Opera Box Score

[@ 3 min] We go ‘Inside the Huddle’ with children’s book author Carolyn Sloan whose new picture book “Welcome to the Opera”, much to our surprise, does NOT use the story of Lady MacBeth of Mtsensk to introduce opera to the newest audiences... [@ 20 min] Then… We notch six more items from our Callas100 countdown, take a peek in the 'Listener Mailbag', and recap the music of Super Bowl LVIII... [@ 38 min] Plus… Is Sir Punch Slapiot Grabbeber ready to return to the stage? Find out in the Two Minute Drill... operaboxscore.com facebook.com/obschi1 @operaboxscore IG operaboxscore

[@ 2 min] The Met has now staged two operas, in working-class middle America, to “mixed” reviews. Were these bold artistic choices a bid to shake up elite opera audiences, or did someone in the props department just have access to a trailer...? [@ 23 min] Then, countertenor Reginald Mobley takes a 'Free Throw' on being a prominent Black artist in Early Music... [@ 39 min] Plus, in the ‘Two Minute Drill’… the Grammy winners are in! Did the OBS bump have any effect...? GET YOUR VOICE HEARD operaboxscore.com facebook.com/obschi1 @operaboxscore IG operaboxscore

[@ 5 min] We go 'Inside the Huddle' with composer Melissa Dunphy to excavate 250 years of Philadelphia history, discovering broken pottery, the music of ghosts, and why cricket isn’t actually a boring sport… [@ 29 min] Plus, PJ files a field report from Carnegie Hall’s "Song Studio" in the 'Listener Mailbag'... [@ 31 min] In the 'Two Minute Drill'… you know that meme? The one with the dog in the house on fire saying “This is fine?” Maybe don’t send that one to Peter Gelb right now… GET YOUR VOICE HEARD operaboxscore.com facebook.com/obschi1 @operaboxscore IG operaboxscore

[@ 4 min] Can’t wait to find out who’ll win the AFC and NFC conferences? In 'Chalk Talk', we pick the Super Bowl contenders with our patented opera prediction method… [@ 24 min] Jonathan Cohen takes a 'Free Throw' on the different national approaches of performance practice in early music. The cellist, harpsichordist, and conductor nerds out with Oliver on Baroque stuff in advance of his debut with Chicago’s MOB… [@ 36 min] In the ‘Two Minute Drill’… Will the English National Opera chorus finally go on strike…? GET YOUR VOICE HEARD operaboxscore.com facebook.com/obschi1 @operaboxscore IG operaboxscore

[@ 5 min] Tenor Jack Swanson goes ‘Inside the Huddle’. The young American bel canto specialist has already debuted at the Rossini Festival in Pesaro, and won Oliver’s heart as Almaviva at Santa Fe Opera Festival. Now he's in Chicago set to make his house debut in another signature Rossini part: Prince Ramiro in "Cinderella"... [@ 39 min] And then… Jack Swanson’s co-star, the legendary Italian baritone Alessandro Corbelli takes a ‘Free Throw’ on singing Mozart, bel canto buffo parts, and contributes to our Callas100 celebration... [@ 53 min] Plus, in the ‘Two Minute Drill’… We’re still waiting for our check from the estate of Lois Kirschenbaum… GET YOUR VOICE HEARD operaboxscore.com facebook.com/obschi1 @operaboxscore IG operaboxscore

[@ 5 min] We go ‘Inside the Huddle’ with Briana Hunter. The American mezzo-soprano is accomplished stage actress and a champion of new works, making her a stage director’s dream... [@ 32 min] In the ‘Two Minute Drill’… a Gilbert & Sullivan manuscript has been missing for over a century. If you know where it is, please return it to its rightful owner (George)... GET YOUR VOICE HEARD operaboxscore.com facebook.com/obschi1 @operaboxscore IG operaboxscore

Happy New Year from the OBS Team! We'll be back with an all-new episode on Thursday, January 11, 2024... Please enjoy this replay of three of our favorite interviews from 2023: OperaDelaware's Kerriann Otaño [@ 3 min], and stage directors Marcus Shields [@ 24 min] and David Alden [@ 55 min]... GET YOUR VOICE HEARD operaboxscore.com facebook.com/obschi1 @operaboxscore IG operaboxscore

