Though the great diva Grace Bumbry has often been featured on Countermelody, I have not yet done a full episode on this incomparable artist. Todays episode seeks to remedy that, and to celebrate a si

This weeks episode celebrates Halloween while at the same time initiating my new ongoing series on Twentieth Century Opera. From Dvoks Rusalka, premiered in Prague in 1901, through Coriglianos Th

Denise Duval, whose 101st birthday we posthumously commemorate on October 23, will forever be associated with the music of Francis Poulenc, and specifically his operas, in which the lead soprano roles

This week I celebrated my birthday, so today is the second of this months birthday celebrations. A number of my listeners have been asking me for a while to post an episode featuring my favorite sing

The great Giuseppe Verdi was born this week in 1813. Since his birthday occurs in the same week as mine, and since I firmly believe that I was a Verdi soprano in a former life, I am paying tribute to

Welcome to Season Four of Countermelody! My long-time listeners know a few things things about the podcast. First, the most important quality in a singer is not voice, but communicative skills. Second

Today Countermelody is in limbo: balanced between Seasons Three and Four. Over the past few months Ive been planning the course of the upcoming season and this episode consists of musical tidbits (bo

Today is the final regular episode of Season Three of Countermelody, as well as the last of my summer series documenting musical life in New York City during the years 1950 through 1975. I am thrilled

The world changed yesterday with the death of Queen Elizabeth II, whose subjects in the United Kingdom just this summer celebrated the 70th year of her reign. How do I, as a progressive (and non-Briti

Dear ones, I present to you today the extraordinarily versatile bass-baritone and my fellow native Milwaukeean Donald Gramm (1927-1983), one of the central house singers at both the Metropolitan Opera