Episode 394. Valletti Revisited (French Edition) SOCIAL SHARE SUBSCRIPTION PLATFORM More than two years and nearly two hundred episodes ago,…
Episode 389. Rescue Mission (Operatic Duets Edition) SOCIAL SHARE SUBSCRIPTION PLATFORM I have spent the past week planning forthcoming episodes…
Episode 385. Classical Singer-Songwriters SOCIAL SHARE SUBSCRIPTION PLATFORM You’re all going to laugh at me, but that’s okay, cuz I’m…
Episode 384. Vera Little Revisited SOCIAL SHARE SUBSCRIPTION PLATFORM On June 3, 2024, the Berlin Senate’s Department of Culture installed…
Episode 383. Get to Know Carol Smith SOCIAL SHARE SUBSCRIPTION PLATFORM If the exceptional Illinois-born contralto Carol Smith (20 February…
Episode 379. Stuart Burrows in Duet SOCIAL SHARE SUBSCRIPTION PLATFORM So many great singing artists lost to the world of…
Episode 378. Rescue Mission III (Friends Edition) SOCIAL SHARE SUBSCRIPTION PLATFORM Even after I publish a Countermelody episode on a…
Episode 377. Joan Caplan Memorial Tribute SOCIAL SHARE SUBSCRIPTION PLATFORM This past April, my former voice teacher and treasured friend…
Episode 374. Maureen Lehane Sings Bach SOCIAL SHARE SUBSCRIPTION PLATFORM Today’s episode offers music of consolation, sung divinely. On a…
Episode 370. Lesbian Concentrate and Beyond SOCIAL SHARE SUBSCRIPTION PLATFORM Continuing the Countermelody show of Pride for this month’s LGBTQ+…
Episode 364. Grace Bumbry, Proud Soprano (Live Edition) SOCIAL SHARE SUBSCRIPTION PLATFORM It’s Pride Month, and what better time to…
Episode 361. Russell Oberlin Revisited SOCIAL SHARE SUBSCRIPTION PLATFORM I’ve been so lucky this week to cross paths with several…
Episode 356. Get to Know Irina Arkhipova SOCIAL SHARE SUBSCRIPTION PLATFORM Directly after the disastrous November election in the United…
Episode 355. John Wustman (Honor Your Mentors I) SOCIAL SHARE SUBSCRIPTION PLATFORM I have been reminded over and over again…
Episode 353. Canteloube Originals SOCIAL SHARE SUBSCRIPTION PLATFORM The composer Joseph-Marie Canteloube is primarily known for his lush orchestral arrangements…
Episode 352. Faboo Young Singers, Part Two SOCIAL SHARE SUBSCRIPTION PLATFORM This is the second part of an episode begun…
Episode 350. Young Singers I Admire SOCIAL SHARE SUBSCRIPTION PLATFORM Today we celebrate 350 episodes of Countermelody since the inception…
Episode 349. Lenten Melody SOCIAL SHARE SUBSCRIPTION PLATFORM I’ve already done a Lententide episode devoted to contraltos singing the music…
Episode 348. Rescue Mission II SOCIAL SHARE SUBSCRIPTION PLATFORM After I post a Countermelody episode on a cherished singer, my…
Episode 345. A Lenten Litany of Bach Contraltos SOCIAL SHARE SUBSCRIPTION PLATFORM Over the course of the past year, I…
Episode 338. Ameling and Friends Sing Bach SOCIAL SHARE SUBSCRIPTION PLATFORM As a belated 92nd birthday tribute to our beloved…
Episode 330. Martina Arroyo in Duet SOCIAL SHARE SUBSCRIPTION PLATFORM What better way to start off this Black History Month…
Episode 329. Lois Marshall @ 100 SOCIAL SHARE SUBSCRIPTION PLATFORM Yesterday was the 100th birthday of the sublime Canadian singer,…
