{{Use Australian English, date=May 2011
''Singers of Renown'' was an Australian radio program broadcast on
ABC Radio National
Radio National, known on-air as RN, is an Australia-wide public service broadcasting radio network run by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). From 1947 until 1985, the network was known as ABC Radio 2.
History
1937: Predecessors an ...
for 42 years, and presented for every episode by
John Cargher
Pinchas Cargher AM, known professionally as John Cargher (24 January 191930 April 2008), was a British-born Australian music and ballet journalist and radio broadcaster.
He was born in the Cockney area of London to a Jewish rabbinical family, bu ...
. It became the longest continuously running Australian radio program presented and produced by the same person, and Cargher himself became the longest continuous program presenter in the ABC's history.
It commenced on 17 April 1966, and concluded on 26 April 2008. John Cargher presented selections of
opera
Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...
,
operetta
Operetta is a form of theatre and a genre of light opera. It includes spoken dialogue, songs, and dances. It is lighter than opera in terms of its music, orchestral size, length of the work, and at face value, subject matter. Apart from its s ...
,
lied
In Western classical music tradition, (, plural ; , plural , ) is a term for setting poetry to classical music to create a piece of polyphonic music. The term is used for any kind of song in contemporary German, but among English and French s ...
er and popular songs from his extensive personal collection. The theme music came from the duet "E ben altro il mio sogno" from
Giacomo Puccini
Giacomo Puccini (Lucca, 22 December 1858Bruxelles, 29 November 1924) was an Italian composer known primarily for his operas. Regarded as the greatest and most successful proponent of Italian opera after Verdi, he was descended from a long li ...
's ''
Il tabarro
''Il tabarro'' (''The Cloak'') is an opera in one act by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Giuseppe Adami, based on 's play ''La houppelande''. It is the first of the trio of operas known as ''Il trittico''. The first performance was given ...
'', in the celebrated recording by
Renata Tebaldi
Renata Tebaldi ( , ; 1 February 1922 – 19 December 2004) was an Italian lirico-spinto soprano popular in the post-war period, and especially prominent as one of the stars of La Scala, San Carlo and, especially, the Metropolitan Opera. O ...
and Mario Del Monaco.
The program originated as a 13-week local program on
Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
radio station
3LO
ABC Radio Melbourne (official callsign: 3LO) is an ABC Local Radio station in Melbourne, Australia. It began transmission on 13 October 1924, and was Melbourne's second licensed radio station after 3AR.
Most Local Radio stations in Victoria s ...
, but was picked up by ABC Radio National. The program attracted listeners not only in Australia, but around the world through the
internet
The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a '' network of networks'' that consists of private, pub ...
.
In 2008, Cargher, who was suffering from cancer, announced his retirement effective 26 April. He died four days later, on 30 April 2008.
ABC Radio National scheduled several repeat programs until June 2008.
After his death, the ABC released a 3-CD tribute to Cargher, with two complete episodes of ''Singers of Renown'', and some excerpts from his ''Music for Pleasure'' programs.