Opera Box Score

[@ 5 min] Alright, this week...we go Inside the Huddle with Suzanne Nance, the new Executive Director of Wexford Festival Opera! Find out how the career of this “Woman of Influence” went from onstage, to behind a mic, to the C-Suite... [@ 39 min] Plus, in the ‘Two Minute Drill’… Friend of the Show Zachary James is Abraham Lincoln, and Friend of the Show Clay Hilley claps back at the critics!  GET...

[@ 3 min] Alright, as America prepares to celebrate its semiquincentennial, this week in Chalk Talk…we’re breaking down the history of American vocal music by playing 250 of our favorite clips! Or maybe like 12 or so to keep the episode length reasonable. From American folk song, operetta, Music theater, opera and art song, we'll hear tons of music, performed by favorite American artists…and...

[@ 4 min] Alright, this week…John Holiday goes Inside the Huddle! The American countertenor and 'The Voice' finalist is wrapping up a banner 25-26 season at the Munich Opera Festival. Next month, his solo album, 'Over My Head,' with pianist Kevin Miller, drops on the Pentatone label! John joins us from Munich where he co-stars with Jeanine De Bique and Julian Pregardien in Hand...

[@ 3 min] Alright, this week…Early music specialist Jory Vinikour goes Inside the Huddle! The conductor and harpsichordist returns to his native Chicago to lead a production of a pretty gay tragedy…no, not Oliver’s mid-life bachelorhood, but Charpentier’s "David and Jonathan" for Haymarket Opera! [@ 35 min] Then, in the Two Minute Drill…Audiences at La Scala are protesting ticket prices,...

[@ 3 min] Alright, this week…Maestro James Conlon takes a Free Throw on his tenure as Music Director of LA Opera, a post he held for 20 years…and we’re rewarding him by letting him talk to Oliver? Poor guy! [@ 23 min] Then, in Monday Evening Quarterback…The Tony Awards were last Sunday, but as many longtime listeners will attest, Weston doesn’t know anything about Broadway. Luckily, Ashlee Hardgra...

[@ 2 min] Alright, this week…tenor and author Ben Bliss goes Inside the Huddle to share his financial survival guide for singers and other freelancers in the performing arts. It’s all in his new book, 'Making it Work,' coming to a TedTalk near you! [@ 35 min] Then, in Listener Mailbag...it’s a Field Report on Orfeo from Ars Lyrica Houston, starring friend of the show Karim Sulayman! [@ 4...

Alright, this week…it’s a holiday week! Soooo we’re skipping the Two Minute Drill and dipping into the Inside the Huddle archives to replay a pair of recent interviews. [@ 1 min] First up, conductor James Gaffigan tells us why the Komische Oper is a total party! He went Inside the Huddle shortly after being named Music Director of Houston Grand Opera last fall.  [@ 38 min] And then...Grammy Award-...

[@ 2 min] Alright, this week…how DO you solve a problem like Jeff Bezos? How do you catch a donation and pin it down, in an era when the hills are NOT alive with the sound of donors? Is this bit working? We answer these questions, and more, in Chalk Talk… [@ 18 min] And then...Santa Fe Opera General Director Robert K. Meya takes a Free Throw on the recently announced 2027 festival season, and pick...

[@ 1 min] Alright, this week…we continue  with the OBS playbook for the upcoming Summer Opera Season. This time the team picks the most anticipated performances in the Western European League! [@ 17 min] And then...soprano, stage director, and Opera Theatre of St. Louis artistic director Patricia Racette returns to take a  Free Throw on performing MT at OTSL! [@ 28 min] Lakmé gets cancelled, and t...

[@ 2 min] Alright, this week…Conductor David Neely goes Inside the Huddle to share highlights from Des Moines Metro Opera’s upcoming festival season!  [@ 22 min] And since we're  already on the topic of the Summer opera season, in Chalk Talk, the team handicaps the opera festivals here in the US of A… [@ 38 min] Plus, in the ‘Two Minute Drill’…Bard College’s Leo Botstein steps down, and Frien...

