Podcast appearances and mentions of Shirley Verrett

It's Pride Month, and what better time to focus on queer musical culture in all its various manifestations! As far back as I can remember, I have been an Opera Queen, and today I kick off our queer celebrations with the a tribute to one of our favorite divas, the late Grace Bumbry. The chutzpah that she demonstrated throughout her career found particularly thrilling manifestation when she began transitioning to soprano roles in the early 1970s. Always an intrepid singer, Bumbry had a confidence, a fearlessness that swept all before it. Sometimes her reach exceeded her grasp, but even so, the results were always breathtaking, more often than not in a good way. I am not going to make the tired claim that Bumbry should have remained a mezzo and that when she started singing soprano, she destroyed her instrument. This tired trope is belied by the evidence at hand, including an active singing career that lasted more than 60 years. A while back I did a version of this episode featuring her studio recordings of the soprano repertoire, but there's a wild, abandoned quality to her soprano singing that is especially compelling in live recordings. So today I have sought out live performances captured on recordings between 1971 and 2007 (at a seventieth birthday concert) which reveal La Bumbarina at her most thrilling, including excerpts from Tosca, La Gioconda, Il Trovatore, Nabucco, Porgy and Bess, Ernani, L'Africaine, Aida, Salome, and Anna Bolena with such co-stars as Franco Corelli, Norman Bailey, Louis Quilico, and her beloved frenemy Shirley Verrett. If you love Grace, you don't want to miss 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 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.

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 to Mascagni, with a little Wagner thrown in for good measure. And what an amazing line-up of duet partners, including two of our most beloved African American mezzos/sopranos, Shirley Verrett, and Grace Bumbry. Also heard are Franco Corelli, Carlo Bergonzi, Anna Moffo, Franco Bonisolli, Bernd Weikl, Gianfranco Cecchele, Sherrill Milnes, Ludmila Dvořáková, and Giorgio Lamberti. Raise a glass to this supreme soprano, and prepare your ears for a deeply satisfying experience! 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.  

durée : 00:23:02 - Disques de légende du mardi 31 décembre 2024 - Erich Leinsdorf, avec un mélange de précision et d'emportement, dirige en 1966 ce " Ballo in maschra", de Verdi, avec le ténor Carlo Bergonzi au sommet de son art, ainsi que les vedettes Leontyne Price et Shirley Verrett.

durée : 00:23:02 - Disques de légende du mardi 31 décembre 2024 - Erich Leinsdorf, avec un mélange de précision et d'emportement, dirige en 1966 ce " Ballo in maschra", de Verdi, avec le ténor Carlo Bergonzi au sommet de son art, ainsi que les vedettes Leontyne Price et Shirley Verrett.

Sometimes when I look back on past episodes of Countermelody, I surprise myself with how good they were, even in the early days when I was still trying to figure everything out. This episode, first posted as a bonus episode five years ago is a good example of that. Earlier that season I had coined the term “Full-Figured Baroque” to describe the “old-fashioned” style of Baroque performance that I personally prefer to what one currently hears in churches and concert halls around the world and on recordings. This episode was devoted to Baroque music composed specifically for the Christmas season, recorded between 1940 and 1992, and performed in deliciously non-period style, replete with deliberate tempi, judiciously applied vibrato, and stately ritardandi. There is a special focus on the Christmas portion of Handel's Messiah and Bach's Weihnachts-Oratorium and assorted cantatas for the Advent, Christmas, and Epiphany season. Singers include Janet Baker, Tom Krause, Jerry Hadley, Margaret Marshall, Francisco Araiza, Russell Oberlin, Helen Watts, William Warfield, John Shirley-Quirk, Peter Schreier, Heather Harper, Shirley Verrett, Edith Mathis, Hermann Prey, Marga Höffgen, Agnes Giebel, Kurt Equiluz, Florence Quivar, Aksel Schiøtz, Kirsten Flagstad, Christa Ludwig, Edith Mathis, Brigitte Fassbaender. Ernst Haefliger, Jennifer Vyvyan, Anna Reynolds, Judith Blegen, Fritz Wunderlich, Elly Ameling, Peter Schreier, and Gundula Janowitz. Conductors include Neville Marriner, Raymond Leppard, Colin Davis, Karl Richter, Lorin Maazel, Helmut Winschermann, Vittorio Negri, Karl Münchinger, Leonard Bernstein, Herbert von Karajan, Eugene Ormandy, Adrian Boult, Andrew Davis, and Eugen Jochum, among others. Don't miss out on this full-figured Christmas treat! 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.

I am taking a short break before posting the final in my Mexican Opera Singers miniseries to bring you a compilation episode that is sure to get your blood flowing. I've entitled it “Mezzos on the Verge,” and that is exactly what it is: mezzo-sopranos portraying characters in extreme emotional situations. Whether it is Dalila (portrayed by Ebe Stignani) summoning the pagan gods to give her strength to conquer an infatuated strongman; Elena Obraztsova or Nadezhda Obukhova casting spells or predicting the future; Giulietta Simionato as Santuzza confronting Franco Corelli's faithless Turiddu on the steps of the Sicilian village church on Easter morning; Gwendolyn Killebrew as Waltraute imploring help of her sister Brünnhilde to circumvent the Twilight of the Gods; Jean Madeira as Klytemnästra desperately seeking rest for her troubled soul; Shirley Verrett as Sapho preparing to throw herself into the sea; or Tatiana Troyanos as Dido dying of a broken heart – there's something for each of us who might be feeling themselves in over their heads these days. Unlike most of us. however, (and luckily for us as well), each of these magnificent mezzos is expressing that anguish in glorious 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 support at whatever level you can afford.

This August I shall be supplementing each new episode published with a first-time general posting of bonus episodes which were originally available only for my Patreon subscribers. Today, in the first of my “new reissues,” I present “George Shirley Revisited,” a supplement to the tribute I posted three years ago, and which I now offer as a belated 90th birthday salute. In this episode, I offer further examples of the great tenor's eclectic repertoire and interpretive depth. Guest vocalists include Shirley Verrett and Elisabeth Söderström and conductors include Pierre Boulez, Thomas Schippers, Eugene Ormandy, Colin Davis, Antal Doráti, Jesús López Cobos, and Igor Stravinsky himself. Composers sampled include Jules Massenet, Howard Swanson, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Richard Strauss, Johann Sebastian Bach, Richard Wagner, Norman Dello Joio, Felix Mendelssohn, Vally Weigl, Joseph Haydn, and James Dashow, whose Second Voyage, a setting of John Ashberry scored for tenor voice and recorded electronic sounds, was commissioned for George Shirley by the National Endowment for the Arts in 1976. I also include a number of rare recordings that George Shirley and Wayne Sanders made in 1973 for Music Minus One's Laureate Series and that, to my knowledge, are among his rarest recordings. 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.

In this episode: Listen to a conversation between your host Vivienne Aerts and Erika "Elraka" Banks, as they discuss the road from Michigan and her studies with Shirley Verrett, to being an active musician in New York City, while being a voice for music from the African Diaspora as Co-Founder of the H. T. Burleigh Experience and Communications Director of the Juneteenth LP About Erika Banks Erika Banks is a charismatic soprano whose diverse vocal training in classical, jazz and musical theater has kept her busy as an active musician in New York City. She received her BM and MM in vocal performance from the University of Michigan, where she studied with the late legendary Shirley Verrett. Banks-Alvarez is Co-Founder of the H. T. Burleigh Experience and Communications Director of the Juneteenth LP, two musical endeavors committed to sharing the music of the African Diaspora through the unique lens of black classically trained musicians. http:/:elrakabanks.com ⁠⁠Facebook⁠ / ⁠YouTube⁠ / Instagram About ViviTalks - Interviews with the Women Behind Typuhthâng. Introducing ViviTalks, a podcast hosted by Dutch New York-based musician Vivienne Aerts. Join us as we celebrate 100 talented female musicians from Vivienne's latest album "Typuhthâng," with a mission to empower female cacao farmers in the Virunga State Park of Congo and contribute to rainforest restoration. We delve into the musical journeys, creative processes, and unique perspectives of these talented women, seeking to bring greater balance to the music industry. It's a safe space for honest and authentic conversations with artists and trailblazers. Let's amplify the voices of remarkable women in music and stay tuned for inspiring stories and meaningful dialogues on ViviTalks. ⁠⁠Stream⁠⁠ the Album or ⁠⁠Buy it on Bandcamp⁠⁠ and get the chocolate! ⁠⁠More about Vivienne here. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/vivienne-aerts/message

Once again we have reached the climax of the penitential season of Lent, the most theologically significant week in the Christian calendar, namely Holy Week. Even for those who are not observant Christians, this period, standing as it does on the threshold of spring, the season of rebirth, can be a time of meditation and remembrance. To help support this contemplative moment I have compiled selections from some of the larger oratorios and liturgical works composed during the Romantic era performed by some of the greatest classical vocalists of the last century. Composers include Brahms, Dvořák, Rossini, Schubert, Franck, Mendelssohn, Beethoven, and Elgar; singers include sopranos Margaret Marshall, Leontyne Price, Pilar Lorengar, Judith Raskin, and Elizabeth Harwood; mezzo-sopranos Betty Allen, Alfreda Hodgson, and Shirley Verrett; tenors David Rendall, Alejandro Ramírez, and Richard Lewis; and bass-baritones Tom Krause and Franz Crass led by conductors Andrew Davis, Eugene Ormandy, James Conlon, George Szell, Rafael Kubelik, Michel Corboz, and Herbert von Karajan. No matter what your faith or belief system, there is an outpouring of beautiful music and singing contained in this episode that will fully engage your mind and spirit. 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.  

