Opera Box Score

[@3 min] Alright, this week…New Year, New OBS! There’s a lot to look forward to in the coming months and we have all your 2025 recommendations, resolutions, and redshirts. [@36 min] And then…legendary French conductor Marc Minkowski takes a free throw on the career of one of his longtime collaborators and favorite singers. You’ll have to stay tuned to find out who, but we can give you a hint: it rhymes with Schmagdalena Kožená. [@46 min] Plus, in the ‘Two Minute Drill’…say it isn’t so! Sir Bryn Terfel is retiring his Scarpia, and conductor Daniel Harding loves taking risks in the pit, but hopefully not the cockpit. GET YOUR VOICE HEARD operaboxscore.com facebook.com/obschi1 @operaboxscore IG operaboxscore

[@ 5 min] This week…we go inside the huddle with Givonna Joseph, the founder of Opera Creole, and soprano Mary Elizabeth Williams, the star of that company's upcoming world premiere of Edmond Dede’s "Morgiane," a collaboration with friend of the show Opera Lafayette. [@ 32 min] Plus, in the ‘Two Minute Drill’…the prima of the Met’s new Aida was an event that won’t be forgotten any time soon, and is Paris Hilton the solution to opera’s Millennial problem? GET YOUR VOICE HEARD operaboxscore.com facebook.com/obschi1 @operaboxscore IG operaboxscore

Alright, this week…It’s the OBS year in review! From Beyoncé showing off her Italian Baroque chops to Arts Council England continuing to be the enemy of opera, to friend of the show Anthony Roth Costanzo being tapped as Opera Philadelphia’s new GD, to other friend of the show Benjamin Bernheim getting the ultimate OBS bump, 2024 certainly was…something. The team breaks it down for you… GET YOUR VOICE HEARD operaboxscore.com facebook.com/obschi1 @operaboxscore IG operaboxscore

[@ 1 min] This week…for our annual Christmas episode, we’re going INSIDE THE CAROL. Taking a break from opera news, the OBS team wants to save you from tears, and give your heart away to someone special… [@ 23 min] Plus, keeping with the theme of magical births, a field report on the Met’s “Die Frau Ohne Schatten.” GET YOUR VOICE HEARD operaboxscore.com facebook.com/obschi1 @operaboxscore IG operaboxscore

[@ 2 min] This week…we go inside the huddle with Key’mon Murrah. In advance of his upcoming Washington National Opera Marian Anderson Vocal Award recital, we catch up with the in-demand countertenor almost four years after he first became a Friend of the Show. [@ 26 min] Then, we take a break from the opera to discuss the CSO in this week’s listener mailbag… [@ 31 min] After that…Puccini died a century ago, and his operas are still performed all over the world. Matt and I are here to settle the question once and for all: was Giacomo the GOAT? Or GioAT, if you will? [@ 59 min] Plus, in the ‘Two Minute Drill’…is Bayreuth’s budget going bust? Will bad business bring about bankruptcy? We boys break down this baffling botheration… GET YOUR VOICE HEARD operaboxscore.com facebook.com/obschi1 @operaboxscore IG operaboxscore

[@ 2 min] This week, we’re recording on December 2nd, the 101st anniversary of the birth of Maria Callas. And to celebrate, we’ll go Inside the Huddle with Sophia Lambton, author of the new biography, "The Callas Imprint." [@ 30 min] Then, it’s a Monday Evening Quarterback on “Maria,” the film now in select theaters and coming to Netflix this month! [@ 38 min] Plus, in the ‘Two Minute Drill’…we may be celebrating Callas’ birthday on the show today, but Puccini’s birthday was nearly ruined at La Scala… GET YOUR VOICE HEARD operaboxscore.com facebook.com/obschi1 @operaboxscore IG operaboxscore

Happy Thanksgiving to all who celebrate! (Sorry, UK listeners). The OBS team is going to celebrate by taking a week off from the news and offering our thanks to artists in our industry who have striven to make this world a better place. GET YOUR VOICE HEARD operaboxscore.com facebook.com/obschi1 @operaboxscore IG operaboxscore

