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 fearlessly undertook the most challenging soprano roles of the operatic repertoire. Today, as last year, I am joined by my friend the redoubtable Thomas Bagwell, whose love of bad taste and cringe-worthy artistic expression surpasses even mine. We have a rollicking conversation about Middleton, interspersed with choice live selections from La Puma in the 1960s. Along the way, we discuss the “so bad it’s good” phenomenon and its manifestations in film, on stage, and on the printed page, including an abominably bad poem about Olive that Thomas specifically for this episode. In the end, we arrive at many conclusions, first and foremost that singers like Middleton were motivated, in the words of John Ardoin, “a love for singing, a love for music, a love for her audience. She disperses this primary element in unstinting fashion, sharing with her public a devotion to and pursuit of art that is surely without parallel.” If you have not yet experienced the force of nature (and mind over matter) that is Olive Middleton, you are in for a listening experience like none you have ever had!

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.