PODCAST

Countermelody

DANIEL GUNDLACH

Countermelody devoted to the glories of the human voice raised in song.

music music commentary

All Episodes

1:46:26

Episode 348. Rescue Mission II

Countermelody ·

2025/04/08

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

en-US

1:44:34

Episode 347. Will the Real Eleanor Steber Please...

Countermelody ·

2025/04/04

Because there is no such thing as too much Eleanor Steber, today’s episode once again features the prodigiously gifted singer, in my opinion the greatest soprano the United States has ever produced, singing a dizzying range of material, most of it recorded live between the years 1958 and 1979. These recordings were nearly all private releases on Steber’s own record labels.. First, ST/AND Records, which she formed with her second husband Gordon Andrews, and which between 1960 and 1962 produced

en-US

1:35:19

Episode 346. Olive Middleton and La Puma (Alternate...

Countermelody ·

2025/03/30

Hello, Campers! Once again it is April Fool’s Day, which means that here at Countermelody, we’re doing another in my “Alternate Universe Bel Canto” series. This year the featured diva is Olive Middleton, still remembered by a certain kind of opera lover who adores fearless singers who throw caution, technique, and discretion to the winds. In the case of Middleton, she became, late in life, the lead soprano of the La Puma Opera Company (officially titled the La Puma Opera Workshop), where she

en-US

1:39:01

Episode 345. A Lenten Litany of Bach Contraltos

Countermelody ·

2025/03/28

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

en-US

1:46:35

Episode 344. Mady Mesplé Revisited

Countermelody ·

2025/03/24

This past March 7 would have been the 94th birthday of the great French coloratura soprano Mady Mesplé. This episode begins a new series of episodes devoted to “Queens of the Night,” the surprisingly wide variety of sopranos who at one time or another sang this role. After a sampling of Mesplé singing this role (in French), we also hear back to back comparisons with Janine Micheau (Mesplé’s teacher) and Mado Robin (one of Mesplé’s most famous predecessors); a Gounod duet with Nicolai Gedda; a

en-US

1:39:26

Episode 343. Over-the-Top Sopranos, French Edition

Countermelody ·

2025/03/21

As a follow-up to my Mezzos on the Verge series, which seemed to resonate with so many of you, today I present the first in a new ongoing series, Over-the-Top Sopranos. As I first began exploring this repertoire, my first thoughts were focused on Italian repertoire. But then I gave myself the challenge of focusing on the French style instead, thinking that I would not have as easy a time of it. Was I ever wrong! There is such a profusion French (and non-French) singers going to the brink with life

en-US

1:50:41

Episode 342. Norman Bailey Revisited

Countermelody ·

2025/03/17

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

en-US

1:47:06

Episode 341. Robert Massard Revisited

Countermelody ·

2025/03/14

A year and a half ago, I posted an episode on Robert Massard, the finest French baritone of his era, and one of the finest French baritones of all time. Today, in honor of his upcoming hundredth birthday later this year, I present him in a different repertoire (and therefore a different light). As was very much the custom of the day in French opera houses, Massard sang many of his non-French roles in translation. This was also very much the standard in German-language opera houses in the 50s and

en-US

1:31:14

Episode 340. Roberta Alexander: Dutch Treat

Countermelody ·

2025/03/10

Nothing brings me greater joy than when a deep exploration into the artistry of a favorite singer yields even more delights than I could have possibly imagined. And when I have a personal friendship with that singer, my cup truly runneth over. A week ago the music world once again celebrated the birthday of the treasurable soprano Roberta Alexander. Today, in a belated birthday tribute, I offer recordings of Roberta singing the music of composers of The Netherlands, where she has made her adoptive

en-US

1:31:21

Episode 339. Todd Duncan

Countermelody ·

2025/03/08

Today I present the male lead creator of Gershwin’s towering masterpiece, Porgy and Bess, the magnificent Todd Duncan (12 February 1903 – 28 February 1998), whose other creations included work by Kurt Weill, Cole Porter, and a pop standard that might surprise you. Duncan also made extraordinarily important contributions as a teacher, a recitalist, and as a civil rights figure. All of these aspects of his life are explored in this episode, which features recordings from all corners of his artistic

en-US

1:41:43

Episode 338. Ameling and Friends Sing Bach

Countermelody ·

2025/03/03

As a belated 92nd birthday tribute to our beloved Elly Ameling, I offer another episode of the Elly and Johann Show which features her in the music of Johann Sebastian Bach. If you twisted my arm, I might opine that she is simply the ideal Bach soprano, and these recordings, made between 1961 and 1981, stem from her absolute prime. In this episode, the majority of the works featured (from various cantatas, oratorios, masses, and passions), are duets, with a few trios and even a quartet thrown in for

en-US

1:19:12

Episode 337. Anne Wiggins Brown

Countermelody ·

2025/02/28

Today on Countermelody the first of two (for now) episodes celebrating the creators of George Gershwin’s legendary (and controversial) opera Porgy and Bess. Today we explore the fascinating life (and scant recorded legacy) of Anne Wiggins Brown, who was born in Baltimore on August 09, 1912, and died in Oslo on March 13, 2009. Like Muriel Smith, who a few years later created the title role of Carmen Jones on Broadway, Brown was still a student at the time she created the role of Bess. In Brown’s

en-US

1:22:17

Episode 336. Scotto Sings Rossini (Happy Birthday,...

