Opera Box Score

[@ 2 min] We go ‘Inside the Huddle’ with ​​Megan Gillis, the co-founder and executive director of City Lyric Opera in New York City, to talk about “Uncovered”, the company’s current world premiere production… [@ 19 min] And then… it’s another 'Listener Mailbag' (but not from the Bronx): intermission at the Met’s “Don Carlo”… [@ 24 min] Plus, in the ‘Two Minute Drill’… Hooligans and hecklers are not just for the stadium. Opera has reached a new low as some jackhole at the Royal Opera House boos the performance of a child… We’re off next week for Thanksgiving, then back with an all-new show on Thursday, December 1… operaboxscore.com facebook.com/obschi1 @operaboxscore IG operaboxscore

[@ 6 min] George goes ‘Inside the Huddle’ for a double header with two of the team behind “Gods of the Game”, the football opera that opened at Grange Park Opera in England. The discussion kicks off with company’s founder and chief executive Wasfi Kani and concludes with cast member Milly Forrest… [@ 33 min] Friend of the Show Larry Brownlee takes a ‘Free Throw’ on the comic-tragic role of Rameau’s Platée, the star bel canto tenor’s first French Baroque role… [@ 40 min] In the ‘Two Minute Drill’… With government funding for British opera houses in turmoil, English National Opera may put the company’s home court advantage at risk…. Next week, we go ‘Inside the Huddle’ with soprano Megan Gillis... Join us! SHOW NOTES Lawrence Brownlee: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RUfgrHrEs1g Good Call: https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2022/11/06/1127221864/when-she-left-ukraine-an-opera-singer-made-room-for-a-most-precious-possession operaboxscore.com facebook.com/obschi1 @operaboxscore IG operaboxscore

[@ 3 min] On 10/30, opera’s biggest competition crowned this year’s winners. On 10/31, Classical Singer Forum replaced the face of the competition’s creator with that of Harvey Weinstein, congratulating “opera Institutions who remain complicit with sexual predators.” Will you, our beloved and woke OBS listeners, now *also* be complicit for learning the results of Operalia 2022…? [@ 24 min] In the ‘Two Minute Drill’… FOS Afton Battle is moving on from Fort Worth Opera and asks, “What part of that do you not understand…?” Next week, we go ‘Inside the Huddle’ with the team behind “Gods of the Game”, the football opera that opened last month at Grange Park Opera... Join us! operaboxscore.com facebook.com/obschi1 @operaboxscore IG operaboxscore

[@ 3 min] We go ‘Inside the Huddle’ with Eric Einhorn, Artistic Director of On Site Opera - America’s leading presenter of site-specific operas in non-traditional venues - which just celebrated its 10th anniversary. We’ll find out how they plan to use all of the aluminum gifts they’ve received in their upcoming production of “Il Tabarro”… [@ 24 min] And then… It’s the annual Hallowe’en Spooktacular! What is your worst onstage nightmare? We share some opera tales from the crypt… [@ 40 min] Plus, in the ‘Two Minute Drill’… The shameful tradition of Blackface is back in the news… operaboxscore.com facebook.com/obschi1 @operaboxscore IG operaboxscore

[@ 5 min] We go ‘Inside the Huddle’ with Opera Southwest Artistic Director and Principal Conductor Anthony Barrese to look behind the mask of the company’s upcoming world premiere of Héctor Armienta’s opera “Zorro”... [@ 25 min] What’s the best NFL intro ever?  On ‘Sportzando!’, we figure out which TV station has the most pee-your-pants-exciting pre-game NFL theme… [@ 44 min] In the ‘Two Minute Drill’… “Animals are not a supposed audience attraction.” Whoever said that apparently hasn’t been to the Berlin State Opera… We’re back with an all-new show next week, when On Site Opera Artistic and General Director Eric Einhorn joins us to talk about the company’s tenth anniversary celebrations, and it's our annual Hallowe'en Spooktacular... Join us! operaboxscore.com facebook.com/obschi1 @operaboxscore IG operaboxscore

[@ 3 min] Oliver and Ashlee go ‘Inside the Huddle’ with the *queen* of the "Queen of the Night", Kathryn Lewek. The American soprano is about to embark on a six-city season, including a stop in Chicago... [@ 46 min] In the ‘Two Minute Drill’… Maria Manetti Schrem GM Peter Gelb is "left on read" by Christian Thieleman, and "fantastiche" news from Diana Damrau... We’re back with an all-new show next week, when Opera Southwest Artistic Director and Principal Conductor Anthony Barrese joins us to talk about a world premiere... Join us! SHOW NOTES The 'Witch of the Black Forest' rendition of "Part of Your World"... https://youtu.be/gdnwkYIdGNc operaboxscore.com facebook.com/obschi1 @operaboxscore IG operaboxscore