Episode 328. Mezzos in Extremis SOCIAL SHARE SUBSCRIPTION PLATFORM Right after the disastrous US election of November 2024, I published…
Episode 322. Margaret Marshall Sings Mozart SOCIAL SHARE SUBSCRIPTION PLATFORM Yesterday was the birthday of Countermelody favorite, the ravishing Scottish…
Episode 318. Christmas (Art) Songs, Part Deux SOCIAL SHARE SUBSCRIPTION PLATFORM A final offering of Christmas music on Countermelody this…
Episode 317. Big Baroque Christmas SOCIAL SHARE SUBSCRIPTION PLATFORM Sometimes when I look back on past episodes of Countermelody, I…
Episode 312. John Reardon Revisited (World AIDS Day 2024) SOCIAL SHARE SUBSCRIPTION PLATFORM Yesterday was World AIDS Day and many…
Episode 309. Get to Know Věra Soukupová SOCIAL SHARE SUBSCRIPTION PLATFORM As a supplement to my ongoing series on great…
Episode 308. Mezzos on the Verge SOCIAL SHARE SUBSCRIPTION PLATFORM I am taking a short break before posting the final…
Episode 306. Oralia Domínguez Revisited SOCIAL SHARE SUBSCRIPTION PLATFORM Today (for what I hope are obvious reasons) begins a short…
Episode 305. Rage and Despair SOCIAL SHARE SUBSCRIPTION PLATFORM Before I traveled to my home state of Wisconsin this week,…
Episode 304. Portia White, Canadian Icon SOCIAL SHARE SUBSCRIPTION PLATFORM As the United States faces its most momentous and contentious…
Episode 303. Everything Must Change SOCIAL SHARE SUBSCRIPTION PLATFORM Something a little outside of the normal scope of Countermelody for…
Episode 302. The Haunted Opera House, 2024 Edition SOCIAL SHARE SUBSCRIPTION PLATFORM Two years ago for Halloween, I presented the…
Episode 301. Christa Ludwig Sings Lieder SOCIAL SHARE SUBSCRIPTION PLATFORM Since Christa Ludwig’s death more than three and a half…
Episode 298. Verdi Duets SOCIAL SHARE SUBSCRIPTION PLATFORM Last week, absorbed in preparations for my own birthday, I passed over…
Episode 296. Dan’s Operatic Picks SOCIAL SHARE SUBSCRIPTION PLATFORM I’m still under the weather, but I can’t let that keep…
Episode 295. Requiescat SOCIAL SHARE SUBSCRIPTION PLATFORM Today on Countermelody is the first of two memorial episodes paying tribute to…
Episode 294. Dusty Springfield Revisited SOCIAL SHARE SUBSCRIPTION PLATFORM Armed with happy memories of our sojourn to London, which just…
Episode 291. A Bevy of Bachian Contraltos SOCIAL SHARE SUBSCRIPTION PLATFORM This week I pull out all the Baroque stops…
Episode 289. Meet Vera Little SOCIAL SHARE SUBSCRIPTION PLATFORM On Monday June 3, 2024, a new memorial plaque commemorating African…
Episode 283. Betty Allen SOCIAL SHARE SUBSCRIPTION PLATFORM Betty Allen has been featured on countless omnibus Countermelody episodes, but it’s…
Episode 282. Janet Baker @ 91 SOCIAL SHARE SUBSCRIPTION PLATFORM How can it even be that our beloved Janet Baker…
Episode 281. La Scottissima SOCIAL SHARE SUBSCRIPTION PLATFORM I began work on this episode on the one-year anniversary of the…
Episode 280. Heather Harper Revisited SOCIAL SHARE SUBSCRIPTION PLATFORM The beloved Irish soprano Heather Harper died at the age of…
Episode 274. Odetta (Listeners’ Favorites) SOCIAL SHARE SUBSCRIPTION PLATFORM The United States seems (if this could be possible) even more…