Countermelody ·

2025/02/24

Today would have been the 91st birthday of our beloved Renata Scotto. On an episode last year celebrating the 100th birthday of Maria Callas, I remarked that Renatina possessed in profusion two qualities that Maria lacked: cuteness and charm. Both of those qualities are heard in these performances of Rossini songs, which range from 1964 to 1984 and include Scotto in both live and studio recordings. For the last forty years of his life, Gioachino Rossini, who had written scores of operas by the time

en-US

1:36:43

Episode 335. Felicia Weathers, Schlagersängerin

Countermelody ·

2025/02/22

This week a light-hearted (and therefore much-needed!) tribute to the marvelous Felicia Weathers, who, in the midst of her burgeoning operatic career in the late 1960s, made two LPs of Schlagermusik, 1968’s Liebe Love L’amour (which also sports the best record cover in the history of the LP!) and, the following year, Wunderbar ist die Welt. Both of these were arranged and conducted by one Harold M. Kirschstein, referred to in the liner notes as an important conductor and arranger. Imagine my

en-US

1:43:34

Episode 334. Gloria Davy Revisited

Countermelody ·

2025/02/18

I’ve been wanting to revisit the legacy of the great African American soprano Gloria Davy (born in Brooklyn on 29 March 1931 and died in Genève on 28 November 2012) for some time now. In the first year of the podcast, I devoted one of my very first Black History Month episodes to exploring her career, recordings, and legacy. At that time, however, I had not yet acquired a commercial recording central to her recorded output: a 1957 LP on London Records entitled, simply, Concert Recital, which

en-US

1:25:26

Episode 333. Leontyne Price Sings Richard Strauss Lieder

Countermelody ·

2025/02/14

On February 10th, our beloved diva Leontyne Price celebrated her 98th birthday. Of course she is recognized for her performances of the operas of Verdi, but in my opinion, she was even more suited, uniquely so, to the music of Richard Strauss. Sadly, she only sang one operatic role by Strauss, but we can be grateful that she consistently programmed his Lieder over the course of her long career. I offer you as complete a selection of Leontyne Price (assisted by her able collaborative pianist David

en-US

1:10:27

Episode 332. Ellabelle Davis Revisited

Countermelody ·

2025/02/10

Today I present the African American soprano Ellabelle Davis (1907-1960) who during the late 1940s and early 1950s was greatly celebrated as a concert singer and who appeared around the world, the “Toast of Three Continents” as an early Musical America ad featuring the soprano proclaimed. She even appeared on the operatic stage, primarily as Aida, though her artistry was best suited to the concert platform. Additionally and unusually for the time, she made a number of recordings, including two

en-US

1:42:05

Episode 331. Eugene Holmes Revisited

Countermelody ·

2025/02/07

Exactly two years ago I introduced my listeners to the magisterial African American dramatic baritone Eugene Holmes (1932 – 2007). Holmes first found world-wide recognition with he appeared in the first modern revival of Frederick Delius’s problematic opera Koanga. Following that earth-shattering success, however, Holmes did not become a world star, but rather for nearly thirty years found his artistic home at the Deutsche Oper am Rhein, where he was the reigning Verdi baritone with the company. His

en-US

1:41:56

Episode 330. Martina Arroyo in Duet

Countermelody ·

2025/02/03

What better way to start off this Black History Month 2025 celebration than with a birthday tribute to beloved African American diva Martina Arroyo, who turned 88 yesterday, February 2?! Though she is universally regarded as one of the premier Verdi spinto sopranos of the second half of the Twentieth Century, Arroyo was equally adept at a wide range of other composers as well. In this episode, which focuses on Martina in duet, many of those composers are represented as well, from Handel to Meyerbeer

en-US

1:43:06

Episode 329. Lois Marshall @ 100

Countermelody ·

2025/01/30

Yesterday was the 100th birthday of the sublime Canadian singer, Lois Marshall (29 January 1925 – 19 February 1997). I was sorry to see that there were very apparently few acknowledgements of this momentous occasion. Three years ago, in a Countermelody series on Great Canadian Singers, Lois Marshall was my first subject. If you haven’t heard of her (which is entirely possible, given the vagaries of posthumous fame and reputation), you are in for an enormous treat. Possessed of a rare musical

en-US

428 results

Countermelody

All Episodes

Similar Podcasts

Pasquale Maassen Soundcloud

Pasquale Maassen

Marian Klose

Marian Klose

sevenism

sevenism

Dean Delray"s LET THERE BE TALK

Cactus Radio Network

Word In Your Ear

Mark Ellen, David Hepworth and Alex Gold