A few months ago I published the first of a series of episodes honoring “Over the Top Sopranos,” which presented French repertoire performed by a batch of supremely distressed divas. And today is a follow-up, again featuring “sopranos en détresse” in which I spread the net even wider, featuring every type of soprano from perky coloratura to hefty dramatic and everything in between. The characters represented range from reformed Alexandrian courtesans to vampiric Hungarian murderers. And the chronological spread is wide, too: we sample a wide variety of singers from Félia Litvinne, recorded in 1902, to Anna Caterina Antonacci, recorded in 2009. In between we hear, among others, Germaine Féraldy, Beverly Sills, Emma Calvé, Lucia Popp, Christiane Eda-Pierre (pictured), Patricia Brooks, Germaine Martinelli, Jacqueline Brumaire, Carol Vaness, Nelly Miricioiu, and Janine Micheau. Works range from the familiar (Mignon by Thomas, Manon by Massenet, and Faust by Gounod) to the obscure (Ivan IV by Bizet, Salammbô by Ernest Reyer, Erzsébet by Charles Chaynes, and Virginie by Alfred Bruneau). Attachez vos ceintures; ce sera encore une soirée extravagante!

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 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.

I’m on holiday this week, but it would be most unGundlachian of me not to provide an episode to sustain my listeners in my absence. I recently purchased a mammoth 13-LP set on the Concert Hall Society label. The release promises a variety of excerpts that illustrate the history of opera from Monteverdi through Puccini. As such it makes use of a number of complete operatic recordings made for the now-nearly-forgotten label, as well as some impressive individual performances recorded in the early 1960s. One of the attractions of this release to me is that it presents rare recordings by three of the supreme African American divas of that era: Mattiwilda Dobbs, Reri Grist, and Felicia Weathers, the latter two at the very beginning of their international careers in the early 1960s, when they were both fest at the Zürich Opera (where, my astute listeners will remember, contralto Carol Smith) was also ensconced. None of these recordings has received wide distribution (in fact, to my knowledge the majority of them were never re-released in any form). So it is my particularly pleasure to present to you each of these three estimable artists in peak form on recordings that I (at least) had never before encountered: Dobbs as Zerlina in Don Giovanni and Olympia and Antonia in Tales of Hoffmann; Grist as Norina in Don Pasquale; and Weathers as Dido, Manon (by Massenet, not Puccini!), and Butterfly! A number of interesting male singers are nearby to provide assistance in duets: the Swiss tenor Fritz Peters, the American Glade Peterson (both of whom were also fest in Zürich at that time), the legendary French-Canadian Léopold Simoneau and Italian dramatic baritone Scipio Colombo. Far be it from me to throw together an episode that was not as fascinating as some of my more deeply-researched efforts! I’m also celebrating this week 100,000 downloads of the podcast. I’ve often referred to Countermelody as “the Little Podcast that Could,” so this milestone is particularly gratifying to me. Finally, this episode also serves as a belated birthday tribute to Felicia Weathers, who just last week turned 88 years old.

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 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.

On 21 July, the opera world lost one of its finest tenors, David Rendall, at the age of 76. Rendall began his career in the mid-seventies as a lyric tenore di grazia specializing in bel canto and in the music of Mozart. His voice expanded and deepened over the years to encompass French roles (Des Grieux, Faust, Werther), 19th century Italian repertoire from Rodolfo to Otello, and finally Wagner roles from Lohengrin to Tristan. This episode explores his origins from his earliest recordings made before he ever considered a career in music, to live operatic recordings made between 1975 and 2006. Rendall’s family was a deeply musical one: his wife, Diana Montague, is a legendary mezzo-soprano, and their son Huw Montague Rendall is one of the brightest lights in the present-day operatic firmament. The episode includes Rendall singing song cycles by Britten and Schubert, and operatic rarities by Rossini and Alfano. In all of the music offered, David Rendall’s impeccable technique, patrician musicianship, and deep expressive connection to the music are heard to full effect. His memory will surely be a blessing to all who knew, heard, loved, and admired him. Many thanks to Huw for his advice in the preparation of this episode.

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 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.