Episode 271. Muriel Smith (Listeners’ Favorites) SOCIAL SHARE SUBSCRIPTION PLATFORM SUBSCRIBE VIA YOUR FAVORITE PODCAST PLATFORM As I embark on…
Episode 269. Alberta Hunter SOCIAL SHARE SUBSCRIPTION PLATFORM Please join me today for this overview of the roller coaster career…
Episode 267. A Cavalcade of Pop Contraltos SOCIAL SHARE SUBSCRIPTION PLATFORM My intention this week to produce a joyous new…
Episode 266. Sisters in Sapho (Listeners’ Favorites) SOCIAL SHARE SUBSCRIPTION PLATFORM The perfect Octavian(s) It’s been a whirlwind of a…
Episode 264. Rescue Mission (Forgotten Divas Edition) SOCIAL SHARE SUBSCRIPTION PLATFORM During Black History Month this year I featured a…
Episode 263. Contralto Central SOCIAL SHARE SUBSCRIPTION PLATFORM Finally, the first in my long-promised series on the contralto voice! The…
Episode 255. Art Songs for Holy Week SOCIAL SHARE SUBSCRIPTION PLATFORM I return to you with one final episode for…
Episode 254. Holy Week with the Romantics SOCIAL SHARE SUBSCRIPTION PLATFORM Once again we have reached the climax of the…
Episode 243. Ethel Ennis (BHM 2024) SOCIAL SHARE SUBSCRIPTION PLATFORM Today’s “Forgotten Diva” takes us outside of the realm of…
Episode 240. Annabelle Bernard (BHM 2024) SOCIAL SHARE SUBSCRIPTION PLATFORM Last week we celebrated the 97th birthday of our Ur-Diva,…
Episode 239. Gwendolyn Killebrew (BHM 2024) SOCIAL SHARE SUBSCRIPTION PLATFORM This week’s “Forgotten Diva” is the mezzo-soprano / contralto Gwendolyn…
Episode 236. Howard Hart Introduces Christa Ludwig (Listeners’ Favorites VII) SOCIAL SHARE SUBSCRIPTION PLATFORM My friend and fellow opera podcaster…
Episode 235. Anna Tonna Introduces Teresa Berganza (Listeners’ Favorites VI) SOCIAL SHARE SUBSCRIPTION PLATFORM Today’s Listeners’ Favorites episode of Countermelody is…
Episode 234. Carol Brice (Black History Month 2021 – V) SOCIAL SHARE SUBSCRIPTION PLATFORM This Listeners’ Favorites episode serves a…
Episode 232. Janet Williams and Paul Padillo Introduce Maria Ewing (Listeners’ Favorites III) SOCIAL SHARE SUBSCRIPTION PLATFORM January 9 is…
Episode 229. Happy Birthday, John Wustman SOCIAL SHARE SUBSCRIPTION PLATFORM Today, Christmas Day 2023, is also the 93rd birthday of…
Episode 227. A Golden Age Christmas SOCIAL SHARE SUBSCRIPTION PLATFORM In the midst of our recent move, I came across…
Episode 225. Joya Sherrill SOCIAL SHARE SUBSCRIPTION PLATFORM This week’s episode is the first in what I hope will be…
Episode 222. Shirley Verrett, Falcon Sfogatissima SOCIAL SHARE SUBSCRIPTION PLATFORM It is hard to believe that it’s already been 13…
Episode 221. Robert Massard SOCIAL SHARE SUBSCRIPTION PLATFORM This is an episode I have been planning for years now! This…
Episode 220. La Fiamma (The Haunted Opera House II) SOCIAL SHARE SUBSCRIPTION PLATFORM A year ago, I posted an episode…
Episode 218. Edith Piaf, storyteller SOCIAL SHARE SUBSCRIPTION PLATFORM Today is the 60th anniversary of the death of Edith Piaf,…
Episode 216. The Lieder of Joseph Marx SOCIAL SHARE SUBSCRIPTION PLATFORM This week (inspired by an 10-inch LP in my…
Episode 215. Trauer und Trost SOCIAL SHARE SUBSCRIPTION PLATFORM This week’s episode offers music of both mourning and consolation performed…