This week I present a Countermelody mini-series paying tribute to three great African American artists who were born in Baltimore. First up is the eclectic, versatile, and prodigiously talented Damon Evans, who introduces the latest Listeners' Favorites episode, a tribute to an idol we both treasure, the phenomenal and pathbreaking George Shirley, who on April 18 will celebrate his 90th birthday. Damon chose to do his introduction as an interview, so as a prelude to the main episode, my listeners get to hear one amazing tenor sing the praises of another one! George Shirley is one of the most versatile tenors of the second half of the twentieth century, and a pathbreaker as the first African American tenor to sing at the Metropolitan Opera. I first encountered him through his matchless portrayal of Pelléas in Debussy's Pelléas et Mélisande opposite Elisabeth Söderström. But his Mozart is equally celebrated: the podcast also features live and studio recordings of George Shirley as Tamino (opposite Judith Raskin), Don Ottavio, Ferrando (opposite Leontyne Price), as well as his extraordinary Idomeneo. Extant live performances of George Shirley including assumptions of roles as diverse as Don José (opposite Shirley Verrett), David in Die Meistersinger, Pinkerton (opposite the late Renata Scotto in an incandescent early performance of one of her greatest roles), Mephistopheles in Busoni's Doktor Faust, and even Bacchus in Ariadne auf Naxos. All of these are included in the episode, as are rare recordings of art songs and spirituals from throughout his career. Raise a glass to the great George Shirley and join me in thanking him for having shared so generously with us his extraordinary artistic gifts!

On the morning of November 14th, 1943, Leonard Bernstein, the talented 25-year-old assistant conductor of the New York Philharmonic, got a phone call saying he would at last be leading the respected orchestral group — in six hours, that afternoon, with no time to rehearse.The sudden thrust into the spotlight transformed Bernstein into a national celebrity. For almost five decades, the wunderkind would be at the forefront of American music, as a conductor, composer, virtuoso performer, writer, television personality and teacher.He would also help create the most important Broadway musicals of the mid-20th century — On The Town, Wonderful Town and West Side Story. These shows would not only spotlight the talents of its young creator. They would also spotlight the romance and rhythm of New York City.Bernstein is one of New York's most influential cultural figures. He spent most of his life in the city, and that's the focus of today's story – Leonard Bernstein's New York.The new film Maestro, starring Bradley Cooper and Carey Mulligan, focuses on Bernstein's personal story and intimate life. That specific angle is not our objective today – for the most part. We're looking at the relationship between the creator and his urban inspiration. Where did Bernstein make his name in New York City and how did his work change the city?FEATURING The Village Vanguard, City Center, Carnegie Hall, the old Metropolitan Opera and the Dakota ApartmentsAnd co-starring Jerome Robbins, Aaron Copland, Stephen Sondheim, Comden and Green, Lauren Bacall, Tom Wolfe of course Felicia MontealegreVisit the website for more information and images Music snippet information“On The Town: Act I: Opening: New York, New York” (Studio Cast Recording 1961)CBS Broadcast, Manfred Overture, Op 115 (New York Philharmonic)“Joan Crawford Fan Club” The RevuersSymphony No. 1 Jeremiah (New York Philharmonic)CBS Broadcast, Don Quixote, Fantastic Variations on a Theme of Knightly Character, op. 35 (New York Philharmonic)Fancy Free Ballet_ VII. FinaleI Get Carried Away, On The TownChristopher Street (From Wonderful Town Original Cast Recording 1953)On the Waterfront Main Title (Revised)Candide, Act II - No. 31, Make Our Garden Grow (Finale)West Side Story_ Act II_ SomewhereSymphonic Dances from West Side StorySamuel Barber, Adagio for Strings, Op. 11 (New York Philharmonic)Leonard Bernstein - Young People's Concerts - What Does Music Mean? (1958) Kaddish, Symphony No. 3 (To the Beloved Memory of John F. Kennedy)  I. Invocation - Kaddish 1The Ladies Who Lunch / Company Original Broadway CastMass - Hymn and Psalm_ A Simple Song Dybbuk Suite No. 2 - Leah  (New York Philharmonic)Leonard Bernstein and Shirley Verrett at GMHC Circus Benefit, Madison Square GardenMahler - Symphony No.5 (New York Philharmonic)

“A voice type is a group of voices with similar vocal ranges, capable of singing in a similar tessitura, and with similar vocal transition points (passaggi).[1] Voice classification is most strongly associated with European classical music, though it, and the terms it utilizes, are used in other styles of music as well. A singer will choose a repertoire that suits their voice. Some singers such as Enrico Caruso, Rosa Ponselle, Joan Sutherland, Maria Callas, Jessye Norman, Ewa Podleś, and Plácido Domingo have voices that allow them to sing roles from a wide variety of types; some singers such as Shirley Verrett and Grace Bumbry change type and even voice part over their careers; and some singers such as Leonie Rysanek have voices that lower with age, causing them to cycle through types over their careers. Some roles are hard to classify, having very unusual vocal requirements; Mozart wrote many of his roles for specific singers who often had remarkable voices, and some of Verdi's early works make extreme demands on their singers.[2]” --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/antonio-myers4/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/antonio-myers4/support

[@ 5 min] As Lidiya Yankovskaya prepares to step down as Music Director of Chicago Opera Theater, we take a look at some of the ‘Swings and Misses' of her tenure, including being a three-time Inside the Huddle guest on the OBS... [@ 30 min] And then… PJ files a report on “X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X” from the Met, and Lise Davidsen joins us for a ‘Free Throw' on Janacek's "Jenůfa"… [@ 42 min] Plus, in the ‘Two Minute Drill'… France is the big winner in the World Cup of Opera, and an opera company in Dallas attempts to show the relationship between opera and sports... GET YOUR VOICE HEARD operaboxscore.com facebook.com/obschi1 @operaboxscore IG operaboxscore

It is hard to believe that it's already been 13 years since the death of Shirley Verrett on November 5, 2010. It has also already been four years since I did a pair of episodes on this extraordinary and beloved artist, and this anniversary gives me the perfect excuse to revisit the work of this mezzo-soprano turned soprano who more than any other singer in my experiences (even soon-to-be birthday girl Maria Callas) was capable of singing nearly anything. This type of singer is sometimes referred to as a soprano sfogato (or a falcon, after the 19th century French mezzo-cum-soprano Cornélie Falcon. Since Verrett, like Falcon, sang both mezzo and soprano, I instead coin the term falcon sfogatissima to describe her vocal magic. This episode is chock full of examples of Verrett's impassioned yet technically-grounded vocalism, from art songs by Brahms and Pasatieri to operatic roles by Handel, Gluck, Cherubini, Bellini, Puccini, and Verdi (including both soprano and mezzo roles in Aida and the Messa da Requiem and soprano roles in Ballo in Maschera, Macbeth, Don Carlo, and Otello). I close the episodes with Verrett's astonishing but limited forays into the German operatic repertoire. Her collaborators on this episode include conductors Seiji Ozawa, Claudio Abbado, Bernard Haitink, Zubin Mehta, Eve Queler, Georges Prêtre, Sarah Caldwell, and the late Kenneth Montgomery; and fellow operatic greats Sherrill Milnes, Luciano Pavarotti, James McCracken, Robert Massard (last week's featured artist), and her frenemy the late Grace Bumbry. 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.  

This is an episode I have been planning for years now! This past August 15, the great French baritone Robert Massard turned 98 years old. As many of my listeners know, I have a thing for baritones in general, and I have devoted episodes to artists of the baritone persuasion from world-renowned to virtually unknown to somewhere in-between. Just think of it: Gérard Souzay, Jorma Hynninen, Eugene Holmes, Andrzej Hiolski, Gabriel Bacquier, Will Parker, Gilbert Price: these and many more have already been featured with more (Hugo Hasslo, Eric Sædén) on the horizon for next season. But I would be hard-pressed to think of a baritone who possessed a more beautiful natural voice, a more refined technique, or a more elegant artistry than did Robert Massard, who in his thirty-odd years of career chalked up approximately 2,500 performances, including 1,003 at the Paris Opéra alone (the same number, he himself points out, as Don Giovanni's conquests)! Massard also sang an incredibly varied (though primarily operatic) repertoire, and this episode presents highlights from both the standard to the more obscure repertoire, from Gluck, Gounod, Verdi, and Massenet; to Reyer, Milhaud, Lalo, and Diaz (who?). These recordings are supplemented by a number of excerpts from French operetta (Planquette, Varney, Messager, and Beydts) which provide unalloyed melodic delight, the Massard voice heard at its absolute peak. And the colleagues who appear opposite Massard are like a Who's Who of great opera singers (French and otherwise) of the era: Régine Crespin, Mady Mesplé, Denise Duval, Shirley Verrett (subject of next week's episode!), Andréa Guiot, Jean Giraudeau, André Turp, Marilyn Horne, Renée Doria, Jane Rhodes, Andrée Esposito, Rita Gorr, and the falcon Suzanne Sarroca, who died last month at the age of 96. And if you listen very closely, you will also catch fleeting glimpses of favorites Patricia Neway and George Shirley. I know I say this too often, but if you only listen to one episode of Countermelody, make it this one! 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.

