Its time for my third annual Christmas show! Can you believe that Countermelody has been around that long already? This year I am reviving last years theme, Christmas-themed art songs, but with all-

Two titans of culture were in the news this past week for very different reasons. Just as I was publishing last weeks episode came the news that Stephen Sondheim had died at the age of 91 a few hours

In observation of US-American Thanksgiving, known to its Indigenous population as a day of mourning, I wanted to provide a platform for that great Indigenous singer, composer, educator, and activist

This week I feature nearly a centurys worth of recordings of pop music by singers who also, and in some cases primarily, were great singers of art song. Many of my favorite singers figure into the mi

This week I present an important African American artist who has been nearly forgotten by history: the bass-baritone Jules Bledsoe (1897-1943). He is most remembered for creating the role of Joe in Je

This week I turn my attention once again to the tenors, who have been getting rather short shrift of late. This week I feature the US-American jugendlicher heldentenor James King, who died 16 years ag

On 27 October the great German dramatic coloratura Edda Moser celebrated her 83rd birthday. Celebrated as the greatest Queen of the Night ever, Edda Mosers operatic career was centered on the music o

This past week would have been the 91st birthday of Barry McDaniel (1930-2018), the great US-American Berlin-based lyric baritone whose artistry encompassed opera, oratorio (particularly the music of

Todays is a mammoth episode on a mammoth topic: historical performances of Verdis operas in German translation. I trace the historical and ongoing popularity of Verdis works in Germany, and include

Season Three of Countermelody begins with a potpourri episode of some of my favorite crooners of color. I begin with an example of Bert Williams, the first African-American superstar, and offer a few