Episode 211. Janet Baker @ 90 SOCIAL SHARE SUBSCRIPTION PLATFORM This past week the opera world was plunged into mourning…
Episode 209. Nordic Tracks I: Orchestral Songs SOCIAL SHARE SUBSCRIPTION PLATFORM Inspired by my holiday in Denmark last week, today…
Episode 196. Grace Bumbry In Memoriam SOCIAL SHARE SUBSCRIPTION PLATFORM This past week the world of opera was plunged in…
Episode 191. Music for Holy Week SOCIAL SHARE SUBSCRIPTION PLATFORM Diana Montague (born April 8… Happy Birthday!) Welcome to all…
Episode 190. Make Your Own Kind of Music: Verdi Edition SOCIAL SHARE SUBSCRIPTION PLATFORM It’s time for my fourth annual…
Episode 179. The Pop Stylings of Maria Ewing SOCIAL SHARE SUBSCRIPTION PLATFORM A year ago, as I prepared a memorial…
Episode 177. Great Singers at Twilight SOCIAL SHARE SUBSCRIPTION PLATFORM For the last episode of 2022, I begin a series…
Episode 174. Song of Songs SOCIAL SHARE SUBSCRIPTION PLATFORM This week is a continuation of my memorial tribute to my…
Episode 172. Ned Rorem In Memoriam SOCIAL SHARE SUBSCRIPTION PLATFORM Greetings to all from my former home of Manhattan! Upon…
Episode 171. November Birthday Gals SOCIAL SHARE SUBSCRIPTION PLATFORM Tomorrow morning I leave for three weeks and I’ve been desperately…
Episode 170. Oralia Domínguez SOCIAL SHARE SUBSCRIPTION PLATFORM Earlier this year, in an episode entitled “Women of Color Sing Mahler,”…
Episode 169. Grace Bumbry SOCIAL SHARE SUBSCRIPTION PLATFORM Though the great diva Grace Bumbry has often been featured on Countermelody,…
Episode 168. The Haunted (Opera) House, 20th Century Edition SOCIAL SHARE SUBSCRIPTION PLATFORM This week’s episode celebrates Halloween while at…
Episode 166. Dan’s Picks SOCIAL SHARE SUBSCRIPTION PLATFORM This week I celebrated my birthday, so today is the second of…
Episode 165. Giuseppe Verdi: A Birthday Tribute from Fellow Librans SOCIAL SHARE SUBSCRIPTION PLATFORM The great Giuseppe Verdi was born…
Episode 164. Mabel Mercer (Season Four Premiere) SOCIAL SHARE SUBSCRIPTION PLATFORM Welcome to Season Four of Countermelody! My long-time listeners…
Episode 163. Season Four Preview SOCIAL SHARE SUBSCRIPTION PLATFORM Today Countermelody is in limbo: balanced between Seasons Three and Four.…
Episode 162. NYCO Divas: An Introduction SOCIAL SHARE SUBSCRIPTION PLATFORM Today is the final regular episode of Season Three of…
Episode 161. Janet Baker: Subject of the Queen SOCIAL SHARE SUBSCRIPTION PLATFORM The world changed yesterday with the death of…
Episode 159. Forgotten Broadway II SOCIAL SHARE SUBSCRIPTION PLATFORM The follow-up episode to my previous Forgotten Broadway episode is an…
Episode 158. Russell Oberlin SOCIAL SHARE SUBSCRIPTION PLATFORM Hearing the voice of countertenor Russell Oberlin (1928 – 2016) as a…
Episode 157. Forgotten Broadway I SOCIAL SHARE SUBSCRIPTION PLATFORM Today I begin Forgotten Broadway, a new miniseries within my summer…
Episode 156. Barely Sang at the Met II SOCIAL SHARE SUBSCRIPTION PLATFORM This week is the conclusion of my presentation…
