethberg, Elisabeth Soderstrom, Ferdinand Leitner, Francesco Cilea, Frank Bibb, Franz Schubert, George Frideric Handel, Georges Pretre, Georges Thill, Gerard Souzay, Gianandrea Gavazzeni, Giovanni Battista Bassani, Giuseppe Verdi, Gundula Janowitz, Heinrich Heine, Hina Spani, Hugo von Hoffmansthal, I Puritani, Il Trovatore, Jacqueline Bonneau, James Lockhart, Jephtha (Handel), Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Johannes Brahms, Kirsten Flagstad, Klaus Groth, Kurt Weill, La Wally (Catalani), Lamberto Gardelli, Le Postillon de Longjumeau, Leonard Bernstein, Leontyne Price, Lodoletta (Mascagni), Ludwig Rellstab, Malcolm Sargent, Margaret Price, Maria Callas, Nicolai Gedda, Oliviero de Fabritiis, Oralia Dominguez, Paul Badura-Skoda, Pietro Mascagni, Ralph Vaughan Williams, Renata Scotto, Richard Lewis, Richard Strauss, Richard Woitach, Roméo et Juliette, Sylvia Sass, Teresa Stratas, Vincenzo Bellini, Walter Mehring, William Shakespeare, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozartcountermelody

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This week I celebrated my birthday, so today is the second of this month’s birthday celebrations. A number of my listeners have been asking me for a while to post an episode featuring my favorite singers and recordings. So here it is! We lead off with a brief memorial tribute to Angela Lansbury, who died in the early California morning of my birthday. The rest of the episode features many recordings that I first got to know as I began exploring the world of great singing on records. Leontyne Price, Maria Callas, Alexander Kipnis, Elisabeth Söderström, Richard Lewis, Renata Scotto, Adele Addison, Gundula Janowitz, Margaret Price, Teresa Stratas, Gérard Souzay: all of these artists were formative figures in my early listening experience. My appreciation of some others came later: Hina Spani, Brigitte Fassbaender, Georges Thill, Sylvia Sass, Nicolai Gedda, Kirsten Flagstad. By this late date, all of them have been favorite artists of mine for decades and are represented on the episode by some of their greatest recordings. The episode concludes with a brief tribute to the English composer Ralph Vaughan Williams on the occasion of his 150th birthday, also celebrated this week.

P.S. Two years ago I did another Happy Birthday To Me episode, which featured performances by some of my favorite pop divas. The episode can be found for a limited time at the top of my LinkTree chain.

Episode 126. Canadian Singers of Art Song (Great Canadian Singers)

January 28, 2022African American Singers, Art Song, Black History Month, Canadian Singers, Great Baritones, Lieder, Mezzo Madness, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, Richard Strauss, Schubert, Singers of Color, Twentieth Century Music, Voiceless WondersAllen Rogers, Antonin Kubalek, Arthur Honegger, Bernard Diamant, Bruno Reibold, Carl Loewe, Carmen, Catherine Robbin, Claude Debussy, Claude Savard, Claudio Monteverdi, Colette Boky, Darius Milhaud, Das Marienleben, David Garvey, Die schöne Müllerin, Donald Bell, Erich Kästner, Frances James, Frank Valentin Van der Stucken, Franz Schubert, Franz von Bruchmann, Franz von Schober, Gaston Germain, George Brough, George London, George Shirley, Georges Bizet, Giacomo Puccini, Gianni Maffeo, Gino Quilico, Glenn Gould, Godfrey Ridout, Guy Bourassa, Henri Duparc, Henri Sauguet, Irene Jessner, James Milligan, Jaroslav Vogel, Jean-Paul Jeannotte, Jeanne Landry, John Newmark, John Wustman, Joseph Rouleau, Judith Forst, Jules Massenet, Jürgen Jürgens, Karl Weigl, Kurt Weill, L’Orfeo (Monteverdi), La Fanciulla del West, Leo Taubman, Leopold Simoneau, Lotte Lehmann, Louise de Vilmorin, Maria Ewing, Mario Bernardi, Maureen Forrester, Max Jacob, Michael McMahon, Mouvements de Coeur (song cycle), Nigel Rogers, Oskar Morawetz, Owen Dodson, Paul Hindemith, Pierre Bédat de Monlaur, Pierrette Alarie, Portia White, Rainer Maria Rilke, Raoul Jobin, Reynaldo Hahn, Richard Strauss, Richard Verreau, Richard Woitach, Robert Fleming, Roxolana Roslak, Stéphane Mallarmé, Teresa Stratas, Théophile Gautier, Victor Braun, Visions infernales, Wilhelm Müller, William Blake, Winterreise, Zubin Mehtacountermelody

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After two weeks of so-called “deep dives” into the careers and recordings of Lois Marshall and Jon Vickers – two of the greatest Canadian singers – this week I offer a potpourri episode of great Canadian singers singing art song. Contemporary Canadian art song, mélodie, and Lieder: it’s all here, and sung by a bevy of Canadian beauties of all vocal categories: among others, sopranos Irene Jessner, Pierrette Alarie, and Teresa Stratas; mezzo-sopranos Maureen Forrester, Portia White, and Catherine Robbin; tenors Léopold Simoneau, Raoul Jobin, and Richard Verreau; baritones Victor Braun, Gino Quilico, and James Milligan; and bass-baritones George London, Joseph Rouleau, and Donald Bell. They perform work of Schubert, Loewe, Strauss, Weill, and Hindemith, Duparc, Debussy, Milhaud, Honegger, and Sauguet, as well as Canadian composers Oskar Morawetz, Godfrey Ridout, and Robert Fleming, accompanied by John Newmark, John Wustman, Allen Rogers, Glenn Gould, and others. The episode begins with tributes to two recently deceased singers: the early music tenor Nigel Rogers and the Verdi baritone Gianni Maffeo, as well as a teaser on next week’s episode on the extraordinary Maria Ewing. “O Canada, we stand on guard for thee!”

