Countermelody

Two months ago I posted an episode on Gay Eccentrics, which included a profile of Ben Bagley, the theatrical and record producer who most certainly fit that designation. I believe that Bagley’s most …

Beloved Countermelody favorite Helen Donath celebrated her 85th birthday on 10 July. In honor of that milestone, I once again celebrate her (which I’ve done so often, but I don’t think anyone is comp…

I have spent the past week planning forthcoming episodes and last night I realized I had to “throw together” something for this weekend’s episode. When this happens, it can often result in a very ecl…

A few months ago I published the first of a series of episodes honoring “Over the Top Sopranos,” which presented French repertoire performed by a batch of supremely distressed divas. And today is a f…

I’m on holiday this week, but it would be most unGundlachian of me not to provide an episode to sustain my listeners in my absence. I recently purchased a mammoth 13-LP set on the Concert Hall Societ…

On 21 July, the opera world lost one of its finest tenors, David Rendall, at the age of 76. Rendall began his career in the mid-seventies as a lyric tenore di grazia specializing in bel canto and in …

You’re all going to laugh at me, but that’s okay, cuz I’m I’m the one laughing hardest! I had planned an easy-peasy episode for yesterday, one which focused on two great 20th century bass-baritones w…

On June 3, 2024, the Berlin Senate’s Department of Culture installed a memorial plaque in honor of African American contralto and Deutsche Oper star Vera Little at her former residence. Little, who l…

If the exceptional Illinois-born contralto Carol Smith (20 February 1926 – 06 June 2021) has previously escaped your notice, now is the perfect opportunity to get to know her better. She began her ca…

If you “get” Gundula Janowitz, then you really get her, and this birthday tribute will be a delectable treat. If, however, you don’t get her, or don’t think that you get her, you might want to give t…