East Anchorage Book Club with Andrew Gray

LEAVING AMERICA: Opera historian Daniel Gundlach on living in Germany

Andrew Gray Season 5 Episode 36

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Several friends and neighbors have moved out of the United States over the past year, and many more Alaskans are talking about it. Today's guest is an opera historian who has been living in Berlin, Germany, for the past 13 years. Daniel Gundlach is a former professional classical singer and accompanist who today hosts a podcast called Countermelody. The Countermelody Podcast is focused primarily on opera singers of the past century that may not have received the attention they deserved. Daniel is a countertenor which is a type of classical male singing voice equivalent to that of a female contralto or mezzo-soprano voice type. Today we talk about his life and career, but we will also discuss the trials and tribulations of being an American emigrant in Germany. 

Musical Excerpts:

Leontyne Price, "O patria mia," from Verdi's Aida

Joan Sutherland, "Eccola," from Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor

Anna Moffo, "Sempre Libera," from Verdi's La Traviata

Gilda Cruz-Romo, "O mio babbino caro," from Puccini's Gianni Schicchi

Daniel Gundlach, "O Lord, whose mercies numberless," from Handel's Saul

Daniel Gundlach, "O fatal day," from Handel's Saul

Daniel Gundlach, "On a dit sur Venise tant et tant de choses," from Gualtiero Dazzi's Le Luthier de Venise

Daniel Gundlach, "Danny Boy," Irish Folk Song

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