[@ 2 min] This week, Frederica von Stade, a living legend, takes a Free Throw on the role of the Mother in Dead Man Walking and reveals the heartbreak of being a mother working in opera. [@ 16 min] Then…we go Inside the Huddle with tenor Gwilym Bowen, who is setting his voice to Christmas Oratorio and Messiah mode as we enter into the most magical season of all[@ . [@39 min] Plus, in the ‘Two Minute Drill’…Peter Gelb is jockeying for a cabinet position with a promise to make opera great again. GET YOUR VOICE HEARD operaboxscore.com facebook.com/obschi1 @operaboxscore IG operaboxscore

[@4 min] Later this month, Agnes Baltsa will celebrate her 80th birthday, and since her handlers won’t answer our interview request, we’ll offer you the next best thing and induct the grandiose Greek mezzo-soprano into the OBS hall of Fame. [@ 31 min] Plus, in the ‘Two Minute Drill’…So far there’s only one thing to look forward to in 2025: GRAMMY season! We’ll walk you through the noms while we all collectively smile through the pain… GET YOUR VOICE HEARD operaboxscore.com facebook.com/obschi1 @operaboxscore IG operaboxscore

Alright, this week…it’s the first week in November in America and the election is the only thing we can think about. We have no idea if America will still be a thing by the time you hear this…but we will try to continue the conversation about politics…I mean opera. Then…a free throw from bass Kenneth Kellogg who is set to make his Chicago debut in his signature role, The Father in Jeanine Tesoriu and Tazewell Thompson’s BLUE. Plus, in the ‘Two Minute Drill’…we got one tenor chiding us and another tenor grousing about his picture not being included on the cover of a DVD and, I’m sorry, Democracy is at stake here, so forgive us if we don’t really care. GET YOUR VOICE HEARD operaboxscore.com facebook.com/obschi1 @operaboxscore IG operaboxscore

Alright, it’s Halloween, and we’re here to warn you about opera characters you don’t want to be alone with in the woods…and wouldn’t you know it, none of them are bears! Plus we have lots of listener mail, so we are going to do something extra horrifying and skip the Two Minute Drill. GET YOUR VOICE HEARD operaboxscore.com facebook.com/obschi1 @operaboxscore IG operaboxscore

[@ 1 min] It’s the return of TKO, when we pit two sopranos against each other, one American and one Italian, in the obstacle course that is Madama Butterfly… [@ 39 min] And then, Ermonela Jaho, one of the undisputed great Cio-Cio San’s of our time, takes a Free Throw on her signature role. [@ 55 min] And, in the listener mailbag, a field report on the Met’s production of Grounded. [@ 1 hr] Plus, in the ‘Two Minute Drill’…Harmonia Mundi sells its soul? I mean, I guess it is almost Halloween… GET YOUR VOICE HEARD operaboxscore.com facebook.com/obschi1 @operaboxscore IG operaboxscore

[@ 4 min] It’s a Tenor Double Header! We go inside the huddle with two singers making their North American debuts in lead roles. First up, Mexican-American tenor Galeano Salas, who is set to co-star in La Traviata in Detroit opposite FOS Emily Pogorelc. Then, we speak to baroque specialist Antonin Rondepierre, who sings a title role in Acis and Galatea at Opera Atelier. [@ 52 min] Plus, in the ‘Two Minute Drill’…Warning: Naked Nuns Roller Skating may induce nausea….And the New York Times critics may induce tantrums. GET YOUR VOICE HEARD operaboxscore.com facebook.com/obschi1 @operaboxscore IG operaboxscore

