The extraordinary Ina Souez (1903 1992), was one of the few Native American singers to achieve worldwide fame on the operatic stage. Though her career was truncated by the collapse of her European c

On October 24, we observe the 104th birthday of the nonpareil Croatian soprano Sena Jurinac. Like Hildegard Behrens, whose prowess as a purveyor of art song we explored a few weeks ago, Jurinac was be

German-British soprano Ilse Wolf (07 June 1921 06 September 1999) was another fine lyric soprano active primarily in Britain from the 1950s through the early 1980s. One of the reasons she is remembe

Today, the day that we lay my beloved mother, Jane Elizabeth Herbst Gundlach, to rest, I offer another tribute to her memory by way of another favorite singer of hers, Eileen Farrell. My mother grew u

I tried at the end of last week to do a memorial episode honoring my mother who died just a week ago. At the time I couldnt quite manage it, but I am back again using a different approach: I tell vig

As many of you know, my beloved mother died this past week. Ive been trying for two days now to put together a memorial episode that would do justice to the many divergent aspects of the woman that s

Todays episode celebrates a prime example of that rara avis, the Broadway contralto, the fascinating and little-remembered Shannon Bolin (01 January 1917 25 March 2016). Her career covered the gamu

Today we celebrate the recorded legacy of Hildegard Behrens, but from an unexpected angle. Like George London and Cesare Valletti, the last two artists heard on the podcast, she is best remembered tod

More than two years and nearly two hundred episodes ago, I published an episode on the great Italian tenore di grazia Cesare Valletti. Today I revisit his recorded legacy, focusing on his prowess in t

Even before the continuing acts of gun violence in the US this week, I had chosen a theme that necessitated a rather sombre setlist: the artistry of Canadian-born singer George London in recital. Thou