The first episode for Pride Month spotlights three openly lesbian or bisexual artists.
Three Outspoken Artists – Jamie Barton, Patricia Racette, and Laurie Rubin
A Memorial Day Program of Song with John Brancy and Peter Dugan
An hour-long episode featuring an interview with Grammy Award-winning baritone John Brancy and the host of From the Top, pianist Peter Dugan.
Playlist
Playlist to include World War I era popular songs and art songs by Ralph Vaughan Williams, Sergei Rachmaninoff, and Leonardo Dugan.
Find a translation to Franz Schubert’s “Der Wanderer” HERE
Learn more about The Journey Home: Live from the Kennedy Center HERE
Lieder Power Couple – Mitsuko Shirai and Hartmut Höll
The Japanese mezzo-soprano and German pianist are prolific and frequently recorded artists. They met in Stuttgart as students and later married. As a duo, they have set a high standard as interpreters of German lieder. Mitsuko Shirai and Hartmut Höll have given recitals all over the world, but they are especially well known in Germany and Japan. Shirai was praised …
Playlist
Playlist to include German art songs by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Johannes Brahms, and Hugo Wolf.
The Korean Opera Star
Coloratura soprano Sumi Jo and lyric soprano Hei-Kyung Hong
Playlist
Playlist to feature arias from operas and operettas by Gustave Charpentier, Jacques Offenbach, Giuseppe Verdi, and others.
The Diverse Identities of Nicholas Phan
A program for Asian American & Pacific Islander Heritage Month featuring Nicholas Phan and Brian Asawa.
Playlist
Robert Johnson: “Have you seen but a bright lily grow?”
Nicholas Phan, tenor
Michael Leopold, lute
Franz Schubert: “Atys,” D 585 & “Der Musensohn,” D 764
Nicholas Phan, tenor
Myra Huang, piano
Domenico Cimarosa: “Non sò donde viene” from L’Olimpiade
Nicholas Phan, tenor
Venice Baroque Orchestra
Markellos Chryssicos, conductor
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: “Va, lerror mio palesa” from Mitridate, re di Ponto, K. 87
Brian Asawa, countertenor
Les Talens Lyriques
Christophe Rousset, conductor
Gabriel Fauré: “En sourdine” from Cinq mélodies de Venise, Op. 58
Brian Asawa, countertenor
Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields
Sir Neville Marriner, conductor
Nadia Boulanger: “Cantique”
Nicholas Phan, tenor
Myra Huang, piano
Lili Boulanger: Clarières dans le ciel
No. 1, “Elle était déscendue”
No. 9, “Les lilas qui avaient fleuri”
Nicholas Phan, tenor
Myra Huang, piano
Henry Purcell: “An Evening Hymn”
Nicholas Phan, tenor
Michael Leopold, lute
Ann Marie Morgan, viola da gamba
This episode of Listening to Singers will be available for listening on-demand until May 21.
A Tribute to Christa Ludwig
A mere sampling of the recorded legacy of one the quintessential musicians of the 20th century. This week, Oliver pays tribute to the great artist whose voice defied categorization.
Playlist
Playlist to include music by Mozart, Beethoven, Mahler, and Strauss.
Amanda Forsythe’s Astonishing Feats
Making the most difficult 18th century music sound easy.
Playlist
Playlist to include arias from George Frideric Handel’s operas Almira and Giulio Cesare; a chamber duet by Agostino Steffani; and a preview of Amanda Forsythe’s new recording of music by Johann Gottlieb Graun.
The Heroic Power and Stamina of James King
What defines a heldentenor? The American tenor James King thrived in the most demanding roles in operas by Richard Wagner and Richard Strauss. His voice was described as strong and dependable, with the stamina to sustain him in longer dramatic roles. His six feet of height coupled with ringing, secure high notes made him an ideal heroic tenor.
Playlist
Playlist to include excerpts from Wagner’s Die Walküre and Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, and Strauss’s Daphne and Ariadne auf Naxos.
The Uncompromising Musicianship of Ian Bostridge
An admiration for a unique artist with special guest Marcus Shields.
Playlist
Franz Schubert: “An Sylvia”
Julius Drake, piano
Text and translation HERE
Igor Stravinsky: “Here I Stand” from The Rake’s Progress
London Symphony Orchestra
Sir John Eliot Gardiner, conductor
Gabriel Fauré: “Les berceaux”
with Julius Drake, piano
Text and translation HERE
Ivor Gurney: “Sleep”
Julius Drake, piano
Text and translation HERE
Johann Sebastian Bach: St. Matthew Passion
63a. “Und siehe da, der Vorhang im Tempel zerriß”
Collegium Vocale Gent
Philippe Herreweghe, conductor
Benjamin Britten: “Villes” from Les Illuminations
Berlin Philharmonic
Sir Simon Rattle, conductor
Text and translation HERE
Robert Schumann: Dichterliebe
12. “Am leuchtenden Sommermorgen”
Julius Drake, piano
Text and translation HERE
Franz Schubert: Winterreise
11. “Frühlingstraum”
Thomas Adès, piano
Text and translation HERE
Noël Coward: “I Travel Alone”
Jeffrey Tate, piano
The Flawless Technique of Luciano Pavarotti
What made Pavarotti such an irresistible singer? A beautiful instrument, charisma to spare, and a technique that was the envy of the opera world.
Playlist
Francesco Paolo Tosti: “‘A vucchella”
with pianist John Wustman
Giuseppe Verdi: Rigoletto
Quartet, “Bella figlia dell’amore”
with Joan Sutherland, Huguette Tourangeau, and Sherrill Milnes
London Symphony Orchestra
Richard Bonynge, conductor
Gioachino Rossini: Stabat Mater
II. Cujus Animam
London Symphony Orchestra
István Kertész, conductor
Gaetano Donizetti: Lucia di Lammermoor
“Maledetto sia l’istante” (The Curse)
RAI Symphony and Chorus of Turin
Francesco Molinari Pradelli, conductor
Gaetano Donizetti: L’elisir d’amore
“Una furtiva lagrima”
English Chamber Orchestra
Richard Bonynge, conductor
This episode of Listening to Singers will be available for listening on-demand until April 16.