You’re all going to laugh at me, but that’s okay, cuz I’m I’m the one laughing hardest! I had planned an easy-peasy episode for yesterday, one which focused on two great 20th century bass-baritones who were both valued recitalists as well as composers! I’m talking about the faboo basses, Finnish Kim Borg, and Dutch Robert Holl, who also happened to be fantastic recitalists. I had the recordings on my collection; I just had to put them into an episode. But of course I began meditating on the question of the classical music version of the Singer-Songwriter and suddenly the episode had gone down a very different (and much more complicated) path. I came up with some fascinating examples beyond Borg and Holl (both of whom are still heard performing their songs on the episode!), all the way back to the Renaissance era and through to an incredibly impressive array of modern-day avant garde composer/performers. For starters: Barbara Strozzi and Pauline Viardot from days long past, but also figures like the great French baritone Jean-Baptiste Faure (anyone remember “The Palms”?), and those three intrepid tenors Tito Schipa, Richard Tauber, and Jean-Paul Jeannotte, and along the way not forgetting gay icons Jules Bledsoe and Harry Partch. Moving into the present-day, we encounter astonishing women composer/performers including pathbreakers Cathy Berberian, Joan La Barbara, Diamánda Galás, Laurie Anderson, and Meredith Monk, but also those intrepid women who have both taken inspiration from their models while carving out their own paths: Gilda Lyons, Martha Sullivan, Lisa Bielawa, and Caroline Shaw, among others. I’m thrilled that many of the singers, composers, or composer/performers are also friends of mine. Among those not mentioned above, stellar singers Sarah Pillow (singing Strozzi), and Anna Tonna (singing Viardot). Don’t tell anyone, but you might even hear me singing something! Exciting news about this episode: There are more women composers heard here than male! Hope you didn’t mind waiting for this one a little longer than usual!

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 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.

On June 3, 2024, the Berlin Senate’s Department of Culture installed a memorial plaque in honor of African American contralto and Deutsche Oper star Vera Little at her former residence. Little, who lived from 1927 to 2012, and spent the majority of her adult life in Berlin, was a dazzlingly gifted singing actress who sang everything from bel canto to Carmen to creating two roles in operas by Hans Werner Henze. This episode makes use of newly-acquired recordings of Little singing Carmen and Dame Quickly in Falstaff. We also sample the work of Little’s extraordinarily gifted brother, the tragically short-lived jazz trumpeter Booker Little, as well as several excerpts (read by your host) from Tears in My Eyes, published in 1978, the first of Vera Little’s several published books of memoirs and poetry. The episode concludes with the majority of Little’s 1957 single solo recording, Twelve Spirituals, on Decca Records, containing arrangements by Harry Burleigh, William Dawson, and Hall Johnson accompanied by Domincan-French pianist Andrès Wheatley.

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.

If the exceptional Illinois-born contralto Carol Smith (20 February 1926 – 06 June 2021) has previously escaped your notice, now is the perfect opportunity to get to know her better. She began her career singing the music of Bach with the legendary Bach Aria Group, founded in 1946 by philanthropist, scholar, and collector William H. Scheide. Smith then went on for further vocal training in Italy, making her operatic stage debut in 1961 in Napoli. There followed a glorious operatic career as one of the world’s leading dramatic mezzo-sopranos, with performances throughout Italy and Germany as well as with her home company in Zürich. She went on to become an esteemed and highly respected voice teacher on two continents. This episode digs deep into her recorded legacy, featuring cantata arias of Bach, Lieder of Brahms, arias by Gluck, Verdi, and Saint-Saëns, and scenes from Cavalleria rusticana, Roberto Devereux, and Penthesilea, a hidden early 20th-century masterpiece by Swiss composer Othmar Schoeck. No matter what repertoire Smith was singing, she was, by virtue of her chocolate-timbred voice, dramatic flair, and vocal glamour, power, and flexibility, a true Queen of Song.

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.