[@ 3 min] Sinéad Campbell Wallace goes Inside the Huddle! The Irish soprano shares how she began her career singing Handel and Mozart then took a long break to start a family and returned to singing as a Jugendliche dramatische Sopran. With a Salome and an Elsa already under her belt, she is making her American debut as Leonora in Washington National Opera’s Fidelio. [@ 42 min] And then…a field report on the Tales of Hoffmann from the Met, starring Friends of the Show Benjamin Bernheim and Erin Morley. [@ 49 min] What’s the playbook for keeping an opera company afloat in troubled times? Glyndebourne and Atlanta apparently have the secret sauce. GET YOUR VOICE HEARD operaboxscore.com facebook.com/obschi1 @operaboxscore IG operaboxscore

[@ 2 min] We go Inside the Huddle with Ricky Ian Gordon. The prolific American composer of operas such as "A Coffin in Egypt," "The Grapes of Wrath," and "Orpheus and Euridice" has another credit to add: author! Ricky will share anecdotes from his new memoir, Seeing Through: A Chronicle of Sex, Drugs, and Opera. [@ 35 min] And then…a field report from an advanced screening of Maria Callas biopic from the New York Film Festival. Will it be opera gloved thumbs down or opera gloved thumbs up? [@ 40 min] Dresden’s rolling in cash, Berlin’s broke, and Apple Classical has taken another tiny step towards world domination… GET YOUR VOICE HEARD operaboxscore.com facebook.com/obschi1 @operaboxscore IG operaboxscore

[@ 4 min] We go Inside the Huddle with Vanessa Becerra. The Peruvian and Mexican American soprano is set to make her Chicago Opera Theater debut in the title role of Ferdinando Paer’s Leonora. She joins OBS for a frank conversation about how she distinguished herself as an artist and how her Latina identity opened up new opportunities. [@ 37 min] Plus, in the ‘Two Minute Drill’…can we get through the segment without naming the patron of Operalia? GET YOUR VOICE HEARD operaboxscore.com facebook.com/obschi1 @operaboxscore IG operaboxscore

[@ 4 min] It’s time to retire George's number. That’s right, it’s his final episode after nine years as a cohost on the OBS. The team say their goodbyes and reminisce about the good times (and a few of the bad...) [@ 25 min] Then… It’s a 'Free Throw' from Javier Camarena who is set to make his Lyric Opera of Chicago debut as the Duke in "Rigoletto"... [@ 41 min] Plus, in the ‘Two Minute Drill’… George would come back for one more episode as an encore, but Angela Gheorghiu might object... Season Ten of the OBS starts now! GET YOUR VOICE HEARD operaboxscore.com facebook.com/obschi1 @operaboxscore IG operaboxscore

[@ 4 min] It's a post-Labor Day weekend double header, as we go 'Inside the Huddle' with composer Missy Mazzoli, as she preps to open "The Listeners" at Opera Philadelphia... [@ 33 min] ...and then, for the first time ever, we host a designer on the OBS: it's lighting designer Christine Binder... Set your clocks! Season Ten of the OBS starts on Thursday, September 12... GET YOUR VOICE HEARD operaboxscore.com facebook.com/obschi1 @operaboxscore IG operaboxscore

[@ 5 min] Next month, our Friends of the Show Opera Philadelphia will present the North American premiere of Missy Mazzoli and Royce Vavrek’s "The Listeners". We go 'Inside the Huddle' with the opera’s star, soprano Nicole Heaston... [@ 30 min] Then, in the final inning of OBS Season 9, we peek into 'Listener Mailbag'... [@ 40 min] Plus, in the ‘Two Minute Drill’… Angelina Jolie goes Method and swallows a tapeworm to prepare for her portrayal of La Divina... GET YOUR VOICE HEARD operaboxscore.com facebook.com/obschi1 @operaboxscore IG operaboxscore

The DNC wreaks havoc on Chicago, and the OBS is not immune! Enjoy these spectacular 'Free Throws' from the OBS archives, with the likes of Isabel Leonard, Lise Davidsen, Julien Prégardien, Enrique Mazzola, Rolando Villazón, and Jonathan Cohen. We're back with an all-new episode next week... GET YOUR VOICE HEARD operaboxscore.com facebook.com/obschi1 @operaboxscore IG operaboxscore