Opera Box Score

[@ 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 ‘...

[@ 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… [@ 29min] 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? Th...

[@ 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 adv...

[@ 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 legenda...

[@ 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 operaboxsco...

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 continue...

[@ 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 &apo...

[@ 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"… [@ 3...

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 Thanksgivin...

[@ 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"...

[@ 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 S...

[@ 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...

[@ 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 Engl...

[@ 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 ‘T...

[@ 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 “Daugh...

[@ 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’…...

We go 'Inside the Huddle' with soprano Amanda Majeski. The tap-dancing Mozart 'n' Strauss diva is from Illinois and lives in Wisconsin. You'll be shocked when you find out where her sports allegiance lies... Plus, in the 'Two Minute Drill'… Where are all the gay white male opera administrators going? Starting their own super opera company in P-town...? GET YOUR V...

[@ 7 min] Season 9 of the OBS begins with a mixed doubles ‘Inside the Huddle’ when FOUR artists join us to preview Opera Philadelphia’s Festival O23... [@ 57 min] Plus, in the ‘Two Minute Drill’… It’s Ying Fang . YING. FANG. Not WANG FAN... GET YOUR VOICE HEARD operaboxscore.com facebook.com/obschi1 @operaboxscore IG operaboxscore

We dive into the OBS archives for a highlight from Season 6 when we went ‘Inside the Huddle’ with soprano Ying Fang… We’re back with an all-new show on Thursday, September 14th, when we kick off Season 9 of the OBS with a preview of Festival O23 at Opera Philadelphia… Join us! GET YOUR VOICE HEARD operaboxscore.com facebook.com/obschi1 @operaboxscore IG operaboxscore

[@ 3 min] It’s transition season in sports and on the OBS… We let you know what’s new on this season’s college football gridiron, we handicap the men’s draw of the US Open, and we recap our favorite Season 8 OBS highlights… [@ 22 min] And then… Before we take our Labor Day break, we get into those Listener Mailbag submissions from both regulars and a first-time caller, long-time listener… [@ 31 mi...

[@ 4 min] She was More Than a Diva, and now she enters the OBS Hall of Fame. It’s our tribute to the late, great Renata Scotto … [@ 36 min] In a blow to American opera cognoscenti, the Metropolitan Opera Guild will cease publication of ‘ Opera News ’. That means all you PR agents out there? The OBS is all you’ve got left... [@ 48 min] In the ‘Two Minute Drill’… As we predicted, Spain won the Women...

[@ 4 min] The Women’s World Cup is down to its final four teams, and we’re here to pick a winner, based on a head-to-head clash between each country’s greatest female singer… [@ 32 min] And then… We go ‘Inside the Huddle’ with baritone Huw Montague Rendall , who’s starring in the current production of “Pelléas et Mélisande” at the Santa Fe Opera. Find out which team he’s betting on to win the Worl...