Tag Archives: Wiesław Ochman

Episode 426. Teresa Stratas [Season Seven Premiere]

January 5, 2026African American Singers, Art Song, Behind the Iron Curtain, Broadway, Canadian Singers, Crossover, French Opera, Giacomo Puccini, Giuseppe Verdi, Lieder, Listeners' Favorites, Mezzo Madness, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, Operetta, Richard Strauss, Richard Wagner, Schubert, Singers of Color, Twentieth Century Music, Twentieth Century Opera, Verismo, Wolfgang Amadeus MozartAlban Berg, Alberto Pestalozza, Alexander Pushkin, Antonín Dvořák, Ariadne auf Naxos, Bela Jenbach, Bernd Weikl, Bohumil Gregor, Boris Abramovich, Božena Němcová, Carlo Gozzi, Carlo Tiochet, Carlos Surinach, Charles Strouse, Claude Debussy, Der Zarewitsch, Elizabeth Harwood, Eric Stern, Florence Quivar, Francesco Maria Piave, Frank Wedekind, Franz Lehár, Franz Mazura, Franz Schubert, Fritz Löhner-Beda, Fritz Wunderlich, Gabriela Zapolska, Georg Ots, Giacomo Puccini, Giovacchino Forzano, Giuditta, Giuseppe Adami, Giuseppe Giacosa, Giuseppe Patanè, Giuseppe Verdi, Hedwig Lachmann, Heinz Reichert, Henri Murger, Herbert von Karajan, Hugo von Hofmannsthal, Isai Sherman, James Levine, János Kulka, Jaroslav Kvapil, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Karel Jaromír Erben, Karl Böhm, Konstantin Shilovsky, La Boheme, La Traviata, Le nozze di Figaro, Lorenzo da Ponte, Luigi Illica, Lulu, Maurice Maeterlinck, Modest Tchaikovsky, Nausicaa, Nello Santi, Oscar Wilde, Paul Knepler, Peggy Glanville-Hicks, Pelleas et Melisande, Pierre Beaumarchais, Pyotr Il’yich Tchaikovsky, Renato Simoni, Richard Strauss, Robert Graves, Rudolf Bing, Rudolf Schocki, Rusalka, Stephen Schwartz, Suor Angelica, Sylvain Cambreling, Teresa Stratas, Tom Krause, Turandot, Vasile Moldoveanu, Wiesław Ochman, Willy Mattes, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Wolfgang Ebert, Yevgeny Onegin, Zubin Mehtacountermelody

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I wanted to start off the year (and the new season of the podcast) with something momentous, and who better to take us there than one of the great operatic artists of the twentieth century: Canadian soprano Teresa Stratas. I have not yet done a full episode on this artist, though she provided me with what was probably my greatest night in the opera house (I get into that in the episode, as well as featuring a rare excerpt of her in that shattering performance). As always with my podcast, I like to provide unexpected glimpses of such a great singer, alongside many of her most legendary moments. So not only do we hear Stratas’ legendary interpretations of her favorite roles (Mimì, Mélisande, Lulu, Violetta, and Salome [the latter a role she never portrayed onstage]), we also hear her in Mozart, her favorite composer, as an operetta singer, as an interpreter of Lieder, in her single Broadway role in the short-lived Rags, and in another of her creations, the title role in Australian composer Peggy Glanville-Hicks’ Nausicaa, as well as two late career Met roles, Liù and the Komponist, roles she had sung there at the beginning of her career, more than thirty years earlier. Along the way, we hear her with artists who have already been featured in previous seasons (Gabriel Bacquier, Florence Quivar and Fritz Wunderlich), but also singers who will each be featured in the upcoming series of the podcast, including Tom Krause, Wiesław Ochman, Bernd Weikl, Elizabeth Harwood, and Vasile Moldoveanu. Also much discussion also about what makes Stratas unique as an interpreter, and why she deserves to be ranked among the very greatest. Welcome to Season Seven!

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 342. Norman Bailey Revisited

March 17, 2025Art Song, Giuseppe Verdi, Great Baritones, In Memoriam, Lieder, Listeners' Favorites, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, Opera in Translation, Rescue Mission, Richard Strauss, Richard Wagner, Twentieth Century MusicAnton Guadagno, Arlene Saunders, Carol Neblett, Charles Mackerras, Der fliegende Holländer, Die Liebe der Danae, Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, Die Walküre, Dorothy Donnelly, Eduard Mörike, Falstaff, Galina Vishnevskaya, Geoffrey Parsons, Giuseppe Verdi, Hilaire Belloc, Hugo von Hofmannsthal, Hugo Wolf, James Lockhart, John Constable, Josef Gregor, Julius Rudel, Macbeth, Margaret Curphey, Mark Elder, Montserrat Caballé, Norman Bailey, Otto Klemperer, Peter Warlock, Ralph Vaughan Williams, Reginald Goodall, Richard Strauss, Robert Louis Stevenson, Robin Stapleton, Salome, Sigmund Romberg, The Student Prince, Wiesław Ochman, William Barnes, William Wildermanncountermelody

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The British bass-baritone Norman Bailey (23 March 1933 – 15 September 2021) was one of the premier Wagner singers of his generation, appearing in his signature roles (Hans Sachs, the Dutchman, and Wotan, among others) at the most prestigious festival and with the most distinguished opera companies around the world. He was also celebrated for his Verdi and Strauss portrayals and was an skillful, intuitive, and communicative recitalist. In this refurbished bonus episode, he is heard in operatic scenes by all three of those composers, and additionally as a big-voiced miniaturist in songs by Peter Warlock, Ralph Vaughan Williams, and Hugo Wolf. “Guest stars” in the operatic excerpts (from Walküre, Macbeth, Holländer, Salome, Falstaff, Die Liebe der Danae, and The Mastersingers of Nuremberg) include Galina Vishnevskaya, Margaret Curphey, Carol Neblett, Arlene Saunders, and Montserrat Caballé, conducted by Otto Klemperer, Julius Rudel, Alexander Gibson, Anton Guadagno, Reginald Goodall, and Charles Mackerras.