[@ 3 min] In ‘Chalk Talk’… Ashlee looks past your Patricks Mahomes and your Toms Brady to spotlight some of opera’s linemen, and how those unsung heroes are the key to winning the game… [@ 30 min] And then… A field report from the O Festival at Opera Philadelphia, and the return of ‘Monday Evening Quarterback’ on “Fiddler on the Roof” at Lyric Opera of Chicago... [@ 42 min] Plus, in the ‘Two Minute Drill’… Has Spotify fouled out of the streaming game? SHOWNOTES https://www.theguardian.com/music/2022/sep/27/theres-endless-choice-but-youre-not-listening-fans-quitting-spotify-to-save-their-love-of-music operaboxscore.com facebook.com/obschi1 @operaboxscore IG operaboxscore

[@ 3 min] Season Eight is a season of firsts. Last week, we had an administrator from the Marketing Suite on the show. This week, we induct the first bass into the OBS ‘Hall of Fame’… [@ 42 min] Plus, in the ‘Two Minute Drill’… A PR storm surrounds Sondra Radvanovsky just as she is set to sing the stormy Medea to kick-off the Met’s season. Also: apparently nobody can afford tickets to anything… operaboxscore.com facebook.com/obschi1 @operaboxscore IG operaboxscore

[@ 2 min] Festival O22 has arrived, and it has nothing to do with Oprah. We go ‘Inside the Huddle’ with Opera Philadelphia’s Frank Luzi for a play-by-play on one of the season’s biggest events… [@ 33 min] Plus, in the ‘Two Minute Drill’… it's Richard Tucker Gala season. What will Timothée Chalamet be wearing this time? operaboxscore.com facebook.com/obschi1 @operaboxscore IG operaboxscore

[@ 5 min] Season Eight of the OBS kicks off with the return of Aryeh Nussbaum Cohen, our first three-peat ‘Inside the Huddle’ champ… [@ 33 min] Then, Baylor Bear countertenor Michael Skarke takes a few ‘Free Throws’ on Monteverdi, “The Coronation of Poppea”, and the sad sack role of Ottone, which he sings with Haymarket Opera later this month… [@ 47 min] Plus, in the ‘Two Minute Drill’… Just when you thought a certain yoga sex cult client was out of the news cycle, Plácido Domingo makes a fool of himself in Verona… And we’re back on September 22 as we preview Opera Philadelphia’s Festival O22… Join us! operaboxscore.com facebook.com/obschi1 @operaboxscore IG operaboxscore

[@ 5 min] It’s the Season 7 finale of the OBS, with another double-play from Oliver’s trip to Santa Fe Opera. He goes ‘Inside the Huddle’ with Ryan Speedo Green to talk about the bass-baritone’s debut at the festival on the heels of recovering from Covid… [@ 46 min] And Oliver also gets mezzo-soprano Isabel Leonard to take a few ‘Free Throws’ in our brand-new, short-form segment… [@ 58 min] And then… The OBS team hit the ups and downs of Season 7… [@ 1 h 6 min] Plus, in the ‘Two Minute Drill’… “Live performance is back, but audiences have been slow to return”, says the New York Times. We crunch the numbers… We’re off next week as we celebrate Labor Day, but we’re back on September 15 for the home opener of Season 8… Join us! SHOW NOTES Isabel Leonard in Claus Guth's take on 'Cosí fan tutte' from the 2009 Salzburg Festival... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HSe7t6UkYwE operaboxscore.com facebook.com/obschi1 @operaboxscore IG operaboxscore

[@ 7 min] It’s a double-play from Oliver’s trip to Santa Fe… First up, soprano Alexandra LoBianco goes ‘Inside the Huddle’ to talk about what you should do while waiting for your dramatic voice to ripen, and all the good vibrations we feel when we sing… [@ 38 min] And then, it’s our new segment: ‘Free Throw’… (It’s so new, Norm is still practicing how to announce it.) Composer Huang Ruo fires back at critics who say his new opera “M. Butterfly” doesn’t sound Chinese enough… [@ 43 min] Plus, in the ‘Two Minute Drill’… Plácido Domingo breaks his silence on the yoga sex cult scandal, saying he is "very sad and feels used"… We’re back with an all-new show next week, when Oliver goes ‘Inside the Huddle’ with Isabel Leonard and Ryan Speedo Green… Join us! operaboxscore.com facebook.com/obschi1 @operaboxscore IG operaboxscore