Episode 152. Patricia Neway SOCIAL SHARE SUBSCRIPTION PLATFORM Today begins a new summer series on Countermelody, celebrating mid-century music-making in…
Episode 151. Cole Porter [Pride 2022] SOCIAL SHARE SUBSCRIPTION PLATFORM Because I’m still on the road, I’m posting an old…
Episode 146. Women of Color Sing Mahler SOCIAL SHARE SUBSCRIPTION PLATFORM Say their names: In Uvalde: Nevaeh Bravo, Jackie Cazares,…
Episode 145. Teresa Berganza In Memoriam SOCIAL SHARE SUBSCRIPTION PLATFORM A week ago today the beloved and revered Spanish mezzo-soprano…
Episode 142. The Thrill of Pelléas SOCIAL SHARE SUBSCRIPTION PLATFORM In (relative) relief over the recent French election result, I…
Episode 141. Chansons d’avril SOCIAL SHARE SUBSCRIPTION PLATFORM This week’s episode is a musical celebration of all things spring. As…
Episode 140. The Universal Passion SOCIAL SHARE SUBSCRIPTION PLATFORM For Christians, this week is probably the most central to the…
Episode 139. Swiss Misses and Misters SOCIAL SHARE SUBSCRIPTION PLATFORM A few months ago, we paid a visit to Zurich.…
Episode 137. Ukrainian Singers and Composers SOCIAL SHARE SUBSCRIPTION PLATFORM Here finally is my long-promised and long-overdue episode on great…
Episode 135. A Woman’s Winterreise SOCIAL SHARE SUBSCRIPTION PLATFORM Today in honor of Women’s History Month and the people of…
Episode 134. Legacy (Black History Month 2022 Postlude) SOCIAL SHARE SUBSCRIPTION PLATFORM This is the second part of my final…
Episode 133. Never Forget (Black History Month 2022) SOCIAL SHARE SUBSCRIPTION PLATFORM I bid a lingering farewell to Black History…
Episode 127. Maria Ewing in Memoriam (Black History Month 2022) SOCIAL SHARE SUBSCRIPTION PLATFORM The exceptional, distinctive Maria Ewing died…
Episode 126. Canadian Singers of Art Song (Great Canadian Singers) SOCIAL SHARE SUBSCRIPTION PLATFORM After two weeks of so-called “deep…
Episode 123. Lois Marshall (Great Canadian Singers) SOCIAL SHARE SUBSCRIPTION PLATFORM Today is my first episode of the New Year,…
Episode 122. Auld Acquaintance II SOCIAL SHARE SUBSCRIPTION PLATFORM Part Two of my “Auld Acquaintance” mini-series on Countermelody continues the…
Episode 121. Auld Acquaintance I SOCIAL SHARE SUBSCRIPTION PLATFORM This special episode, the first of two year-end celebrations, presents artists…
Episode 119. Christmas Art Songs SOCIAL SHARE SUBSCRIPTION PLATFORM It’s time for my third annual Christmas show! Can you believe…
Episode 116. Pop Songs by Lieder Singers SOCIAL SHARE SUBSCRIPTION PLATFORM This week I feature nearly a century’s worth of…
Episode 111. Verdi auf Deutsch SOCIAL SHARE SUBSCRIPTION PLATFORM Today’s is a mammoth episode on a mammoth topic: historical performances…
Episode 103. Gilbert Price SOCIAL SHARE SUBSCRIPTION PLATFORM Never heard of Gilbert Price? This episode will remedy that situation. With…
Episode 95. Queer Blues (and Beyond) SOCIAL SHARE SUBSCRIPTION PLATFORM For my second Queer Pride episode this month, I offer…
Episode 94. Odetta (Juneteenth 2021) SOCIAL SHARE SUBSCRIPTION PLATFORM In honor of the first commemoration of Juneteenth as a national…
Episode 92. Blessed Memory (In Memoriam III) SOCIAL SHARE SUBSCRIPTION PLATFORM The final episode (for now) in my series commemorating…
