Opera Box Score

It’s a ‘Chalk Talk’ double-header tonight. In Part One, Tobias and Daina and George reveal what they’re each thankful for in opera; see if you’re thankful for the same things... You get all your opera headlines and our hot takes on them in ‘The Two Minute Drill’... Then, in ‘Chalk Talk’ Part Two, the boys (and girl) talk about turkeys and take a few potshots. Find out what some of the dud ideas, dreadful productions and dismal moments have been so far this opera season... Are you on Twitter? #operaballs

Whether you’re surprised or not, Donald Trump has been elected President of these United States. What can opera teach us about why he won? And what is the future for opera under the Trump administration...? Then, 'Pop Quiz' returns. Oliver and Daina team up to identify operas just by listening to each work’s overture. They’ll be up against the clock. Play at home to see if you can beat them... And of course you get all your opera headlines and our hot takes on them in 'The Two Minute Drill'...

Tonight, we go Inside the Huddle with tenor Scott Brunscheen and soprano Kimberly Jones. They're in Chicago Opera Theater's current production of Purcell's 'The Fairy Queen'. Hear what they have to say about the rehearsal process of this sexy update of a Baroque classic... In Chalk Talk, Oliver tackles a noisy audience member at a recent production of Humperdinck’s 'Hansel and Gretel' at Seattle Opera. George tackles Isaac Mizrahi, the sports-allergic Honorary Chairman of last month’s National Opera Week. And, yes, you’ll get all your opera headlines and our hot takes on them in ‘The Two Minute Drill’... #operaballs

Guest producer Matthan Black is joined by creative consultant Oliver Camacho on our annual Hallowe'en show! Listen, if you dare, to the scariest music in the opera repertoire... Then, be brave and join Matthan and Oliver 'Inside the Huddle' when they interview horror film composer Ross Crean... Plus, 'Monday Evening Quarterback' takes you into the terrifying world of Nico Muhly's opera "Dark Sisters" at Third Eye Ensemble... And, you get all your opera head(less)lines in 'The Two Minute Drill'... Whatever you do, don't look behind you... #operaballs

We go ‘Inside the Huddle’ with Kim Witman from Wolf Trap Opera. She joins us to talk opera stats, and to give her insider takes on young artist auditions... But first, we talk to Brad Caleb Lee, assistant director on the upcoming production of Missy Mazzoli’s opera “Song from the Uproar” at Chicago Fringe Opera. You’ll get an exclusive look into the sonic world of this unique work, as well as its characters, design concept and rehearsal process... And, naturally, you get all your opera headlines in ‘The Two Minute Drill’... Go Cubs Go! #operaballs

If you’ve never heard a Heldentenor with a good ol’ boy East Texas accent, you haven’t lived. We go ‘Inside the Huddle’ with tenor Jay Hunter Morris. He’s currently rehearsing Jake Heggie’s opera “Moby Dick” at the Dallas Opera. We talk Cowboys, Cubs and opera careers... Also, Toby and George do a mid-season check in on what’s happened in Operaland so far this Fall, and Oliver plays ‘Monday Evening Quarterback’ on the production of Donizetti’s “Lucia di Lammermoor” at Lyric Opera of Chicago. Plus, you get all your opera headlines in ‘The Two Minute Drill’...

This show is all-Wagner, all the time! In our ‘Chalk Talk’ segment, we talk about what makes Wagner, Wagner; and why his operas matter... ‘Monday Evening Quarterback’ revisits “Das Rheingold” at Lyric Opera of Chicago and Frank Martin’s “Le vin herbé” at Chicago Opera Theater... ‘TKO’ returns! Oliver Camacho is the judge as Jonas Kaufmann and Ben Heppner battle it out singing Siegmund’s aria “Winterstürme” from 'Die Walküre'... Plus, you get all your opera headlines in ‘The Two Minute Drill’... Don't forget to leave us a review -- with stars -- on iTunes, or troll us: @operaboxscore and #operaballs

In 'Chalk Talk', George and Tobias reveal how opera singers get hurt. What happens to your performance that night, and what happens to your career the next day...? 'Monday Evening Quarterback' returns, as Oliver reviews Wagner's “Das Rheingold” at Lyric Opera of Chicago and Frank Martin’s opera “Le vin herbé” at Chicago Opera Theater... Plus, the team will ‘Crunch the Numbers’ and look at the stats behind the most common baritone arias sung in auditions...

Welcome to Season 2 of America's talk radio show about opera! George and Tobias DVR the first presidential debate and talk opera... In our ‘Chalk Talk’ segment, we look at two stories of two different African-American men who got into the opera business against all the odds: bass-baritone Ryan Speedo Green who beat juvenile hall to make it into the ensemble at the Vienna State Opera, and Morris Robinson, who finished his college football career at The Citadel before singing at the Metropolitan Opera.... Then it’s one of our new segments, called ‘The Hot Seat’, in which we take a look at an opera figure who has made a big career move, or made a tough choice, that has brought them into the public eye. This week we focus on Oliver Mears, who has just been appointed as the Director of Opera at the Royal Opera House in London... Plus you get all your opera headlines in ‘The Two Minute Drill’, and we wrap up with another new segment called ‘Crunching the Numbers’. We interpret some cold, hard stats from opera

This week, George and Oliver are joined by stage director Rose Freeman and mezzo-soprano Marysa Abbas. (Abbas is also the Managing Diva of Opera on Tap's Chicago chapter.) We debate the ways in which success is defined in the opera business, and what control artists have over their career paths... Then, our 'Monday Evening Quarterback' segment returns, as we review Haymarket Opera's production of Haydn's 1779 work "L'isola disabitata"...