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 288. Teresa Żylis-Gara Revisited

September 10, 2024Behind the Iron Curtain, Forgotten Divas, French Opera, Giacomo Puccini, Giuseppe Verdi, Great Tenors, In Memoriam, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, Richard Strauss, Richard Wagner, Twentieth Century Opera, Verismo, Wolfgang Amadeus MozartAbbé Prevost, Alexandre Dumas fils, Alfredo Kraus, Andrea Chénier, Antonio Somma, Ariadne auf Naxos, Auguste Barbier, Benvenuto Cellini, Berislav Klobučar, David Belasco, Die Zauberflöte, Emanuel Schikaneder, Eugène Scribe, Francesco Maria Piave, Franco Bonisolli, Giacomo Puccini, Gianfranco Masini, Gianluigi Gelmetti, Giuseppe Giacosa, Giuseppe Verdi, Hector Berlioz, Henri Meilhac, Henri Murger, Hugo von Hofmannsthal, Jacek Kaspszyk, James Levine, Jean Fournet, John Alexander, John Henry Long, José Carreras, Jules Massenet, La Boheme, La Traviata, Leif Segerstam, Léon de Wailly, Luciano Pavarotti, Luigi Illica, Manon, Peter Lindroos, Philippe Gille, Piero Visconti, Richard Strauss, Richard Wagner, Richard Woitach, Seiji Ozawa, Stanislaw Skrowaczewski, Tannhäuser, Teresa Żylis-Gara, Umberto Giordano, Un ballo in maschera, Wiesław Ochman, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Wolfgang Brendelcountermelody

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Today I revisit the life, career, and sumptuous voice of the great Polish soprano Teresa Żylis-Gara, who died three years ago on 28 August 2021 at the age of 91. The soprano was for the most part shockingly under-recorded, so I have scoured the internet for examples of her live in performance, and unearthed examples of her singing Wagner, Massenet, Puccini, Verdi, Strauss, Giordano, Mozart, and Berlioz with some divine tenorial counterparts including Franco Bonisolli, José Carreras, Luciano Pavarotti, John Alexander, Alfredo Kraus, Wiesław Ochman, Peter Lindroos, and Piero Visconti. I know I am not the only one who revels in the rich velvety timbre of Mme. Żylis-Gara, and each of the tenors heard alongside her presents her versatile voice in a different facet of its beauty.

Episode 194. Great Mozart Tenors

April 28, 2023African American Singers, Canadian Singers, Great Tenors, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Opera in Translation, Singers in Old Age, Singers of Color, Voiceless Wonders, Wolfgang Amadeus MozartAlex Banfield, Alfredo Kraus, Anton Dermota, Arthur Goldschmidt, Bernard Haitink, Cesare Valletti, Charles Holland, Charles Mackerras, Claude Génetay, Clemens Schmalstich, Cosi fan tutte, David Rendall, Die Entführung aus dem Serail, Die Zauberflöte, Dimitri Mitropoulos, Don Giovanni, Emanuel Schikaneder, Ernst Haefliger, Ferdinand Leitner, Ferenc Fricsay, Francisco Araiza, Fritz Wunderlich, Georg Solti, George Shirley, Gerhard Wimberger, Gösta Winbergh, Guido Cantelli, György Fischer, Hans Müller-Kray, Herbert von Karajan, Hermann Jadlowker, Idomeneo, István Kertész, Jeffrey Tate, Jerry Hadley, John Aler, John Alexander, John McCormack, John van Kesteren, Jörg Ewald Dähler, Josef Dünnwald, Joseph Rosenstock, Julius Rudel, Kálmán Pataky, Karl Alwin, Karl Böhm, Karl Erb, La Clemenza di Tito, La finta giardiniera, Le nozze di Figaro, Leontyne Price, Leopold Simoneau, Lorenzo da Ponte, Luigi Alva, Marcel Wittrisch, Margaret Price, Maria Ivogün, Mitridate, Nicolai Gedda, Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Otto Ackermann, Peter Schreier, Philip Langridge, Pietro Metastasio, Pilar Lorengar, Richard Tauber, Roberta Alexander, Ryland Davies, Semyon Bychkov, Stuart Burrows, Waldemar Kmentt, Wiesław Ochman, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Wolfgang Sawallisch, Zaidecountermelody

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Today’s is a mammoth episode, one of my longest ever, so I suggest you listen to it in easily digestible segments. It’s mammoth because it’s a gigantic subject: great Mozart tenors of the 20th century, covering more than 100 years of recorded documents of the finest examples of tenorial interpretations of the big Mozart operas as well as some of his lesser-known works, including his concert arias. You will be dazzled (and that is a promise and a guarantee) by performances by Fritz Wunderlich (for many of us, the ne plus ultra of lyric tenors), George Shirley, Richard Tauber, Anton Dermota, Léopold Simoneau, Nicolai Gedda, Gösta Winbergh, John McCormack, David Rendall, Peter Schreier, and countless others, including lesser-known figures such as John van Kesteren, Kálmán Pataky, and Wiesław Ochman, and duets featuring Pilar Lorengar, Leontyne Price, Roberta Alexander, and Margaret Price. I also feature a peek into the future with a special salute to the young tenor Alex Banfield, whose work has impressed me enormously. The entire episode is dedicated to the memory of my friend Jerry Hadley, one of the supreme Mozart tenors of all time.

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.