Episode 91. Unforgotten (In Memoriam II) SOCIAL SHARE SUBSCRIPTION PLATFORM We continue our memorial tributes this week with the second…
Episode 90. Gone But Not Forgotten SOCIAL SHARE SUBSCRIPTION PLATFORM Christa Ludwig, celebrated two weeks ago, is not the only…
Episode 87. Christa Ludwig I (In Memoriam) SOCIAL SHARE SUBSCRIPTION PLATFORM The world of singing sustained an enormous loss a…
Episode 86. Cathy Berberian’s Second Hand Songs SOCIAL SHARE SUBSCRIPTION PLATFORM I return to Cathy Berberian, Prima Donna of the…
Episode 84. Cathy Berberian, Part I: MagnifiCathy SOCIAL SHARE SUBSCRIPTION PLATFORM This episode is the first part of a tribute…
Episode 81. Happy Songs (straight up) SOCIAL SHARE SUBSCRIPTION PLATFORM This week I offset the gloom of last week’s music…
Episode 80. Sad Songs (with a twist) SOCIAL SHARE SUBSCRIPTION PLATFORM It’s been a year since the pandemic sent us…
Episode 78. Twentieth Century Pioneers (Black History Month 2021 VI) SOCIAL SHARE SUBSCRIPTION PLATFORM To round off #BlackHistoryMonth2021, I bring…
Episode 73. Carol Brice (Black History Month 2021 – I) SOCIAL SHARE SUBSCRIPTION PLATFORM Countermelody’s Black History Month celebration for…
Episode 69. Voiceless Wonders: An Introduction SOCIAL SHARE SUBSCRIPTION PLATFORM Some of the greatest singers in history are not necessarily…
Episode 67. Goodbye 2020 (and Good Riddance!) SOCIAL SHARE SUBSCRIPTION PLATFORM Is there anyone out there who will not be…
Episode 66. Christmas (Art) Songs SOCIAL SHARE SUBSCRIPTION PLATFORM In preparation for the upcoming holiday, I offer this week a…
Episode 62. Gustav Mahler’s Des Knaben Wunderhorn (Music for a World in Crisis VI) SOCIAL SHARE SUBSCRIPTION PLATFORM This week…
Episode 55. Season Two Teaser SOCIAL SHARE SUBSCRIPTION PLATFORM This week represents the limbo between the first and second seasons…
Episode 40. Sisters in Sappho SOCIAL SHARE SUBSCRIPTION PLATFORM The first of my two Queer Pride episodes is devoted to…
Episode 34. Charm SOCIAL SHARE SUBSCRIPTION PLATFORM I have planned a series on five different artistic traits that guide a…
Episode 33. Florence Quivar (Mezzo Madness IV) SOCIAL SHARE SUBSCRIPTION PLATFORM Today I am thrilled and proud to present the…
Episode 32. Fedora Barbieri (Mezzo Madness III) SOCIAL SHARE SUBSCRIPTION PLATFORM The Italian mezzo-soprano Fedora Barbieri (1920-2003) was never a…
Episode 31. Janet Baker (Mezzo Mania II) SOCIAL SHARE SUBSCRIPTION PLATFORM Few singers have more affected my life in a…
Episode 30. Giulietta Simionato (Mezzo Mania I) SOCIAL SHARE SUBSCRIPTION PLATFORM Today’s episode, a celebration of the delicious and versatile…
Episode 20. Muriel Smith (Black History Month I) SOCIAL SHARE SUBSCRIPTION PLATFORM This week kicks off my series of Black…
Episode 6. Shirley Verrett II: La Regina del Bel Canto SOCIAL SHARE SUBSCRIPTION PLATFORM In this episode in my Shirley…
Episode 5: Shirley Verrett I: La Nera Callas – Falcon or Verdi soprano? SOCIAL SHARE SUBSCRIPTION PLATFORM This episode is the…
Episode 4. Jessye and Her Forebears (Needle Drop I) SOCIAL SHARE SUBSCRIPTION PLATFORM Due to a last minute change of…