As Women's History Month and National Reading Month comes to a close, it's important to take a moment to reflect on the remarkable achievements of women throughout history. One woman whose story deserves recognition is Shirley Verrett, an African American opera singer who broke barriers in the music industry.Verrett's life and career are chronicled in the book "I Never Walk Alone: The Autobiography of Shirley Verrett," co-written by today's guest, Dr. Christopher A. Brooks. This inspiring memoir details Verrett's journey from her humble beginnings in Louisiana to her rise as one of the most celebrated opera singers of her time. Throughout her career, Verrett faced many challenges, including racism and discrimination. She was often told that she could not perform certain roles because of the color of her skin. Despite these obstacles, Verrett persevered, paving the way for future generations of African American singers.As an internationally-recognized biographer, Christopher Brooks has produced several book-length manuscripts including I Never Walked Alone: The Autobiography of an American Singer (with the late Shirley Verrett, John Wiley 2003 now available in Kindle version, 2011); Follow Your Heart: Moving with the Giants of Jazz, Swing and Rhythm and Blues (with Joe Evans, University of Illinois Press 2008; second paperback edition, February 2011), and Dangerous Intimacy: Ten African American Men with HIV (with Christopher Coleman, Linus Publications, June 2009). In "I Never Walk Alone," Verrett shares her struggles and triumphs with candor and grace. Her journey serves as a testament to the power of perseverance and the importance of breaking down barriers. The book is filled with behind-the-scenes tales of this diva's great performances, roles, and collaborations, offering insight into her stormy personal relationships as well as her private struggles and critical decisions. Featuring forewords by such figures as Luciano Pavarotti, Placido Domingo, Zubin Mehta, and Claudio Abbado, this richly detailed book paints a vivid picture of a magnificent survivor and an indelible artist known around the world as the black Maria Callas. Her story reminds us that, even in the face of adversity, we can achieve great things.Dr. Brooks provides valuable insight and context throughout the book. His contributions shed light on the cultural and historical significance of Verrett's accomplishments, and his collaboration with Verrett gives readers a deeper understanding of her story.As we celebrate the end of Women's History Month, let us remember the trailblazing women who have made a significant impact in their fields, like Shirley Verrett. Let us honor their achievements and continue to strive for a more equitable and just world for all.Become a Box Office Circle subscription member for access to the video with a presentation about the life of Shirley Verrett by Dr. Brooks!

Médée: Shirley Verrett  Dircé: Anne-Marie Rodde  Néris: Nadine Denize  Servantes: Lucia Scappatucci, Martine Mahé  Jason: Werner Hollweg  Créon: Jean-Philippe Lafont Conductor: Pinchas Steinberg Palais Garnier 10 March 1986 In-house recording

This week is the conclusion of my presentation on world-class singers who made a minimal number of appearances at the Metropolitan Opera. My arbitrary parameters for this episode were singers who appeared (approximately) between the years 1950 and 1975 and sang fewer than ten performances in total at that venerable institution. Among the artists featured are the British singers Josephine Veasey and Anne Howells (both of whom we lost earlier this year), as well as Stafford Dean and Alberto Remedios; the French-Canadian tenors Léopold Simoneau and Richard Verreau; the Romanians Ludovic Spiess and Marina Krilovici; the US-American dramatic coloratura Margherita Roberti; the Australian super-soprano Joan Carden; the Italian sopranos Maria Chiara and Luisa Malagrida; the French falcon Jane Rhodes; the Austrians Eberhard Wächter and Otto Wiener; the Finnish heldentenor Pekka Nuotio; and the Germans Josef Greindl, Walburga Wegner, Erna Schlüter and Christel Goltz. Met stalwarts Monserrat Caballé, Shirley Verrett, and Ramón Vinay are featured as vocal guest stars; conductors include such greats as Dimitri Mitroupoulos, Gianandrea Gavazzeni, Thomas Beecham, Carlo Felice Cillario, and Arthur Rodziński.. 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.

Say their names: In Uvalde: Nevaeh Bravo, Jackie Cazares, Makenna Lee Elrod, Jose Flores, Eliana Garcia, Irma Garcia, Uziyah Garcia, Amerie Jo Garza, Xavier Lopez, Jayce Luevanos, Tess Marie Mata, Miranda Mathis, Eva Mireles, Alithia Ramirez, Annabell Guadalupe Rodriguez, Maite Rodriguez, Alexandria Aniyah Rubio, Layla Salazar, Jailah Nicole Silguero, Eliahana Cruz Torres, Rojelio Torres. In Buffalo: Celestine Chaney, Roberta A. Drury, Andre Mackniel, Katherine Massey, Margus D. Morrison, Heyward Patterson, Aaron Salter, Geraldine Talley, Ruth Whitfield, Pearl Young. All gunned down by young men who should have had no access to an assault weapon in the first place. I have no meaningful response to such cruel slaughter. When I am in the most profound mourning, I turn to the composers whose music directly confronts that despair. Today that composer is Gustav Mahler. Since the victims were almost exclusively people of color, today for solace I turn to the extraordinary voices of women of color singing the music of Mahler. Roberta Alexander, Marian Anderson, Carol Brice, Oralia Dominguez, Jessye Norman, Florence Quivar, Shirley Verrett, Lucretia West provide balm for the depths of despair that we are all feeling right now. They are joined on the podium by some of the greatest conductors of the twentieth century: Leonard Bernstein, Christoph von Dohnányi, Bernard Haitink, Paul Kletzki, Hans Knappertsbusch, Erich Leinsdorf, Zubin Mehta, Pierre Monteux, Fritz Reiner, and Frieder Weissmann. This episode is also offered in memory of and in gratitude for the life of the great Lucretia West, who died on 21 February 2022 at the age of 99. 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.