School is back in session, so we're heading back to school here on the OBS. Check out our 'Chalk Talk' segment, in which we tackle the Ins and Outs, the Pros and Cons, of undergraduate and graduate voice programs... Tenor Matt Cummings joins us as a guest co-host. He's currently completing his Masters Degree in Voice and Opera from Northwestern. Recent credits include Little Bat in Floyd's 'Susannah' and Snout in Britten's 'A Midsummer Night’s Dream'. He also spent last summer as a Studio Artist at Opera Theater of Pittsburgh, in the city where he grew up... Plus, you'll get all your opera headlines and all our hot takes in 'The Two Minute Drill'...

Hell, yeah, we had a show on a national holiday. Mezzo-soprano and blogger Daina Fischer (www.agentlewoman.com) joins George and Tobias live in-studio for 'Inside the Huddle'...! Then, in 'Chalk Talk', we talk about the worst audition experiences ever, and we asked to hear your stories. Thanks to all of you who called and wrote. (All names and incriminating details have been changed...) 'The Two Minute Drill' is found in the final third of the episode...!

This week Patrick Dean Shelton joins the show as a guest co-host. A recent graduate of New England Conservatory of Music, where he was a student of soprano Jane Eaglen, Patrick is currently a Professional Diploma candidate at the Chicago College of the Performing Arts at Roosevelt University. This past summer, he was a Fellow at the Music Academy of the West... George, Oliver and Tobias go 'inside the Huddle' with Patrick, and learn how life has taken him coast-to-coast. Then, in our 'Chalk Talk' segment, we discuss YAPs (Young Artist Programs): are they totally essential to developing one's singing career, or are they a total con...? Plus, we’ve got all your opera headlines in our ‘Two Minute Drill’ segment... Rock it!

This week we go ‘Inside the Huddle’ with Nick Hayman, a stage manager from England who’s worked at the Royal Opera House, in the West End and on tour through the UK and US. Don’t miss what he has to say when I ask him: “Isn’t stage management the least sexy thing in opera...?” Then, in our ‘Chalk Talk’ segment, we reveal a recent slate of opera productions whose violence and sexual content have forced their producers to issue warnings to ticket buyers, lest they be offended by what they see. George asks Oliver if maybe operas should be given ratings, just like movies... Plus, we’ve got all your opera headlines in our ‘Two Minute Drill’ segment...

This week we tackle a perennial topic perfect for the dog days of summer: when and why to make cuts in an operatic score. Matthan Black joins Tobias and George live in-studio to discuss... Plus, 'Pop Quiz' returns in a piano-only version, and we've got all your opera news headlines in 'The Two Minute Drill'...

The Olympics have begun in Rio; here on the OBS, we follow suit and argue about Olympian feats of athleticism in singing... Is it stamina? Is it hitting high notes? Is it volume...? Guest co-host Matthan Black joins host Oliver Camacho and co-host Tobias Wright as they choose recordings and match up virtuosic performances to specific Olympic sports... Game on!

We go 'Inside the Huddle' and are joined live in-studio with guest co-host Dr. Kevin Byrne, an assistant professor of dramaturgy at the University of Arizona. We get him to explain, once and for all, what a dramaturg actually does. The answer might surprise you... Then, on our ‘Chalk Talk’ segment, we sing happy birthday to the Met in HD broadcasts, which turn ten years old this month. But is that ten years too many? Find out why some folks think these movie theater screenings of live opera performances should never have been born... Plus, Oliver gives a tribute to Lorraine Hunt Lieberson, and we have all your opera headlines in 'The Two Minute Drill'...

Giovanna Jacques is back state-side from her trip to France and Italy. She’ll give you the latest on opera and culture from continental Europe... But first, it’s war on our ‘Chalk Talk’ segment. Military conflicts have been central to opera stories ever since George Frederic Handel composed “Giuilo Cesare” in the early 1700s. Tonight we look at contemporary operas that are continuing to tell those stories, including such works as “Fallujah” by Tobin Stokes and Jeremy Beck’s “The Long Walk”... Plus, we’ve got all your opera headlines in our “Two Minute Drill” segment, and at the bottom of the hour, we bring back some memories with one of the most famous opera memes ever to grace YouTube. See if you recognize it...

We took Independence Day off, so we’ve got a loaded show for you this week. Oliver Camacho goes ‘Inside the Huddle’ with baritone David John Pike, who talks about coaching the role of Scarpia from Puccini’s “Tosca” with Sherill Milnes, and also reflects on singing George Butterworth’s song cycle "A Shropshire Lad" on the hundredth anniversary of the Battle of the Somme... But first, it’s our ‘Chalk Talk’ segment. Ticket sales are up at Los Angeles Opera and the Wiener Staatsoper, but down at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City. What factors are pushing these numbers up (or down) and who’s responsible? Tobias Wright has some theories to share... Plus, Giovanna Jacques checks in from the Bellini Museum in Sicily, we’ve got all your opera headlines in ‘The Two Minute Drill’, and Oliver plays ‘Monday Evening Quarterback’ after seeing Renée Fleming in concert...

There's a new piece at LA Opera called 'Anatomy Theatre'. Set in the 1700s, it dissects – literally – the body and mind of a murderer. We examine the gross-out factor of this opera, and see how it stacks up against other bloody opera productions we’ve seen... Then, 'TKO' is back! This time our opera singer death match pits Luciano Pavarotti against Jussi Björling. Can the Swedish Caruso de-throne the King of the High C? We’ll put two of the greatest champions in the ring and let them "duke" it out in Verdi’s 'Rigoletto'. There will be blood, as Tobias Wright and Matthan Black take sides, and Oliver Camacho is the judge... Plus, Giovanna Jacques checks in from the Teatro Massimo in Sicily and George has got all your opera headlines...