John McCormack was a very special singer. He himself admitted that he was no actor, and opera critics agreed with that self-appraisal. But his voice made up for perceived lack...
Read MoreCharles Panzéra was the leading baritone exponent of French song between the wars. French song in French is called mélodie. He had a lovely resonant voice. Unfortunately, this is hard...
Read MoreI am not done with Die Walkürie yet. I honestly believe, even given all my hesitation about Wagner, that the aria that Wotan sings in Act III is one of...
Read MoreJOSEPH SCHMIDT It is impossible to assess how many great artists were among the casualties of the last war. We do know that Joseph Schmidt, who died at the young...
Read MoreMaria Reining (August 7, 1903 in Vienna – March 11, 1991 in Deggendorf) was an Austrian soprano, honored with the title Kammersängerin (the Austrian equivalent of a knighthood). Reining was...
Read MoreJulien Pierre Bernard Cousinou, called Robert Cousinou, was a French baritone. He was born on October 2, 1888, and he died on April 23, 1944. Unfortunately, there is very little...
Read MoreBourdin is singing two songs by an obscure French composer named André-Joseph d'Exaudet. I don't know who the poets were. When I hear French singers, most of the time they...
Read MoreIt's getting to a point where I have to develop a system to remember whom I have posted. As I was almost done with this post about Miguel VillaBella, I...
Read MoreAfter my recent excursion into instrumental music, I decided to return to vocal music with one of my favorite sopranos, Lotte Lehmann. She, like many singers of her time, is...
Read MoreI wanted to post Rachmaninoff's Vocalise, but I had a hard time finding a singer whom I thought could do it justice. So many recording are out of tune. I...
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