She needs no introduction — but in magazine history, Tina Brown is rightly deemed a legend, reviving Tatler, Vanity Fair and The New Yorker, before turning to the web and The Daily Beast (where I worked for her). Her new book is The Palace Papers. We talked journalism, life and royals.You can listen to the episode right away in the audio player embedded above, or right below it you can click “Listen in podcast app,” which will connect you to the Dishcast feed. For two clips of our convo — on Meghan Markle’s epic narcissism, and why women make the best monarchs — head over to our YouTube page. Having Tina on the pod was the perfect excuse to transcribe our popular episode with Michael Moynihan, who used to work for Tina at The Daily Beast — which also hosted the Dish for a few years. So we’re all old friends. From the Moynihan chat:Andrew: I was talking to Tina Brown about this not that long ago, with the great days of the big magazines in the '80s and '90s. Really, when you look back on that time, it was an incredible festival of decadence and clearly over the top before the fall.Michael: I love Tina. I did a thing — you can look this up — an interview with her, when her Vanity Fair Diaries came out, for The Fifth Column. Just Tina and I sat down and talked for an hour and a half, and it was one of the best things I think we’ve recorded, and got one of the best responses. Because people miss those stories.Perhaps Bill Kristol should check out the clip with Moynihan on how to change your mind on stuff you get wrong:A listener looks back to last week’s episode:Wonderful interview with Douglas Murray, with the two of you riffing off each other with brilliant dialogue. Very warm and affirming as well. I particularly enjoyed your discussion of the religious dimension as one aspect of our present dilemma. I know you would want to provide variety for the Dishcast, but please consider having him on again.Another fan:This was the most memorable episode in a long time (although they are all great). Of course, your dialogue was choir-preaching, and so I need to be careful in avoiding confirmation bias. That said, I found Murray’s elegant way of encapsulating the obvious — which I fail to express myself — truly invigorating. I rewound and listened to many parts several times over. I ordered his book today.Another listener dissents:I find the armchair psychoanalysis regarding ressentiment — as the organizing principle of what is happening in our culture today — to be one of the least compelling arguments made in the episode. Why not go ahead and attribute our perpetual unwillingness in the West to recognize what is great about it to Christianity’s concept of original sin? Or maybe read psychoanalytic literature on why an individual or group of people who are objectively improving might hold onto beliefs of the self or society as rotten? These seem just as likely as Nietzsche’s argument. Ultimately, what a person speculates to be the primary motivator of another person or group reveals a lot. Your speculation that it’s mostly ressentiment suggests you want or need to demonize the CRT crowd. This is tragic given that this is precisely what you and Douglas accuse the CRT crowd of doing. Another listener differs:I don’t agree with everything you and Douglas Murray write, but thank you for talking about the resentment and bitterness that’s driving politics and culture today. It’s gone completely insane. I used to work for a small talent agency, and during the pandemic I coached some actors over Zoom. During the George Floyd protests, one of my clients was up watching the news all night, not getting any sleep. I told her, look, you want to be informed and want to help. But you have to take care of yourself first or you’re no help to anyone. Go to bed and catch up on the news tomorrow. People criticized me for this kind of advice, saying I was privileged, that I just wanted to look away and not examine myself for my own inherent racism, etc. I couldn’t understand why people were being so unreasonable.I’m also a Mormon. After George Floyd was murdered, our ward started to discuss racism. Mormonism has a checkered past when it comes to things like Black men and the priesthood. Or even language in some of the scriptures. These are important conversations that our church needs to have. There were good things that happened, like Black people in the ward shared more about their experiences during meetings. But almost immediately it became weird. The women’s group did a lesson on Robin DiAngelo’s “White Fragility,” for example. We didn’t actually ever talk about the things I was hoping we’d talk about — how Brigham Young stopped Black men receiving the priesthood, for example. We were just told we all needed to acknowledge our white privilege and feel guilty about it. There was a part about redlining. There was no acknowledgment that some of the white people in this ward lived in low-income housing, basically had nothing, and had been stressed even further by the pandemic. It just felt unnecessarily divisive. I have no idea what the Asian members made of this talk, because it basically excluded them. There were so many holes in these theories, but I wasn’t brave enough to point them out.So it was a real relief to hear you and Murray talk about the way these ideas have infiltrated churches. The Mormon thing is typically like, “God wants you to be happy. Live this structured life, show compassion, work hard, love your family, and be happy.” But the DiAngelo ideas felt like, “you can’t even be saved, at least not if you’re white. Some people don’t deserve to be happy; they should only feel guilt.” It was easier to bring in a fad book and talk about property values than to talk about the awful passage in the Book of Mormon where it says dark-skinned people are cursed, but other people are “white and delightsome.” I felt like the second the door opened to have a serious conversation about the church and race, they immediately jumped the shark instead.From a fan of opera and ballet:Douglas Murray mentioned Jessye Norman and how her obituary was racialized. Well, in January of 1961, Leontyne Price made her Metropolitan Opera debut, and she and Franco Correlli received an ovation that was around 50 minutes long ... possibly the longest in Met history, or among two or three longest. There have been so many great black singers at the Met, such as Shirley Verrett, Kathleen Battle (who was loved by James Levine but whose voice I never liked), Eric Owens, Grace Bumbry, and many others. Here’s a snip of Price’s Met debut:Balanchine choreographed Agon (music by Stravinsky), arguably his greatest dance, for Diana Adams (white) and Arthur Mitchell (black) in 1957. They danced the pas de deux, which is an erotic tangle of bodies. Balanchine wanted the black/white tension. Here is a bit of it:And to my beloved Jessye Norman, whom I saw only once, here she is at her best:Another listener rolls out some poetry:I greatly enjoyed your conversation with Douglas Murray. He is fierce! Your mention of Clive James’s “The Book of My Enemy Has Been Remaindered” reminded me of a similarly minded poem from Nina Puro. (I suspect one of them inspired the other.) I LONG TO HOLD THE POETRY EDITOR’S PENIS IN MY HANDand tell him personally,I’m sorry, but I’m goingto have to pass on this.Though your pieceheld my attention throughthe first few screenings,I don’t feel it is a good fitfor me at this time. Please know it receivedmy careful consideration.I thank you for allowingme to have a look,and I wish youthe very best of luckplacing it elsewhere.Shifting away from the Murray episode, here’s a followup from a intrepid Dishhead:I was excited to see my letter published on the violent toll homelessness takes on communities recently. I’ll be listening to the podcast with Maia Szalavitz soon, and I’ve got Johann’s book on harm reduction to read as well. (I loved the episode with Johann, bought his new book, loved it, and stopped being so online for about a week before backsliding ...)Shortly after I wrote that last letter to you, I realized that I wasn’t satisfied with just writing indignant letters about the bloody cost of complacency on homelessness. It’s really the story of Ahn Taylor — a sweet 94-year-old lady stabbed by a homeless man as she was walking in her neighborhood — that made me understand that complaining is not enough.So I’ve started a non-profit, Unsafe Streets, to take on this challenge. It’s sort of a “Take Back the Night”-style public safety crusade. It’s early days still, but we have a website, including pages for NYC and San Francisco, a Twitter feed, and a crowdfunding campaign. Next on my agenda is to create a page for Los Angeles, a detailed policy platform, and then to recruit a board and apply for 501c3 status.I’ve been keeping up with the Dish when I can (LOVING the conversation with Jonathan Haidt, and I HIGHLY recommend this complementary Rogan episode.) I’ve been busy with the kids and trying to get Unsafe Streets going in my free minutes.She follows up:I just listened to Maia’s episode, and I am pretty unsatisfied with her proposed solutions. Non-coercive acceptance and decriminalization is fine for people who are using drugs they bought with their own money in the privacy of their home. But public drug use, public intoxication, and the associated “quality of life” crimes (public defecation, indecency, etc.) make public spaces unsafe and uncomfortable for everyone else. Laws against these crimes should be enforced, which means arresting people and taking them to jail or some kind of treatment. Injecting fentanyl and passing out on the sidewalk is a very antisocial and harmful behavior, and should not be “decriminalized.”I agree with Maia that this is a complicated mix of addiction and severe mental illness. But I don’t think the cost of housing argument holds up. (A brief scan of the news will show you that there in fact ARE homeless encampments in West Virginia.) I think she was unfair in her characterization of Michael Shellenberger’s proposal, which includes tons of resources to expand access to and quality of treatment. Overall, Maia’s perspective is very focused on the benefit to the addict, but discounts the costs to the surrounding community. Thanks for keeping a focus on this subject!Another listener looks to a potential future guest:Hello! You invite your readers to submit guest ideas here. I submit Kevin D. Williamson — another nuanced “conservative,” Roman Catholic, Never Trumper, and admirer of Oakeshott. Oh, and he was fired after five minutes at The Atlantic for a previous statement about abortion.Thanks for the suggestion. Lastly, because we ran out of room this week in the main Dish for the new VFYW contest photo (otherwise the email version would get cut short), here ya go:Where do you think it’s located? Email your guess to contest@andrewsullivan.com. Please put the location — city and/or state first, then country — in subject line. Proximity counts if no one gets the exact spot. Bonus points for fun facts and stories. The winner gets the choice of a VFYW book or two annual Dish subscriptions. If you are not a subscriber, please indicate that status in your entry and we will give you a free month subscription if we select your entry for the contest results (example here if you’re new to the contest). Happy sleuthing! Get full access to The Weekly Dish at andrewsullivan.substack.com/subscribe

Anna Singer spoke with International soprano Takesha Meshé Kizart-Thomas, who makes her Pittsburgh debut in a one-night-only concert of opera, art song, jazz, and more. Praised by critics worldwide for her vocally compelling performances, Kizart-Thomas brings her versatility as a classical, jazz, soul, and pop vocal soloist to this program celebrating the significant contributions of women artists. Resonance Works' "The Phenomenal Woman" will feature arias honoring the dramatic heroines of the opera stage portrayed by such artists as Shirley Verrett, Leontyne Price, and Jessye Norman, jazz standards popularized by the “First Lady of Song” Ella Fitzgerald, art songs by contemporary Black women composers, and new pieces commissioned and created by Kizart-Thomas. Presented in the intimate setting of Oakland's Mellon Institute Auditorium, this concert is a powerful testament to the women who shaped music during the 20th century.

Ce samedi 16 avril 2022, le Théâtre des Champs-Élysées met à l'honneur les voix lyriques d'Afrique. À travers les grandes voix du continent africain réunies sur scène, l'association « Women of Africa » offre une soirée exceptionnelle au profit des jeunes artistes lyriques africains autour de grands morceaux d'opéra et de chants traditionnels de l'Afrique. Parmi ses plus grandes voix, l'histoire du chant lyrique compte bon nombre de chanteuses afro-américaines de carrure internationale : depuis la pionnière, la contralto Marian Anderson, première chanteuse noire à chanter au Metropolitan Opera, Léontyne Price, Grace Bumbry, Jessye Norman, Barbara Hendricks ou Shirley Verrett ont interprété les plus grands airs sur les plus grandes scènes d'opéra du monde. Mais qu'en est-il des voix d'Afrique ? C'est pour leur donner toute leur place que l'association Women of Africa a lancé « Africa Lyric's Opera » et présente ce samedi (16 avril 2022) « Les voix lyriques d'Afrique » au Théâtre des Champs-Élysées. Sa présidente Patricia Djomseu est l'invitée de VMDN, en compagnie de deux des artistes qui seront sur scène samedi soir : la soprano d'origine camerounaise Elisabeth Moussous et de la mezzo Adriana Bignagni-Lesca qui est originaire du Gabon. Elle est la toute fraîche lauréate de la première édition du concours international de chant « Les grandes voix lyriques d'Afrique » organisée la semaine dernière au palais de la Porte Dorée à Paris.  Reportage : Amélie Beaucour s'est glissée en coulisses de la première édition du concours international de chant « Les grandes voix lyriques d'Afrique » pour tendre son micro aux participants et participantes à une demi heure du début du spectacle, entre trac et vocalises. 

In this episode, Angela introduces everyone to the life and legacy of trailblazer Shirley Verrett. Her remarkable voice and artistry allowed her to successfully span mezzo-soprano and soprano roles. Verrett ascended to the heights of operatic stardom during the Civil Rights era of the 1960s, defying the racist and exclusionary customs of the industry. Verrett is recognized as one of the most revered Black operatic figures and continues to be a role model to generations of aspiring vocalists.Featured music: Mon coeur s'ouvre á ta voix from "Samson et Dalila" by Saint-SaënsVissi da'rte from "Tosca" by PucinniGive Me JesusSupport the show (https://classicalmusicindy.org/support-classical-music-indy/)

In Giuseppe Verdi's Macbeth, the emphasis is on Lady Macbeth with great interpretations by sopranos Shirley Verrett and Maria Callas.

