In the years following her triumph at the Seventh International Chopin Piano Competition in 1965, Martha Argerich—the “whirlwind from Argentina”—soon became known as a pianist who never played it safe. Each musical outing became for Argerich “a new, high-risk adventure, another opportunity to discover interpretative possibilities in the moment,” noted Caleb Bach. “While this profound need to constantly test limits and resist predictability always charged her performances with great vitality,...

In this On And Off The Record podcast, the first of two programs dedicated to Martha Argerich, Adriaan Fuchs traces Argerich’s early years as a "wunderkind" in Buenos Aires, her formative studies with Friedrich Gulda, her triumphs at the Busoni and Geneva International Piano Competitions in 1957, and her rise to international prominence when she won the seventh International Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw in 1965, at age 24. Thomas May once wrote that “an encounter with the searing...

A trained actor (with a Juilliard pedigree), LuPone was catapulted to overnight stardom when she thrust her arms skyward in the original 1979 Broadway production of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice’s “Evita”. By her own account her experience of “Evita” was not enjoyable, and she had tremendous difficulty in mastering the vocal demands of the role. Even so, she managed to rip through the score like a hurricane unleashed (winning a Drama Desk Award, and her first Tony), and to this day, her...

In this, the penultimate episode of "Great Interpreters Goes Broadway!", the spotlight falls on the "First Lady of British Musical Theater", Elaine Paige. A 4 ft 11in powerhouse performer, Paige’s extraordinary show business career spans 50 years. She was the first actress to play the iconic roles of Eva Peron in "Evita", Grizabella in "Cats" and Florence in "Chess", and has arguably appeared in more West End and Broadway musicals than any other performer of her generation. Her list of roles...

Throughout her illustrious career, Tony Award-winning actress Bernadette Peters has dazzled audiences and critics with her performances on stage and television, in concert, and on recordings. Described by Stephen Sondheim as “flawless”, she has emerged as one of the leading interpreters of his work. Her initial success in the 80’s in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s "Song & Dance", and Sondheim’s "Sunday in the Park with George", was followed by the role of the Witch in "Into The Woods", and more...

Arguably the most well-known and loved leading lady of them all, Julie Andrews is adored the world over for her roles as Mary Poppins and Maria in “The Sound Of Music”. Andrews’ voice, at its peak, was silvery, pure, clear as a bell, and instantly recognizable, and it continues to beguile generations of children (and adults) to this day on screen and in recordings. And even though she hasn’t worked that much on Broadway, she serves, as David Cote noted, as an “icon for the old-fashioned joys...

Unlike most other Broadway Babies, it is said that five-time Tony Award winner Angela Lansbury initially had no dreams of the musical theater and didn’t especially aspire to it. Her career began in film, and she appeared in more than 40 movies (including “Gaslight”, “The Picture of Dorian Gray” and “The Manchurian Candidate”) before making it to Broadway in 1957 with the play, “Hotel Paradiso”. But it wasn’t until 1964 that she had the opportunity to do her first musical. That show, “Anyone...

With her gravel-edged belt, a voice like a car shifting gears without the clutch, as People magazine noted in 1988, her charismatic stage presence, tart-tongued quips, and her signature outfit: a long white man’s dress shirt, a black vest, black tights, and nothing resembling pants, Elaine Stritch, or “Stritchie” as Noël Coward referred to her, became a living emblem of show business durability. Her career, which began in the 1940s, spanned almost 70 years and notably included roles in...

In the second program of the 8-part Great Interpreters Goes Broadway! series, Adriaan Fuchs examines the life and career of Mary Martin, one of musical theater's greatest stars. Mary Martin’s place in the history of American musical theater is singular. With her radiant stage presence, warm, golden voice, and legendary charm, she originated such Tony Award-winning leading roles as Nellie Forbush in “South Pacific”, the title role in “Peter Pan” and Maria in “The Sound of Music”. But...

No other performer embodies the spirit of the Great White Way more than the iconic Ethel Merman. After sky-rocketing to fame in 1930 singing “I Got Rhythm” in the Gershwin musical Girl Crazy, Merman became the darling of such legendary songwriters as George Gershwin, Irving Berlin, Cole Porter and Jule Styne. During her career, which spanned more than 50 years, she starred in leading roles in a whopping 13 original musicals, nearly all of them hits. Among the iconic roles she created were...

Widely regarded by her fans and by critics as THE Verdi mezzo soprano of our time, Dolora Zajick's voice is an extraordinary instrument of tremendous power and range. Marilyn Horne, herself one of the greatest mezzos of all time, famously referred to Zajick’s voice as a “force of nature”, whilst Peter Gelb, General Manager of the Metropolitan Opera, stated that Zajick has “one of the greatest voices in the history of opera.” Even the legendary Birgit Nilsson, in 1991, declared Zajick’s voice...

Like her predecessors Ebe Stignani, Fedora Barbieri and Giulietta Simionato before her, Fiorenza Cossotto was considered one of the prime exponents of the heavy Italian mezzo-soprano roles of the middle 19th century. Cossotto’s tremendous instrument – one of the most powerful dramatic mezzo-soprano voices of the 20th century – was highly regarded for its impressive range, flexibility and for the consistency with which she managed to move through its different registers: from a blazing chest...