This week… Oliver comes back from Santa Fe with four fabulous interviews. And Covid. So those highlights are gonna have to wait till next week… Instead, the OBS crew gets seriously sports-talk-radio on this episode and hits the ‘Two Minute Drill’ hard, talking about nothing but news, stats, and stars. And Grace Bumbry… operaboxscore.com facebook.com/obschi1 @operaboxscore IG operaboxscore

[@ 4 min] This week… in the OBS ‘Hall of Fame’, we dive into the career and legacy of the greatest dramatic soprano born in 20th century Sweden (whose name doesn’t rhyme with “Schmear-git Hilsson”)… [@ 48 min] Plus, in the ‘Two Minute Drill’… A different Swedish soprano is inducted into a German Hall of Fame, a place less exclusive than the OBS ‘HOF’… operaboxscore.com facebook.com/obschi1 @operaboxscore IG operaboxscore

[@ 4 min] Librettist Lila Palmer and stage director Chloe Treat go ‘Inside the Huddle to talk about the world premiere of a secular opera (with music by Damian Geter) about a biblical event: the Annunciation. The show just opened at the Glimmerglass Festival and couldn’t have come at a better time, because, you know, it’s about a woman consenting to give birth... [@ 41 min] Plus, in the ‘Two Minute Drill’… Angela Gheorghiu warns, if  you didn't study in Romania, be careful... operaboxscore.com facebook.com/obschi1 @operaboxscore IG operaboxscore

[@ 3 min] It’s a 2-point conversion when the OBS scores an interview with MacArthur “Don’t-say-the-G-word” Fellow Matthew Aucoin. The composer, conductor, and author goes ‘Inside the Huddle’ with Oliver to talk about his breakthrough opera “Eurydice”, and to come to the defense of that dreadful ballet sequence in “La Traviata”... [@ 39 min] And then… Should all seats be created equal in the opera house? An article in ‘The New Yorker’ argues about the inequality of how we watch live performances… [@ 46 min] Plus, in the ‘Two Minute Drill’… Opera America apologizes for its first apology, and a certain Sondra is back on the market… operaboxscore.com facebook.com/obschi1 @operaboxscore IG operaboxscore

[@ 4 min] This week… We go ‘Inside the Huddle’ with Opera Festival of Chicago’s Emanuele Andrizzi, to talk about a work that has paid a steep price for having been written just before Verdi’s more famous operas, despite having some of the best music he ever wrote… [@ 27 min] Plus, in the ‘Two Minute Drill’… Angel Blue has withdrawn from her debut at Arena di Verona. We suspect that if she were still a young artist, she might also have been called “more narcissistic and entitled than ever” by THE PEOPLE WE ARE PAYING TO LEAD US… operaboxscore.com facebook.com/obschi1 @operaboxscore IG operaboxscore

[@ 4 min] This week… George goes ‘Inside the Huddle’ with Scott Stroman, artistic director of Highbury Opera Theatre and composer of “Fever Pitch,” an opera about football. And by football, we mean soccer… [@ 26 min] And then… It’s the return of ‘Monday Evening Quarterback’, when George reviews Covent Garden’s “Così fan tutte” and “Alcina” at Glyndebourne… [@ 37 min] Plus, in the ‘Two Minute Drill’… Rene Papé is either a fully functioning alcoholic or a homophobe. Or possibly both. Stay tuned as we wade through this PR nightmare… operaboxscore.com facebook.com/obschi1 @operaboxscore IG operaboxscore

The OBS team was off for Independence Day, but manages to bring back two stellar ‘Inside the Huddle’ segments from past episodes… [@ 1 min] It’s an interview with heart-throb American bass-baritone Kyle Ketelsen from November 2021... [@ 32 min] The OBS re-confirms that they did, in fact, interview composer Jake Heggie last March… The OBS is back with an all-new show on Thursday, July 14…! operaboxscore.com facebook.com/obschi1 @operaboxscore IG operaboxscore

[@ 3 min] This week, the OBS geniuses launch a new segment called 'Singer Trading Cards'! They start with the American League and swap some great artists of the recent past that you’ll want to add to your collection, too... [@ 45 min] Plus, in the ‘Two Minute Drill’... Jonas Kaufmann will bite off an ear for love, but he won’t do that... operaboxscore.com facebook.com/obschi1 @operaboxscore IG operaboxscore