This special episode, the first of two year-end celebrations, presents artists who have already been featured on Countermelody in rare recordings that have recently become available to me. A few of the artists heard include George Shirley, Heather Harper, Lawrence Winters, Elisabeth Söderström, Camilla Williams, Julia Migenes, John Raitt, Gloria Davy, Rosanna Carteri, Mirella Freni, Robert McFerrin, Margaret Marshall, Yi-Kwei Sze, Eileen Farrell, Shirley Verrett, Cathy Berberian, and many, many others in recordings, most from my personal collection, which you may not have heard before. This is a gift of love and gratitude from me to my listeners and supporters, a backward glance at all of the great singers who have been heard on the podcast over the past two and a half years, a theme which will continue next week. I look forward to continuing with new topics and new singers as we move into 2022. 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.

In today's episode of The Metropolitan Opera Guild podcast, we are joined by lecturer Ira Siff to discuss his experiences and memories of watching Marilyn Horne perform, and divas Shirley Verrett, Montserrat Caballe, Magda Olivero, Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, and Virginia Zeani!

In deze aflevering: Guiseppe Verdi, dé operacomponist van Italië. Schepper van maar liefst 26 opera's waaronder Nabucco, Aida, La Traviata. Een man met een turbulent leven. Een muzikale alleskunner voor wie in het 19e-eeuwse Italië honderdduizenden de straat op gingen. Muziek in deze aflevering: Aida – Triomfmars Coro e Orchestra del Teatro alla Scala di Milano o.l.v. Tullio Serafin Nabucco - Slavenkoor Deutsche Oper Berlin o.l.v. Giuseppe Sinopoli La Traviata – Libiamo ne' lieti calici Luciano Pavarotti, Dame Joan Sutherland, London Opera Chorus & National Philharmonic Orchestra o.l.v. Richard Bonynge Cherubini - Sonate voor orgel  Olivier Latry La forza del destino – Ouverture  Berliner Philharmoniker o.l.v. Claudio Abbado Oberto – Ouverture  Academy of St. Martin in the Fields o.l.v. Neville Marriner Oberto – Basta, basta o fedeli! Violeta Urmana, Academy of St. Martin in the Fields o.l.v. Neville Marriner Nabucco – Slavenkoor Deutsche Oper Berlin o.l.v. Giuseppe Sinopoli Attila – Santo di patria, Allor che i forti corrono, Da te questo or m'e concesso Cristina Deutekom, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra o.l.v. Lamberto Gardelli La Traviata – Prelude Berliner Philharmoniker o.l.v. Claudio Abbado La Traviata – Sempre libera  Anna Netrebko, Mahler Chamber Orchestra o.l.v. Claudio Abbado Lady Macbeth – Vieni, t'affretta  Shirley Verrett, Orchestra Teatro alla Scala di Milano o.l.v. Claudio Abbado Aida – Triomfmars  Orchestra del Teatro alla Scala di Milano o.l.v. Tullio Serafin Messa da Requiem – Dies irae: Dies irae  Coro e Orchestra del Teatro alla Scala di Milano o.l.v. Riccardo Muti  Otello – Una Vela! Una Vela! Luciano Pavarotti, Kiri Te Kanawa, Chicago Symphony Orchestra & Chorus o.l.v. Georg Solti  Otello – Niun mi tema  Luciano Pavarotti, Chicago Symphony Orchestra & Chorus o.l.v. Georg Solti  La Traviata – Addio del passato  Maria Callas, Orquestra de Sinfonica del Teatro Nacional de Santa Carlos o.l.v. Franco Ghione

La conductora presenta de una forma fresca y coloquial historias, anécdotas e interpretaciones de las y los mejores cantantes de ópera nacionales e internacionales. Sus roles, preparación,experiencias, personajes, , etc. Conducido por la Soprano Conny Palacios, Cantante de opera y jazz

Today I finally get to pay tribute to one of the singers who was a formative influence on me as a budding opera and vocal aficionado. George Shirley, born on April 18, 1934 in Indianapolis, Indiana, was one of the most versatile tenors of the second half of the twentieth century, and a pathbreaker as the first African American tenor to sing at the Metropolitan Opera. I first encountered him through his matchless portrayal of Pelléas in Debussy’s Pelléas et Mélisande opposite Elisabeth Söderström. But his Mozart is equally celebrated: the podcast also features live and studio recordings of George Shirley as Tamino (opposite Judith Raskin), Don Ottavio, Ferrando (opposite Leontyne Price),  as well as his extraordinary Idomeneo. Extant live performances of George Shirley including assumptions of roles as diverse as Don José (opposite Shirley Verrett), David in Die Meistersinger, Pinkerton (opposite an incandescent young Renata Scotto), Mephistopheles in Busoni’s Doktor Faust, and even Bacchus in Ariadne auf Naxos. All of these are included in the episode, as are rare song recordings from throughout his career. Raise a glass to the great George Shirley, and join me in thanking him for having shared his extraordinary artistic gift with us for all these years! 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.” Occasional guests from the “business” (singers, conductors, composers, coaches, and teachers) lend their distinctive insights. At Countermelody’s core is the interaction between singers of all stripes, their instruments, and the connection they make to the words they sing. 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 including artist photos and episode setlists. And please head to my Patreon page at www.patreon.com/countermelody to pledge your monthly support at whatever level you can afford. Bonus episodes available only to Patreon supporters are currently available.

This week Phil and Adam talk to a returning guest. Azia Wiggins helps answer a voice message. She also shares about her journalism project. She tells them about the most authentic people in her life. They all talk about Code-Switching vs Inauthenticity. Adam's Artist Suggestions for Appreciating the Spiritual (many more could be added): American Spiritual Ensemble, Kathleen Battle, Leontyne Price, William Warfield, Simon EsteGrace, Bumbry, Paul Robeson, Shirley Verrett, Jessye Norman, Lawrence Brownlee, Pretty Yende, Marian Anderson, Denyce Graves, Willard White, Seth McCoy Phil's Artist Suggestions for Appreciating Black Gospel (many more could be added): Fred Hammond, Hezekiah Walker, Donald Lawrence, John P. Kee, Kirk Franklin, Clark Sisters, Rance Allen, Canton Spirituals, Jonathan McReynolds, Kim Burrell, Mississippi Mass Choir, the Winans, BeBe and CeCe Winans, Marvin Winans, any Mass Choir Azia's Article: Sick And Tired: No Time To Rest For The Resilient Black Woman In Mississippi Develop Authenticity: 20 Ways to Be a More Authentic Person --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/pawpod/message

The OBS is back on TDO Network on Wednesday, January 6, 2021 at 9 pm CT! The OBS team is podcast-only this week, as they re-share three of their favorite segments from 2020. And from 2019, because... 2020. [@ 3 min] Matt inducts Shirley Verrett into the OBS 'HOF'... [@ 24 min] Oliver goes 'Inside the Huddle' with James Darrah before James Darrah was James Darrah... [@ 45 min] Ashlee recaps her chat with seven women artists and administrators who navigated partnership at parenting while at the top of their operatic game... operaboxscore.com dallasopera.org/tdo_network_show/opera-box-score facebook.com/obschi1 @operaboxscore IG operaboxscore

Beethoven’s Ode to Joy from his Symphony No. 9 is the centerpiece of this program. Herbert von Karajan conducts. Also heard will be the finale of Verdi’s Falstaff with Bryn Terfel and Gluck’s Orfeo ed Euridice with Shirley Verrett and Anna Moffo. The post Happy Endings appeared first on WFMT.

Today is the final episode of the Crossover Classics series and the final episode of Season One of Countermelody. The subject is US-American singers who spent significant portions of their lives and careers in Europe. I begin with an historical survey of early Twentieth Century singers who emigrated from the US to Europe (Geraldine Farrar, Mary Lewis) as well as from Europe to the US (Jarmila Novotná, Lotte Lehmann). Singers are featured in operetta (Barry McDaniel, Donald Grobe, Arlene Saunders), musicals (Reri Grist, Tatiana Troyanos, Wilbur Evans, Robert Trehy, Maria Ewing), jazz (Margaret Tynes, Charles Holland, Shirley Verrett), and pop, soul, and schlager (Lawrence Winters, Anna Moffo, Kenneth Spencer, Grace Bumbry, Felicia Weathers). The range of composers represented is enormous, from Cole Porter to Carrie Jacobs-Bond to Jimmy Webb to Rodgers and Hammerstein to ABBA to Duke Ellington to Gilbert Bécaud to J.B. Lenoir to Franz Lehár. The tone ranges from tongue in cheek to dead serious, from the quasi-bel canto pop vocalism of Muriel Smith to the intimate, Lieder-like shadings of Roberta Alexander to the raw blues stylings of Barbara Hendricks. Tune in next week for an sneak preview of Season Two. 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.” Occasional guests from the “business” (singers, conductors, composers, coaches, and teachers) lend their distinctive insights. 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. Bonus episodes available only to Patreon supporters are currently available!