In this On And Off The Record podcast, Adriaan Fuchs explores the life and artistry of Tito Gobbi, dubbed the "acting voice". His was one of the great, iconic voices of the Twentieth Century and the leading operatic baritone of his era. His interpretations, most especially his portrayal of Scarpia in Puccini’s Tosca, have become the stuff of legend. For more information, please visit www.onandofftherecord.com.

Renata Tebaldi was a singer of overwhelming expressivity and matchless vocal allure. Hers was arguably one of the most sumptuously beautiful lirico-spinto soprano voices of the 20th century. As Manuella Hoelterhoff recalls in her book Cinderella and Company: Backstage with Cecilia Bartoli, Tebaldi was a singer “who built empires out of sound,” a soprano so spellbinding that she transformed the ordinary notes available to everybody into the stuff of memory.” In this podcast, presented by...

Montserrat Caballé, or La Superba as she has come to be known, is rightfully regarded as one of the greatest singers in the history of opera. In this podcast, broadcast on Fine Music Radio on the occasion of Caballé's 80th birthday on 12 April 2013, Adriaan Fuchs takes a closer look at the career and artistry of this remarkable singer, who will be listed in the annals of operatic history as the possessor of perhaps the most beautiful voice of her age. For more information, please visit...

As far as Verdi sopranos go, no-one on the opera stage today can beat Sondra Radvanovsky for sheer vocal beauty and power. Her voice - a gleaming, penetrating sound that is hard-edged without being harsh - is rich and sumptuous, large, yet capable of spinning out beautiful pianissimo phrases, thrilling and edgy, yet with an expressive timbre. Comparisons with the untouchable divas of yesteryear - Leontyne Price, Renata Tebaldi and Maria Callas - are inevitable, and like these great legendary...

A special podcast on the remarkable Portuguese pianist Luis Magalhães, presented by Adriaan Fuchs. The podcast features an in-depth interview with Magalhães, as well recorded highlights from his career on stage and on disc. For more information, please visit www.onandofftherecord.com.

Greek soprano Elena Souliotis (1943-2004) was a singer whose career burnt brighter and faster than most. Hailed as the likely successor to Maria Callas, it seemed as though she might fulfil that promise during a brief period in the mid-1960’s when she was in demand in all the major opera houses around the world. She turned the career-killing role of Abigaille in Nabucco into her calling-card and further cemented her reputation by taking on such demanding roles as Verdi's Lady Macbeth and...

A tribute to South African pianist Steven De Groote (1953-1989), who shot to international fame when he won grand prize at the Fifth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in 1977. In addition to winning the grand prize, De Groote also won all the category prizes - the only winner in the history of the competition to do so. After nearly losing his life in an airplane accident in 1985, De Groote made a miraculous recovery, and if anything, his playing only deepened, becoming more refined,...

Rightly regarded not only as one of the leading operatic tenors of the 20th century, but also one of the greatest singers of all time, Giuseppe di Stefano (1921-2008) enjoyed a brilliant career stretching from the late 1940’s until the early 1970’s. He reached the apex of his fame in partnership with Maria Callas on both stage and disc during the 1950's and was especially highly regarded for his performances of the leading roles of Donizetti, Bellini, Verdi and Puccini. Presented by Adriaan...

The final programme in my series on Maria Callas focuses on her final years and takes a closer look at the woman behind the legend, her relationship with Aristotle Onassis, her artistic legacy and posthumous influence on opera. As the critic Michael Roubinet once noted: “Maria Callas suffered a fate as flamboyant as it was tragic, like her favourite characters, those women who came into their own fully as they submitted to the playing out of their destiny: Norma, Violetta, Tosca, Medea…...

By 1955, having conquered the world of opera, Callas had reached what many would argue was the apex of her career. In this, the third programme in my series on Maria Callas, I examine Callas’ career from 1955 to 1959 and dispel some of the scandals and intrigues that established her reputation as “The Tigress”. I also take an in-depth look at Callas’ unique voice and rapid vocal decline. Highlights include a “live” Anna Bolena from La Scala in 1957 and an electrifying Medea recorded in Dallas...

The second of four programmes on Maria Callas explores La Divina’s great years, starting with her debut at Covent Garden in 1952, her earliest recordings for EMI in 1953, her dramatic weight loss and transformation from obese prima donna to thin fashion icon, her supposed rivalry with Renata Tebaldi, and up to 1955, the year that saw some of her greatest artistic achievements as the reigning queen of La Scala. Highlights include recordings of legendary “live” performances in Norma, La...

In this, the first of four programmes on Maria Callas, I trace Callas’ childhood and upbringing in New York, her studies with Elvira de Hidalgo, her “first career” in Greece, those prodigious and now legendary early performances in South America, and her long awaited debut in 1951 at what would become her artistic home, La Scala in Milan. Presented by Adriaan Fuchs. For more information, please visit www.onandofftherecord.com