Episode 111. Verdi auf Deutsch I

October 17, 2021African American Singers, Behind the Iron Curtain, Giuseppe Verdi, Great Baritones, Mezzo Madness, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, Opera in Translation, Singers of ColorAida, Annelies Kupper, Anneliese Rothenberger, Anton de Ridder, Betty Allen, Bruno Bartoletti, Bruno Seidler-Winkler, Carl Besi, Clemens Krauss, Don Carlo, Elisabeth Grümmer, Erich Orthmann, Ferdinand Leitner, Friedel Beckmann, Frieder Weissmann, Friedrich Schiller, Fritz Wunderlich, Georg Hann, Georgina von Milinkovic, Giuseppe Patanè, Giuseppe Verdi, Gloria Davy, Gottlob Frick, Grace Bumbry, Hans Schmidt-Isserstedt, Helge Rosvaenge, Hilde Güden, Hildegard Hillebrecht, Horst Stein, Il Trovatore, Inge Borkh, James King, János Kulka, Jess Thomas, Josef Gostic, Josef Greindl, Karl Elmendorff, La forza del destino, La Traviata, Lawrence Winters, Leonora Lafayette, Luisa Miller, Margarete Teschemacher, Maria Cebotari, Maria Stader, Meta Seinemeyer, Nicolai Gedda, Otello, Otto Gerdes, Pilar Lorengar, Raymond Wolansky, Richard Kraus, Richard Tauber, Robert Burg, Rudolf Schock, Sabine Kalter, Sándor Kónya, Teresa Stratas, Un ballo in maschera, Willi Domgraf-Fassbaender, Wolfgang Sawallisch, Wolfgang Windgassencountermelody

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Today’s is a mammoth episode on a mammoth topic: historical performances of Verdi’s operas in German translation. I trace the historical and ongoing popularity of Verdi’s works in Germany, and include discussions of the works of Friedrich Schiller as Verdian subject matter; the co-opting of Verdi’s genius by the Third Reich; and the numerous African American Verdi singers, including Gloria Davy, Lawrence Winters, Lenora Lafayette, Betty Allen, and Grace Bumbry, who based their careers (or significant portions thereof) in German-speaking European countries. I include duets and trios from eight different Verdi operas; recordings featured were made between the years 1923 and 1973 and feature such native German-speaking singers as Richard Tauber, Margarete Teschemacher, Maria Cebotari, Josef Greindl, Meta Seinemeyer, Inge Borkh, Fritz Wunderlich, Annelies Kupper, Elisabeth Grümmer, Wolfgang Windgassen, Gottlob Frick, and Hilde Güden, among many others. Non-German singers such as Teresa Stratas, Sándor Kónya, Pilar Lorengar, Jess Thomas, Raymond Wolansky, and James King are also highlighted. This episode is an exploration of the greatest operatic composer of all time, but in unexpected garb.

Episode 33. Florence Quivar (Mezzo Madness IV)

May 3, 2020African American Singers, BHM2023WK4, In Memoriam, Mezzo Madness, Needle DropAfrican American spirituals, Ara Guzelimian, Cher, Cyd Charisse, Edward Boatner, Florence Quivar, Giacomo Aragall, Give Me Jesus, Hall Johnson, Harry T. Burleigh, I Am Seeking for a City, India Adams, Jaime Aragall, James Miller, Jeannette Pilou, Joan Crawford, Jules Massenet, Larry Woodard, Marc Cohn, Margaret Bonds, Max Saunders, On My Journey, Ride On King Jesus, Roland Hayes, Round About the Mountain, Serge Baudo, Suor Angelica, Teresa Stratas, The Band Wagon, The Gospel Train, Torch Song, Walking in Memphis, Witnesscountermelody

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Today I am thrilled and proud to present the superlative American mezzo-soprano Florence Quivar in a selection from her 1990 recording of spirituals. I am not the only person out there who thinks that her work here represents the pinnacle in the performance of African American spirituals as well as a high point in her singing career. I also feature live recordings of the artist in recital and in opera. And just when you least expect it, a certain gay icon pops in to offer some relevant and valuable musical commentary. Also included are brief tributes to two artists: the pop singer India Adams, who died on 25 April at the age of 93 and who provided the ghost voice for iconic performances by Cyd Charisse and Joan Crawford; and the Greek soprano Jeannette Pilou, who left an indelible mark in the 1970s with her performances around the globe of French opera in particular, and who died on 28 April at the age of 83.

Countermelody is a podcast devoted to the glories of the human voice raised in song. Singer and vocal aficionado Daniel Gundlach explores great classical and opera singers of the past and present with the help of guests from the classical music field: singers, conductors, composers, coaches, agents, and voice teachers. 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 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.