It’s a full house for our last new episode of 2023! We wrap things up with the best and worst from Operaland over the past year, including trends, performances, and passings, plus we vote for the inaugural OBS Person of the Year…

[@ 4 min] Canadian-American bass John Relyea goes ‘Inside the Huddle’ with us from Rome where he just completed a run in the title role of Boito’s "Mefistofele". Little did he know that he would be bargaining with his OWN soul when he agreed to be interviewed... [@ 24 min] It's a field report from PJ and pals on the Met’s "Tannhäuser", and the #Callas100 countdown continues… [@ 37 min] Tributes are flooding in for the late Marlena Malas. We share some with you in the ‘Two Minute Drill’... GET YOUR VOICE HEARD operaboxscore.com facebook.com/obschi1 @operaboxscore IG operaboxscore

[@ 5 min] We go ‘Inside the Huddle’ with Maya Kherani. In addition to being a rare example of a soprano of South Asian descent who has gained traction in the largely white world of Early Music, Maya is also establishing herself as an advocate for mothers in opera... [@ 30 min] We've finally arrived at the centenary of Maria Callas’ birth; over the course of the year, we'll countdown 'The Callas 100'… [@ 42 min] In the ‘Two Minute Drill’… It’s another climate protest, this time during "Tannhäuser" at the Met... GET YOUR VOICE HEARD operaboxscore.com facebook.com/obschi1 @operaboxscore IG operaboxscore

[@ 4 min] Legendary stage director and Intendantin Francesca Zambello goes 'Inside the Huddle' to share her philosophy on how to make an opera company an attractive place to work, and she previews her current project at Chicago Opera Theater: Shostakovich's "The Nose"... [@ 30 min] It's a field report from PJ on The Met’s new "Florencia en el Amazonas"… [@ 33 min] In the ‘Two Minute Drill’… a British student stumbles upon an old Salieri manuscript thought to be lost. Was it SABOTAGE by Mozart...? operaboxscore.com facebook.com/obschi1 @operaboxscore IG operaboxscore

It’s a special, all-clips, holiday episode for you, dear listener. Whether you’re stuffing a turkey or waiting in baggage claim, find out which moments in opera make our team think of family and togetherness. Like "Elektra"... GET YOUR VOICE HEARD operaboxscore.com facebook.com/obschi1 @operaboxscore IG operaboxscore

[@ 3 min] It’s awards season! Grammy nominations are in; so are the International Opera Awards winners. Find out who’s cashing in on the OBS bump this year… Plus, Matt and Ashlee play 'Monday Evening Quarterback' from coast to coast to... well, third coast… [@ 51 min] Friends of the Show Boston Early Music Festival are set to present "The Dragon of Wantley" as their Thanksgiving weekend chamber opera. Their star tenor Aaron Sheehan takes a 'Free Throw' on what it’s like to be in one of BEMF’s lavish, historically informed productions... [@ 57 min] In the ‘Two Minute Drill’… The Met plans to celebrate Stephen Schwartz. Could a staging of "Wicked" starring Lise Davidsen and Nina Stemme be far away...? GET YOUR VOICE HEARD operaboxscore.com facebook.com/obschi1 @operaboxscore IG operaboxscore

[@ 5 min] As Lidiya Yankovskaya prepares to step down as Music Director of Chicago Opera Theater, we take a look at some of the ‘Swings and Misses’ of her tenure, including being a three-time Inside the Huddle guest on the OBS... [@ 30 min] And then… PJ files a report on “X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X” from the Met, and Lise Davidsen joins us for a ‘Free Throw’ on Janacek’s "Jenůfa"… [@ 42 min] Plus, in the ‘Two Minute Drill’… France is the big winner in the World Cup of Opera, and an opera company in Dallas attempts to show the relationship between opera and sports... GET YOUR VOICE HEARD operaboxscore.com facebook.com/obschi1 @operaboxscore IG operaboxscore