Today’s episode (in celebration of Countermelody’s first birthday!) picks up where the last one left off: more musicals, more opera (and operaish) singers! Excerpts from cast recordings, radio broadcasts, telecasts, and live performances highlight the work of singers who divided their time, to a greater or lesser extent, between the Broadway stage and the operatic stage. We begin with the great bass-baritones (Ezio Pinza, Cesare Siepi, Giorgio Tozzi, and José Van Dam) and move through the great Broadway (and sometime opera) baritones (Alfred Drake, John Raitt, Bruce Yarnell, Robert Trehy, Leslie Scott, Lawrence Winters, and John Reardon) with a nod to other opera singers who have also graced the Broadway stage (Helen Traubel, Shirley Verrett, Mona Paulee, Dorothy Sarnoff, Risë Stevens, Lee Venora, Camilla Williams, and Carol Brice). We then consider singers whose vocal abilities could easily have put them on the opera stage, had they chosen to so devote themselves (Alice Ghostley, Madeline Kahn, Barbara Cook, Florence Henderson, Judy Kaye, Lisa Vroman, Audra McDonald, Victoria Clark, Rebecca Luker, and the late Marin Mazzie). The episode also features tributes to two recently deceased divas (Gabriella Tucci and Christiane Eda-Pierre) as well as a spotlight on the gorgeous soprano Margaret Tynes, who just celebrated her 101st birthday. 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.” Occasional guests from the “business” (singers, conductors, composers, coaches, and teachers) lend their distinctive insights. 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. Bonus episodes available only to Patreon supporters are currently available!  

An introduction to opera! In which Hannah and guest expert Greg Freed discuss music as math homework, the excitement of "wrong" singing, Lawrence Tibbett's forehead, and the proper way to insult one's seatmates at the Met. See everyrecordeverrecorded.com for more opera notes! PLAYED ON THE SHOW: PLAYED ON THE SHOW: - Christine Goerke, "Allein, Weh, ganz allein" from Elektra, Dresden, 2014 (Richard Strauss) - The Consort of Musicke, "Fantasia a 6 (no. 2)" (William Byrd) - Ton Koopman, "Fuga in G (BWV 578)" (Johann Sebastian Bach) - The Academy of Ancient Music, Symphony no. 40 in G minor, first movement (Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart) - Boston Symphony Orchestra, Symphony no. 5 in C minor, first movement (Ludwig von Beethoven) - Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Symphony no. 9 in D minor, first movement (Ludwig von Beethoven) - BBC Symphony Orchestra, "IV. Peripetie, Sehr rasch" from Five Pieces for Orchestra (Arnold Schönberg) - London Philharmonic Orchestra, "Mortal cosa son io" from Il Ritorno di Ulisse in Patria (Claudio Monteverdi) - Concerto Vocale, "Mortal cosa son io" from Il Ritorno di Ulisse in Patria (Claudio Monteverdi) - Jessye Norman, "Mild und leise wie er lächelt" from Tristan und Isolde (Richard Wagner) - Franco Faggioli, "Vo solcando un mar crudele" from Artaserse (Leonardo Vinci) (nope, different guy) - Budapest Philharmonic, "Dance of the Blessed Spirits" from Orfeo ed Euridice (Christoph Willibald Gluck) - Lawrence Brownlee, "Un'aura amorosa" from Cosi Fan Tutte (Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart) - Lucia Popp, "Der Hölle Rache" from The Magic Flute (Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart) - Rockwell Blake, "D'ogni più sacro impegno" from L'Occasione Fa Il Ladro (Gioacchino Rossini) - Leyla Gencer and Shirley Verrett, "Figlia impura di Bolena" from Maria Stuarda (Gaetano Donizetti) - Franco Corelli from Poliuto (Gaetano Donizetti) - Kiri te Kanawa, "Aria from Salammbo" (Bernard Herrmann) - Elmer Fudd, "Kill the Wabbit" from What's Opera, Doc? (Chuck Jones, Michael Maltese and Richard Wagner) - Lawrence Tibbett, "Leb wohl, du kühnes herrliches Kind" from Die Walküre (Richard Wagner) - Leonie Rysanek, "Entweihte Götter!" from Lohengrin (Richard Wagner) - Lilli Lehmann, "Non mi dir" from Don Giovanni (Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart) - Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra, "Humming Chorus" from Madama Butterfly (Giacomo Puccini) - Sorasit D Guzheng, "Mo Li Hua" - Celine Dion and Song Zuying, "Mo Li Hua," live in China, 2013 - Choeurs, "Là, Sui Monte Dell' Est" from Turandot, Avignon, France, 2012 (Giacomo Puccini) - Maria Callas, first entrance in "Tosca," Metropolitan Opera House, New York, 1965 (Giacomo Puccini) - Maria Callas, finale of Act 2 of "Aida," Mexico, 1950 (Giuseppe Verdi) - Ghena Dimitrova, "Gloria, gloria, o vincitore!" from Turandot, (Giacomo Puccini) - Inge Borkh, "Barak, ich hab' es nicht getan!," from Die Frau Ohne Schatten (Richard Strauss) - Wiener Philharmoniker, "Mondscheinmusik" from Capriccio (Richard Strauss) - Edo de Waart and the Orchestra of St Luke, "It Seems So Strange" from Nixon in China (John Adams) - Trudy Ellen Craney, "I Am the Wife of Mao Tse-Tung" - Wiener Philharmoniker, "Act 2 Interlude" from Pelleas et Melisande (Claude Debussy) - Lorraine Hunt Lieberson, "As with rosy steps the morn" from Theodora (George Frideric Handel)

From 2003 comes this interview with opera singer Shirley Verrett, talking about her book "I Never Walked Alone: The Autobiography of an American Singer." Verrett was one of the most compelling opera singers of her generation- and an African-American who came to prominence during the height of the Civil Rights movement. This is the first time that the entire interview is being shared without abridgment. Verrett died in 2010.

La conductora presenta de una forma fresca y coloquial historias, anécdotas e interpretaciones de las y los mejores cantantes de ópera nacionales e internacionales. Sus roles, preparación,experiencias, personajes, , etc. Conducido por la Soprano Conny Palacios, Cantante de opera y jazz

Another nation, la belle France, has a birthday right around the corner, and today I hoist the Tricolore to celebrate La Fête Nationale. I had planned this episode several weeks ago but when the worldwide #BlackLivesMatter protests began, I felt the need to respond in kind with two episodes featuring music of protest and hope. Today I present the first of two consecutive episodes on French Glamour, for after all, who does Glamour better than the French? I also consider the manner in which exoticism and imperialism make an appearance in French opera in particular. I present a veritable mad rush of great French singers, all possessed of personal poise and vocal appeal. Singers range from such classical artists as Mady Mesplé (whose recent passing we belatedly acknowledge), Régine Crespin, Janine Micheau, Germaine Cernay, Emma Calvé, Renée Doria, Jennie Tourel, Denise Duval, Andrée Esposito, Germaine Féraldy, Françoise Pollet (as well as exemplary Belgian sopranos Emma Luart and Fanny Heldy) to pop singers Joséphine Baker (French by adoption!), and Maurice Chevalier. We allow such non-French interlopers as Geraldine Farrar, Giuseppe di Stefano, Grace Bumbry, Mary Lewis, Teresa Żylis-Gara, Lisette Oropesa, and my beloved Shirley Verrett, many of whom also lived extensively in France, to make their contributions in song to this celebration. And who better than the late Jessye Norman to cap the episode with her rousing rendition of La Marseillaise, as she did in 1989 for the French Bicentennial? 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 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.

On the weekend that my benighted nation celebrates its birthday, I turn for real leadership to Renata Scotto, specifically her portrayal of the Druid priestess Norma in Vincenzo Bellini’s eponymous cornerstone of the bel canto repertoire. Scotto began her career as a charming lyric-coloratura, lending her distinctive voice and artistic personality to roles from such country damsels as Amina in La Sonnambula and Adina in L’elisir d’amore to the more substantial title roles in Lucia di Lammermoor and La Traviata. With Butterfly, she moved into heavier repertoire and eventually, in 1974, first took on Norma. Singing this role for the opening of the Metropolitan Opera season in 1981 was a risk that took a toll on her reputation. But, I contend, even with its flaws, her Norma is one of the greatest post-Callas assumptions of the role. Scotto's occasional vocal vulnerabilities in the role contrast with her continuing fearlessness in coloratura. And her insights into the varying aspects of Norma’s persona: her wisdom, her compassion, her conflict between love and duty, and finally, her ability to admit wrongdoing and accept the consequences, show all the characteristics of a true leader. In 1978, at the peak of her achievement, Renata Scotto sang the role of Norma in at least three different productions: in Philadelphia (with the gleaming John Alexander); in Houston (with the glorious Tatiana Troyanos); and in Firenze (conducted by the stern but compelling Riccardo Muti). I offer extended excerpts from each of these performances as well as a beguiling performance of “Casta diva” from her first assumption of the role in Torino in 1974. I also offer John Alexander and another podcast favorite, Shirley Verrett, in the Adalgisa-Pollione duet. Finally, I top off the episode with Scotto’s oh-so-wrong yet oh-so-right performance of “Send in the Clowns,” which serves as the perfect commentary for the current political situation in the USA. 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 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.

A great 1967 first-act confrontation pits Montserrat Caballe against Shirley Verrett.

