Episode 458. A Conversation with Steven Blier: From Ear to Ear
Today a new segment of Countermelody Conversations that has been months in the offing! One of the ineffable delights of hosting Countermelody over the years is the connection it has brought me with my...
Episode 457. Ein Opernabend mit… Anna Tomowa-Sintow
Today’s episode serves two purposes: First, I introduce my listeners to a wonderful series first released on Eterna, the East German state record label, entitled “Ein Opernabend mit…” which feat...
I had hoped not to be bringing this episode to my listeners until many years hence. Alas, my dear teacher and mentor John Wustman, one of the most influential, pathbreaking, and inspired of all accomp...
Greetings to all from your recently Venetianized podcaster, now (as the title of today’s episode indicates) once again back in the saddle and bringing you the fourth and final of my vacation (or holid...
David and I are still on holiday in the magical city of Venice; it’s my first vist here in nearly forty years and it has been beguiling and enchanting (as well as exhausting)! Before we left, I ...
Next up in my series of Countermelody “vacation episodes,” here’s the tenor counterpart of the soprano episode I published at the beginning of the week. This is the Historical Recording Enterprises mi...
Hello, fans and listeners! I am “Óut of the Office” for the next two weeks, hence the tongue-in-cheek title of this episode, the first of four recycled potpourri episodes bringing you four records iss...
Episode 451. Norman Bailey Sings Three Song Cycles
I have twice featured the great British bass-baritone Norman Bailey (who also sang both regular baritone and, later in his career, regular bass roles) on my podcast. The first time was on the occasion...
Episode 450. Onelia Fineschi Sings the Undoing of Women
Onelia Fineschi (1921 – 2004) was one of the finest Italian lyric sopranos of her era. Probably most famous today for having provided the singing voice of Gina Lollobrigida in a 1948 filmed version of...
Episode 449. Adele Stolte and Margot Guilleaume Sing Handel
On my recent Edith Mathis episode, I played her singing one of Handel’s Neun deutsche Arien, a group of religious songs set to German texts by pietist poet Berthold Heinrich Brockes. A number of years...
Today’s featured artist is, I hope, a name that some of you will at least have heard of: the French mezzo-soprano Germaine Cernay, born Germaine Pointu in Le Havre in 1900 and dying tragically young o...
The rich-voiced and expressive Hungarian mezzo-soprano Júlia Hamari celebrated her 83rd birthday last November, and in honor of that event, I produced an episode which originally appeared only on Patr...
Episode 446. Christiane Eda-Pierre and Teresa Żylis-Gara: Hyphenated Rarities
Two of the greatest and most versatile sopranos of the late 20th century, Christiane Eda-Pierre and Teresa Żylis-Gara, both departed within a year of each other in the early 2020s. They also happened ...
Episode 445. Simply Radiant: Edith Mathis In Memoriam
Today a belated memorial tribute to the beloved Swiss soprano Edith Mathis, who died in Salzburg thirteen months ago, two days before her 87th birthday. One of the most highly regarded lyric sopranos ...
Today’s episode serves numerous purposes: first, as a belated tribute to the great Renata Scotto and in particular her controversial assumption of the title role Vincenzo Bellini’s bel canto masterpie...
As a pendant to, and continuation of, my Black History Month 2026 series on Countermelody, I am pleased and honored to present to you the exquisite African American lyric soprano Klesie Kelly, who, as...
Last week I published an episode about Black Pop Singers who emigrated to Europe in the 1950s and 1960s. Most of these gentlemen settled in the German-speaking countries, where there was a ready marke...
As the last official entry in Countermelody’s Black History Month 2026 series, I bring you a potpourri episode that has long been a dream of mine: one dedicated entirely to the Spiritual, that distinc...
As the penultimate episode in my 2026 Black History Month series, I revisit the stories of African American performers who, for a variety of reasons, including seeking to improve their increase their ...
As we hurtle toward the third anniversary (in May already!) of Grace Bumbry’s death, I have had her very much on my mind. It’s true that I consider her greatest achievement to have been as a Liedersän...