If you “get” Gundula Janowitz, then you really get her, and this birthday tribute will be a delectable treat. If, however, you don’t get her, or don’t think that you get her, you might want to give this episode a try, anyway, for it focuses on her work as a Lieder singer. It is my contention that she was one of the very finest song recitatlists of the late 20th century. Like Grace Bumbry, Margaret Price, Helen Donath, and a number of others, she balanced her work in opera with superlative work on the recital stage. To support my informed opinion, I have found a number of rare live recordings from Amsterdam, Tokyo, and Athens, in which the beloved soprano performs (with her pianists Irwin Gage, Charles Spencer, and Peter Waters and conductor Rudolf Barshai), songs of Strauss, Schubert, Liszt, Wagner, and Hindemith. The episode is supplemented by music by Haydn, Bach, and Robert Stolz, the last an early-career Janowitz performance of his obscure opera Die Rosen der Madonna. In these works, she is heard in duet with Waldemar Kmentt and last week’s featured singer, Hermann Prey. Herzliche (aber nachträgliche) Geburtstagsgrüße an unsere geliebte Frau Kammersängerin!

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.

At first blush, this episode may look a bit slapdash, but it actually reflects very much where I am at this moment. It’s got a bit more of a narrative than most of my episodes do, and somehow in this story a number of different strands come together. The starting point was a Pride bonus episode I published in June 2024 exploring a rare and fascinating 1964 LP of a live recital by “female impersonator” (Mr.) Jean Fredericks that also somehow folded into the mix hidden family narratives, Gilbert Godfrey, Charles Fox, Jim Croce, and the song “I Got a Name.” I have taken that episode and both streamlined and expanded it, including memorial tributes to four significant artists who have died in the past several weeks: Connie Francis, Tom Lehrer, Cleo Laine, and (just yesterday) Robert Wilson. I talk much more about myself on this episode than I ever have before, including meditations on my conservative upbringing, my senior prom, and The Muppet Show! I’ve also included two additional performances of “I Got a Name” by Lena Horne and Cher which drive home the importance of carrying your name and your dream with pride. If I’ve ever published an artistic credo, this is it.

If, as I have done, you wish to explore and/or support J.D. Doyle and his Queer Music Heritage website, where I first discovered Jean Fredericks, you can find it at www.queermusicheritage.com.

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.

The esteemed, indeed beloved, German baritone Hermann Prey died seventeen years ago already on July 22, 1998. I want to remember him today by celebrating a cornerstone of his repertoire: the music of Johann Sebastian Bach. I’ve been playing a lot of Bach recently on the podcast, as his music is one of the few lifelines that I can rely upon in the chaos of today’s world. But I’ve been focusing in large part on contraltos performing his music which leaves an entire repertoire insufficiently explored. I’m not sure why (although I could hazard a guess) why Prey’s significance has been downplayed as certain other historical German baritones (IYKYK!) are overvalued and over-represented. Prey had a voice of profound beauty and power, a technical security that is sometimes mind-boggling, a mellifluous legato combined with a refined connection to the supremacy of the word (even – and especially – in Bach), but above all, a humanity and humility that make his performances and recordings of this repertoire unmatched (and possibly unmatchable). Represented are individual arias from the cantatas and Passions as well as a complete late-career performance of Ich habe genug, my favorite among Bach’s supreme masterpieces.

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.

So many great singing artists lost to the world of late! Almost a month ago now, the great Welsh tenor Stuart Burrows (07 February 1933 – 29 June 2025) left this mortal coil at the age of 92. Burrows was an artist of extraordinary technique, elegance, and sincerity and it has been an honor and a delight to put together this episode which celebrates his career. Because he was a favorite partner of so many exceptional divas, I decided to focus this episode on Burrows singing duets with some of the most important divas of his era. Included in the episode are Beverly Sills, Gundula Janowitz, Joan Sutherland, Renata Scotto, Leontyne Price, Nelly Miricioiu, Gwendolyn Killebrew, Margaret Price, and Reri Grist, singing Mozart, Massenet, Offenbach, Gounod, Berlioz, Donizetti, Bellini, Verdi, and even some Puccini. “The boys” are represented by José van Dam and Countermelody favorite Donald Gramm. In the late 1970s and 1980s, Burrows was a popular television star in the UK, starring in the eponymous BBC2 series, Stuart Burrows Sings. The episode also features two snippets from that show, one a duet with the beautiful lyric mezzo Diana Montague (whose husband tenor David Rendall died earlier this week). The episode begins with a tribute to the beloved Welsh pop contralto Iris Williams, who died on July 11 at the age of 79.

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.