Episode 6. Shirley Verrett II: La Regina del Bel Canto. In this episode in my Shirley Verrett miniseries, I explore a wide range of the artist’s bel canto roles, including the roles of Neocle in Rossini’s L’assedio di Corinto, Elisabetta in Donizetti’s Maria Stuarda, Leonora in La Favorita, Sinaïde in Rossini’s Mosè in Egitto and the French version Moïse et Pharaon, and finally, the roles of Adalgisa and, finally, the title role in Bellini’s Norma, surely one of her greatest creations. Musical examples abound, with other featured artists including Leyla Gencer as Maria Stuarda, and John Alexander, who played Pollione to both Verrett’s Adalgisa and her Norma. Countermelody is a new 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 also visit the Countermelody website for updates, additional content, and to pledge your support. www.countermelodypodcast.com

Episode 5: Shirley Verrett: La Nera Callas I. Falcon or Verdi soprano? This episode is the first of two on one of my favorite singers, the Zwischenfachsängerin Shirley Verrett. Renowned in the United States for her performances of Verdi mezzo-soprano parts, particularly Azucena in Il Trovatore and Eboli in Don Carlo, the late singer commanded an enormous repertoire, comprising bel canto and French roles, on which she left her indelible stamp. I focus in particular on the French roles she performed at the Opéra de Paris from the mid-1980s through the early 1990s, as well as her Verdi soprano roles, including Amelia in Un ballo in maschera and the title role in Aida. Known in the Italian press as La Nera Callas [The Black Callas], Verrett is heard in this episode singing Brahms, Gluck, Saint-Saëns, and Verdi roles for both soprano and mezzo-soprano. Special attention is paid to her newsworthy appearances with fellow African American mezzo-cum-soprano, Grace Bumbry, the first of which, a joint Carnegie Hall concert in 1982, honored the iconic contralto Marian Anderson on the occasion of her 80th birthday.

Episode 4: Jessye and Her Forebears (Needle Drop I) Due to a last minute change of plans, I have decided to bring you the first in what I hope will be a series of episodes devoted to excerpts from LP recordings in my collection which have either never been reissued on CD or have had only limited availability. This first episode includes a tribute to the late Jessye Norman, with a nod to some of the great African American singers who paved the way for her in her career. In addition, my special guest the theatre scholar David Savran speaks about the significance of her collaborations with director Robert Wilson. Other singers heard include Gérard Souzay, Elisabeth Söderström, Dorothy Maynor, Camilla Williams, Martina Arroyo, Shirley Verrett, and Leontyne Price, none of which have received widespread release beyond their initial appearance on LP. I conclude the episode with a special greeting from the balcony of my Air B&B in Napoli, where I am celebrating my birthday. Countermelody is a new 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 also visit the Countermelody website for updates, additional content, and to pledge your support. www.countermelodypodcast.com

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Operatic ensembles at their best from The Magic Flute, Un ballo in maschera, Carmen, and Die Meistersinger. Among the many artists heard are Victoria de los Ángeles, René Kollo, Shirley Verrett, Nicolai Gedda, and Elisabeth Schwarzkopf. The post Four Operatic Quintets appeared first on WFMT.

The guys go ‘Inside the Huddle’ with countertenor Jordan Rutter, who’s currently performing in Chicago Opera Theater’s new production of “The Scarlet Ibis”. What's it feel like for a singer from Florida to perform in the middle of a brutal Chicago winter...? Matt has a brand new member to induct into the hallowed corridors of the OBS 'Hall of Fame' in honor of Black History Month. Find out who needs to start working that acceptance speech... In the ‘Two Minute Drill’, take a peek at some of the rejected plans for the Sydney Opera House... operaboxscore.com/thisweeksshow @operaboxscore

Even before Rigoletto's Venice premiere in 1851, Verdi knew that "La donna è mobile" would be a huge hit. He instructed the orchestra members not to whistle or sing the melody, and he even waited until the very last moment to give the music to the tenor. Verdi wanted to ensure that the third-act aria characterizing the Duke of Mantua's licentious treatment of women would have maximum impact on an unsuspecting audience. The opera was an immediate smash hit. It was one of the first of Verdi's operas to establish him as a great international composer, and its many memorable melodies still reverberate in opera houses across the globe.  On this episode of He Sang/She Sang, we speak with Tony Award-winning director Michael Mayer, who created this "Rat Pack" version of Rigoletto that opened at the Met in 2013. Updated to a 1960 Las Vegas casino setting, Mayer tells us that Frank Sinatra was the original model for the Duke of Mantua. We also speak with soprano Olga Peretyatko, who is performing the role of Rigoletto's strong and self-sacrificing daughter, Gilda. Listen to learn  more about Verdi's tragic jester.   Merrin's YouTube pick (Plácido Domingo, Vittorio Grigolo, Julia Novikova, Nino Surguladze, 2010:  Jeff's YouTube pick, No.1 (Luciano Pavarotti, 1964):  Jeff's YouTube pick, No. 2 (Luciano Pavarotti, 1982):  This episode features excerpts from the following album: Verdi: Rigoletto (London, 1989)— Luciano Pavarotti, tenor; Leo Nucci, baritone; June Anderson, soprano; Shirley Verrett, mezzo-soprano; Orchestra of the Teatro Comunale di Bologna conducted by Riccardo Chailly

Today in 1968, African-American mezzo-soprano Shirley Verrett made her Metropolitan Opera Company debut performing the title role in Bizet's Carmen.  This episode of "A Classical Day in the Life" explores her long career and the turbulent paths navigated by black artists such as Verrett during the twentieth century.

More mulling over James Levine's future at The Met...Seattle Opera unveils plans for new enormo-dome...Next season has first opera by a female composer in a jillion years. This week in Oliver's Corner we listen to historically important recordings featuring Grace Bumbry, Shirley Verrett, Simon Estes, and Dorothy Maynor. This week features Michael, The OC and Doug Dodson.  

Operatic predators are seen through out the world of opera. From Iago from Verdi's Otello to Baron Scarpia from Puccini's Tosca and maybe the ultimate predator Lady Macbeth from Verdi's Macbeth. Join us as Eric speaks about and plays his favorite operatic predators.

Shirley Verrett, one of my all-time favorite singers, in a Scala 1975 performance of Macbeth under Claudio Abbado. The magnificent Piero Cappuccilli, Franco Tagliavini, and (not to be oudone), Nicolai Ghiaurov complete the cast.

  Another compilation of material from my files. I hope you enjoy the selections, and remember what "fun" you can have if you give an opera party and ask the guests to guess, giving prizes for the winners. 1.  Julia Varady             Aria from Puccini's Edgar 2. Shirley Verrett          Favorita Cabaletta (We went nuts at Carnegie Hall.) 3-4.  Leonard Warren   Ernani and Pagliacci arias 5. Ljuba Welitch             Vissi d'arte 6.Dolora Zajick                Principessa aria from Adriana 7. Milanov/Bjoerling      Ballo Love duet 8. Janet Baker                Traume 9. Alessandro Bonci       Luisa Miller aria 10. Maria Callas              Puritani  "Vieni al tempio" 11. Steber/Kullman       Carmen act one duet 12. Enrico Caruso           "Mia piccirella"  (Makes me CRAZY!)  13. Renata Scotto          Butterfly "Che tua madre."  14. Mario del Monaco     Otello  "Dio mi potevi"  15. Marisa Galvany         What else but the famous Aida act 2 E flat.  16.  Nicolai Gedda            Manon  "Ah fuyez."   17-18   Leyla Gencer/Cornell Macneil and then Hilde Gueden/Leonard Warren in the Rigoletto  "Si,vendetta' duet.

 The late Shirley Verrett, one of my all-time favorite artists, appears as Carmen in this Rome 1967 performance under Georges Pretre. The superb Australian tenor, Albert Lance, is the Don Jose, with Robert Massard as Escamillo.  (70 min.)

In 1955, Cappuccilli auditioned for La Scala in Milan, where the auditioners, deeply impressed, encourage him to enter the Viotti competition. After his first place award, he made his official operatic debut in 1957 at the Teatro Nuovo in Milan, singing Tonio in Pagliacci. In 1960, he made his debut at the Metropolitan Opera, singing Giorgio Germont in La traviata, which was to be Cappuccilli spent most of his career singing in Europe, with only infrequent travels to North and South America. He made his debut at the Teatro alla Scala in 1964, as Enrico, at the Royal Opera House in London as Germont in 1967, and his Opéra de Paris debut took place in 1978, as Amonasro. He also appeared at the Vienna State Opera and the Salzburg Festival. He worked with the greatest European conductors of his time (Karajan, Gavazzeni, Abbado, Kleiber) and became one of the finest interpreters of the Italian repertoire. Cappuccilli was highly respected as a "Verdi baritone", where his beautiful voice, fine vocal technique, musical elegance, and dignified stage presence, were shown to their best advantage. He left an impressive discography, he recorded Lucia di Lammermoor twice, first with Maria Callas in 1959, and with Beverly Sills in 1970. Other notable recordings include; Rigoletto, opposite Ileana Cotrubas and Placido Domingo, under Carlo Maria Giulini, Macbeth, opposite Shirley Verrett, and Simon Boccanegra, opposite Mirella Freni and Nicolai Ghiaurov, both under Claudio Abbado. He also recorded Don Carlos, Il Trovatore and Aida under Herbert von Karajan Cappuccilli sang until his mid-sixties; an automobile accident in 1992 ended his stage career. He died in his native Trieste, at the age of 78.[2]  Pagliacci,Zaza,Macbeth,Attila,Due Foscari,Forza,Trovatore,Do Carlo,Pearl Fishers, Chenier, Nabucco,Ernani,Roberto Devereux. (68 min.)

 A most exciting performance (highlights, as always) of Donizetti's "Maria Stuarda," from a 1971 La Scala performance under Carlo Felice Cillario. The cast features Montserrat Caballe, Shirley Verrett, Ottavio Garaventa, Giulio Fioravanti, and Rafael Arie   (64 min.)

The noted scholar and countertenor, Dr. Darryl Taylor drops in on the African American Voice in Classical Music to discuss the 2012 African American Art Song Alliance, to be held February 9-12 at the University of Califoria at Irvine.  Taylor will also discuss his career as a concert soloist and professor of music.