[@ 2 min] After an injury sidelined Alex DeSocio from a college football career, the baritone turned to the most logical alternative: opera. His young career has already taken him to Pensacola Opera, Opera Birmingham, Fort Worth Opera, and now the world premiere of Jake Heggie and Gene Scheer’s “Intelligence” at Houston Grand Opera… [@ 25 min] And then… it’s the return of Friend of the Show Ryan Speedo Green. Speedo takes a ‘Free Throw’ on how he scored the role of Emile Griffith in the high-profile Met debut of Terence Blanchard’s “Champion”... [@ 35 min] Plus, in the ‘Two Minute Drill’… If you cancel yourself, does that count as Cancel Culture…? operaboxscore.com facebook.com/obschi1 @operaboxscore IG operaboxscore

[@ 3 min] It’s the annual Hallowe’en Spooktacular, the scary and shocking moments of opera that will have you lose your head… [@ 46 min] In the ‘Listener Mailbag’... A field report from Donald and PJ, and a review of Opera Arizona’s "Frankenstein"... [@ 53 min] In the ‘Two Minute Drill’… The scariest thing about opera? We’d have to say: the sexism… GET YOUR VOICE HEARD operaboxscore.com facebook.com/obschi1 @operaboxscore IG operaboxscore

[@ 3 min] It’s a Band Geek Edition of 'Sportzando!' Say. No. More. [@ 31 min] And then... I don’t know how we pulled it off, but we have a 'Free Throw' with tenor, author, stage director, clown, radio host, and television personality Rolando Villazón... [@ 40 min] Plus, in the ‘Two Minute Drill’… Well, at least Martyn Brabbins didn’t punch anyone when things got ugly at English National Opera… GET YOUR VOICE HEARD operaboxscore.com facebook.com/obschi1 @operaboxscore IG operaboxscore

[@ 5 min] It's an ‘Inside the Huddle’ is a double-header! First up, in the middle of rehearsals for “The Barber of Seville” at LA Opera, it’s the dreamy Italian bass-baritone Luca Pisaroni... [@ 34 min] For the second interview of theTwi-night, it’s the young Heldentenor Robert Watson, who just completed his Lyric Opera debut as Erik in “The Flying Dutchman"... [@ 55 min] Plus, in the ‘Two Minute Drill’… We say farewell to one of the true digital originals: James Jorden… GET YOUR VOICE HEARD operaboxscore.com facebook.com/obschi1 @operaboxscore IG operaboxscore

[@ 4 min] We go ‘Inside the Huddle’ with John Brancy in London, where he's reprising his role as the Artisan & Collector in George Benjamin’s “Picture a Day Like This”. He tells us how that role was customized to his freakish abilities and why we shouldn’t limit ourselves to just one way of singing… [@ 35 min] And then… Lisette Oropesa, who makes her Lyric Opera debut next month in “Daughter of the Regiment”, takes a ‘Free Throw’ on the *other* Donizetti role that brought her career to international attention… [@ 45 min] Plus, in the ‘Two Minute Drill’… What year is it? According to a North Carolina classical radio station, it’s 1950... GET YOUR VOICE HEARD operaboxscore.com facebook.com/obschi1 @operaboxscore IG operaboxscore

[@ 4 min] In our new segment, ‘Swings & Misses’, we look at the best and worst decisions from Operaland, starting with the home runs and strikeouts of Anthony Freud’s tenure at Lyric Opera of Chicago… [@ 25 min] He was in Fantasy Football enemy territory, but did he enjoy Opera Philadelphia’s Festival O23? Oliver tells all in ‘Monday Evening Quarterback’… [@ 36 min] In the ‘Two Minute Drill’… How would *you* look if you were naked onstage and 4.9 billion years old...? SHOW NOTES https://www.theguardian.com/music/2023/sep/20/opera-actor-82-furious-with-critic-for-saying-she-looked-a-fright-on-first-night GET YOUR VOICE HEARD operaboxscore.com facebook.com/obschi1 @operaboxscore IG operaboxscore