O Dolce Stelle
hosted by Garrison Keillor
Show #1469October 25, 2014
From Fitzgerald Theater | Saint Paul, MN
0:00 | 01:58:59
This week, it's an October rebroadcast of a 2011 show from the Fitzgerald Theater. Tenor Raul Melo accompanies Garrison for a suite of sonnets, Cantus performs "Wanting Memories," and Heather Masse sings "Early Autumn." In Lake Wobegon, a big wind causes havoc all over town.
Raul Melo
Since making his Metropolitan Opera debut during the 2005-2006 season as the Duke in Rigoletto, tenor Raul Melo has sung principal roles with major opera companies worldwide. Recent performances include the part of Pinkerton (Madama Butterfly) and Cavaradossi (Tosca) with the New York City Opera, the tenor soloist in the Verdi Requiem with Teatro Colon in Buenos Aires, and Alvaro in Verdi's La Forza del Destino at the Cesky Krumlov International Music Festival in the Czech Republic. At the piano: John Jensen.Cantus
Based in the Twin Cities, Cantus is recognized as one of America's finest professional male vocal ensembles. The artist-led group is known for adventurous programming spanning many periods and genres - chant to spirituals, art song to folk song, Bach to the Beatles. The Washington Post described their sound as having both "exalting finesse" and "expressive power." Among their recordings are That Eternal Day and Christmas with Cantus.Heather Masse
Growing up in rural Maine, Heather Masse sang hymns and folk songs around home with her family. Now based in New York, this New England Conservatory of Music alum is a one-third of the Juno Award-winning Canadian trio The Wailin' Jennys. Lock My Heart is her recording with piano legend Dick Hyman. A new album, August Love Song - on which she joins forces with trombone great Roswell Rudd - was recently released on Red House Records.Garrison Keillor
Garrison Keillor was born in 1942 in Anoka, Minnesota. He went to work for Minnesota Public Radio in 1969, and on July 6, 1974, he hosted the first broadcast of A Prairie Home Companion in St. Paul. He is the host of The Writer's Almanac and the editor of the Good Poems series of anthologies from Viking.The Guy's All-Star Shoe Band - October 1, 2011
The Guy's All-Star Shoe Band is led by A Prairie Home Companion music director Richard Dworsky. Keyboard player, composer and improviser in any style, he also writes all the script themes and underscores. His latest CD is So Near and Dear to Me. Chet Atkins called Pat Donohue (guitar) one of the greatest fingerpickers in the world today. And he writes songs too - recorded by Suzy Bogguss, Kenny Rogers, and others. Nobody's Fault (Bluesky Records) is the most recent of Pat's 10 albums. Gary Raynor (bass) has performed with the Count Basie band and Sammy Davis Jr., with whom he toured for several years. He was first call for dozens of touring Broadway shows, including the first presentation of The Lion King. Gary teaches at the McNally Smith College of Music in St. Paul. Peter Johnson (percussion) has played klezmer music with Doc Severinsen and jazz with Dave Brubeck. He was a drummer for The Manhattan Transfer and for Gene Pitney. He has toured the world, but he always comes back to home base: Saint Paul. Richard Kriehn is principal second violin for the Washington/Idaho Symphony. But it's not all classical all the time; he is equally at home playing bluegrass fiddle and mandolin. He was a member of the Nashville Mandolin Ensemble and the bluegrass group 1946.Tom Keith
Is that water dripping? Footsteps coming this way? Car tires spinning on an icy driveway? Nope - it's sound effects wizard Tom Keith. With vocal gymnastics and a variety of props, Tom worked his magic on A Prairie Home Companion from the mid-1970s until his passing in 2011.Tim Russell
One minute he's mild-mannered Tim Russell; the next he's George Bush or Julia Child or Barack Obama. We've yet to stump this man of many voices. Says fellow APHC actor Sue Scott, "He does a better Ira Glass than Ira Glass." A well-known Twin Cities radio personality and voice actor, Tim appeared in the Robert Altman film A Prairie Home Companion and the Coen brothers' A Serious Man. Tim has also been reviewing films professionally for over 10 years.Sue Scott
On APHC, Sue Scott plays everything from ditzy teenagers to Guy Noir stunners to leathery crones who've smoked one pack of Camel straights too many. The Tucson, Arizona, native is well known for her extensive commercial and voice-over work on radio and television, as well as stage and movie roles, including the part of "Donna" in Robert Altman's A Prairie Home Companion.