The inaugural inteview of THE TRAILBLAzER SERIES:  a series devoted to those artists that are knocking down barriers, paving the way for others to follow and enjoy thriving careers in the performing arts.  Internationally acclaimed Metropolitan Opera tenor, George Shirley is a sterling example, being the first African American star tenor, folowing in the footsteps of icon Roland Hayes.

New York City based musician Courtney Carey shares with Patrick D. McCoy. "The African-American Voice in Classical Music" exciting details about a special tribute concert held in memory of the late soprano Shirley Verrett. Ms. Verrett passed away on November 5, 2011. Her loss is tremendous, as she was one of the greats from the post-war era. This special concert, which will be held on Saturday, January 8, 2011 at 7 p.m. at the Ephesus Seventh-Day Adventist Church, is at present one of two in the country in her honor. The concert will include special spoken tributes by legendary mezzo soprano Hilda Harris, her accompanist for 40 years, Warren Wilson, co-author of her autobiography Christopher Brooks, and written tributes by Martina Arroyo and Leontyne Price, a special memorial chorus, soprano Janinah Burnett (Spelman c/o 2000), mezzo sopranos J'nai Bridges, Lucia Bradford-Wiggins, and a video montage which will feature clips of Miss Verrett and some never before seen photos. The evening will be emceed by another great mezzo soprano Barbara Conrad.

In memory of the late wonderful Shirley Verrett, we present highlights from a live La Scala performance of Samson et Delilah, from 1970 under Georges Pretre. Richard Cassilly, Robert Massard, and Leonardo Monreale complete the cast. As a bonus, Shirley Verrett sings the Death of Dido from a Troyens perf. in 1969 in Rome.  (72 min.)  When they leave us, a part of us breaks away,but our memories stay with us forever.                                                                                                        Charlie

 I adored Verrett and always placed her way up there with the greatest mezzos (sopranos also, since she did both mezzo and soprano roles.) When they leave us, a piece of us gets ripped away, since these "bigger-than-life" personalities have been so endearing to us,     As ever Charlie

I thought it might be fun (and you can use it as a quiz, as long as you turn down the volume when I introduce the selections) to select various files from the zillions I have and make up a pot-pourri for you. If you like the idea, let me know, and in the future I can do others. Featured are:  (in order) Paul Schoeffler, Dmitri Hvorostovsky, Dmitri Smirnov, Jussi Bjoerling, Franz Voelker, Virginia Zeani, Daniele Barioni, Shirley Verrett, Vassilka Petrova (oi vey!), Maria Callas, Leonard Warren, Anita Cerquetti, Mario del Monaco and Victoria de los Angeles, Jussi Bjoerling and Robert Merrill, and Zinka Milanov.   (71 min.)   Let  me know if you like this idea.  as ever  Charlie  

You will LOVE this one!   Sixteen divas singing cabalettas..Lots of trills,thrills, high notes,etc...Have fun!!!!!! Lili Pons, Mado Robin, Beverly Sills, Katya Ricciarelli, Gilda Cruz-Romo, Federica von Stade, Shirley Verrett, Antonietta Stella, Maria Chiara, Magda Olivero, Zinka Milanov, Leontyne Price, Joan Sutherland, Monserrat Caballe, Christina Deutekom, and Virginia Zeani.                   ( 68 min.of carrying-on)

 This is the second podcast in which I feature singers and repertory at the request of one of Dolora Zajick's group of truly amazing young artists. If you click the following link, it will take you to the "Seguidilla" from Carmen, as sung by the bright young mezzo, Allegra de Vita (in photo.)                  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c6BLYCj3i28    I have therefore presented a pot-pourri of mostly lyric mezzos singing some of the works tht Mme.De Vita is studying, plus some additional material I feel appropriate. The artists are: Janet Baker, Magdalena Kozena, Joyce di Donato, Sonia Ganassi, Susan Graham, Sarah Connolly, Josephine Veasy, Elina Garanca, Viveca Genaux, Vesselina Kasarova, and (the only more dramatic mezzo), Shirley Verrett.       I sincerely hope this podcast will be a useful aid to Mme.De Vita's studies and we wish her our best for future success.    (70 min.)

An exciting comparison of various singers in the Macbeth Letter Aria from Act One. Included are: Leonie Rysanek, Birgit Nilsson, Regina Resnik, Christa Ludwig,Leyla Gencer, Shirley Verrett, Maria Callas, Rita Hunter, andif you go to the following link, you can see the CBC video of this scene with Marisa Galvany.    (71 min.) http://video.google.com/videosearch?q=Maria+Galvany&hl=en&emb=0&aq=f#q=Marisa%20Galvany&hl=en&emb=0 P.S. On the Marisa Galvany page,you will hear some excerpts from the soprano Maria Galvany, whose rapid-fire staccati are legendary, if also rather strange.

 A comparison of various versions (French and English) of the "O Mio Fernando" aria from Donizetti's "La Favorita." Included are: Giulietta Simionato, Ebe Stignani, Fedora Barbieri, Regina Resnik,Shirley Verrett, Ketty Lapeyerette, Fiorenza Cossotto, Gloria Scalchi, Vesselina Kasarova, and Rise Stevens.                         So, who is your "favorita?"               (68 min.)    

Grace Bumbry &, Shirley Verrett, Concert in Honor of Marian Anderson, Verdi: Aida, Cilea: Adriana Lecouvreur, Verdi: Otello, Bellini: Norma. Encore of Norma duet, Opera Orchestra of New York, Eve Queler. Carnegie Hall, New York, 31 January 1982.

Grace Bumbry &, Shirley Verrett, Concert in Honor of Marian Anderson, Verdi: La battaglia di Legnano, Ponchielli: La Gioconda, Verdi: Macbeth, Spontini: La Vestale, Donizetti: Anna Bolena, Opera Orchestra of New York, Eve Queler. Carnegie Hall, New York, 31 January 1982.

The second podcast dedicated to "chest voice." In order ofbroadcast sequence, the artists are: Olga Borodina, Elena Suliotis, Adriana Guerrini, Renata Tebaldi,Magda Olivero, Ebe Stignani, Theresa Stich-Randall,Gina Cigna,Marisa Galvany, Zinka Milanov, Shirley Verrett. Claudia Muzio,Virginia Zeani, and Olive Middleton.                                     (78 minutes)

 Selections from the Saint-Saens opera "Samson et Delilah featuring many fine singers,including: Ezio Pinza, Robert Merrill, Rise Stevens, Dolora Zajick,Shirley Verrett, Oralia Dominguez, Rita Gorr, Christa Ludwig,Ebe Stignani, Giulietta Simionato, Fiorenza Cossotto,Jose Luccioni, Ramon Vinay, Jon Vickers, Robert Massard,Rene Maison, and Richard Tucker                                 (70 minutes)

Ten versions of the finale of the exciting Aida "Judgement Scene." The artists featured include: Giulietta Simionato (in photo), Fedora Barbieri, Rita Gorr,Elena Obratsova, Marisa Galvany, Fiorenza Cossotto,Barbro Ericson, Oralia Dominguez, Bruna Castagna, Shirley Verrett. (83 chesty minutes)  

     The great Bellini opera "Norma" surely lends itself to    performances by some of our most memorable artists.    Here are some scenes which feature a number of them: Maria Callas, Montserrat Caballe, Shirley Verrett,Lauren Flanigan, Marisa Galvany, Zinka Milanov,Gina Cigna, Rita Hunter, Beverly Sills, Renata Scotto,Joan Sutherland, Leyla Gencer, Lili Lehmann,Marilyn Horne, Ebe Stignani, Gino Penno,Kurt Baum,Carlos Cossutta, Lamberto Furlan, Carlo Bergonzii, Franco Corelli,  Elena Nicolai, Roberto Francesconi,AND Olive Middleton (well, nobody's POIFEKT!)

    A compilation of exciting cabalettas from various    operas as sung by some of the great artists of the past: Shirley Verrett, Montserrat Caballe, Virginia Zeani, Virginia Zeani, Elena Suliotis, Beverly Sills,Mado RobinGiulietta Simionato, Marilyn Horne, Christa Ludwig,Antonietta Stella, Joan Sutherland, Nicolai Gedda,Luciano Pavarotti, Alfredo Kraus, Franco Corelli,Piero Cappuccilli, Nicolai Ghiaurov,Sherrill Milnes,Carlo Bergonzi, and Richard Tucker

  Giuseppe Verdi wrote some of his most remarkable musicfor baritone and soprano. This podcast features duets fromeleven of his works, and features baritones such as: Cornell MacNeil, Piero Cappuccili, Leonard Warren,Roberto Frontali, Gino Bechi, Sherrill Milnes,Antonio Boyer, Ettore Bastianini, andGian-Giacomo Guelfi. The sopranos include:  Montserrat Caballe, Virginia Zeani,Zinka Milanov, Leyla Gencer, Renata Tebaldi,Renata Scotto, Maria Callas, Shirley Verrett, &Sondra Radnovsky (Photo: Maria Guleghina and Renato Bruson in Nabucco)

Since Marian Anderson made her Met debut as Ulrica in 1955, several Afro-American artists have followed; in addition,several black artists of the past must be recognized for their fine singing:       Marian Anderson (photo),Leontyne Price,Paul Robeson, Dorothy Maynor,Grace Bumbry,Shirley Verrett,Florence Quivar,Angela Brown, Lawrence Brownlee