[@ 4 min] Alright, this week…we go Inside the Huddle with Dane Lam! Just in time for AAPI Heritage Month, the Australian-Chinese-Singaporean conductor shares his perspective on the state of opera in the Asia-Pacific, as well as collaborating with thee Sir Thomas Allen, the stage director of the Marriage of Figaro for Scottish Opera.  [@ 38 min] And then...the Listener Mailbag is full of Field Repo...

[@ 3 min] Alright, this week…Anthony Gregory goes Inside the Huddle. The British tenor is currently starring in the title role of 'Glaucus and Scylla' at Opernhaus Zürich, under the baton of Emmanuelle Haïm. This summer, he makes his US debut at Santa Fe Opera, but you can and SHOULD follow him on Instagram right now! [@ 32 min] And then... a Field Report from American Symphony Orchestra...

[@ 12 min] Alright, this week…Lyric Opera of Chicago has announced their 26/27 season, and we break down the stats, report who’s active on the roster, and ask the all-important question…will Luck Be a Lady at the Lyric next year? [@ 30 min] And then...Friend of the Show Randall Scotting returns to the OBS to take a free throw on Nicolò Grimaldi, the castrato who conquered the opera world under the...

[@ 6 min] Alright, this week…we go Inside the Huddle with Adam Smith! The British tenor made his Met debut in Madame Butterfly last month and continues his breakout season, starring in the Spring run of the Zeffirelli Boheme production beginning this weekend. We’ve been tipped off that he compares the pressures of being a leading tenor to playing tennis, so brace yourselves for Oliver’s gloating.....

[@ 6 min] Alright, this week…we go Inside the Huddle with Marshall Pynkowski and Jeannette Lajeunesse Zingg, co-artistic directors of Opera Atelier, the company that built its reputation of lavish productions of operas from the French Baroque, and is now set to present…Pelléas and Melisande!?!  [@ 42 min] Plus, in the ‘Two Minute Drill’… Violinist Lara St. John settles a lawsuit, and preservationi...

[@ 2 min] Alright, this week…it’s a very important Hall of Fame induction for the late, great Jose Van Dam! The legendary Belgian bass-baritone finally breaks our streak of inductees that are either sopranos, tenors, or Georg Solti… [@ 44 min] And then…Oliver Camacho’s in the Big Apple to give us a field report from the Eric and Dominique Laffont Competition! Who won, who lost, and who’s clamoring...

[@ 3 min] Alright, this week…Alright, this week…We go Inside the Huddle with Rosa Feola! The Italian lyric soprano joins us from Naples, where she is singing the title role of Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor. Tomorrow, her album of rare Donizetti Songs with Carlo Rizzi drops on the Opera Rara label. Find out WHO taught her how to be a Donizetti boss... [@ 22 min] Plus, in the ‘Two Minute Drill’… L...

[@ 3 min] Alright, this week…Susanne Burgess goes Inside the Huddle! The British-American soprano is about to compete in the quadrathlon known as The Tales of Hoffman, singing the Four Heroines at Florentine Opera this weekend! Find out how she’s training so she doesn’t 'fach' up her voice.  [@ 34 min] Plus, in the ‘Two Minute Drill’… The Met’s financial woes are made embarrassingly publ...

[@ 2 min] Alright, this week…Countertenor Hugh Cutting takes a Free Throw! The OBS artist-to-watch is set to perform with the Irish Baroque Orchestra in Manhattan later this month ,and joins us from England with dodgy audio...but we’re thrilled to have him, at any rate. [@ 17 min] Plus, in the ‘Two Minute Drill’… Yuja Wang makes sure that disc is fully slipped... GET YOUR VOICE HEARD Stream new ep...

[@ 7 min] Alright, this week…Just back from his trip to Milan, composer-conductor Christopher Tin takes a Free Throw on his collaboration with men’s figure skating silver medalist Yuma Kagiyama….and we’ll tack on our final thoughts on the 2026 Winter Olympics, including the victory of American women. [@ 37 min] Then...in Chalk Talk, we unpack recent announcements from the Met on next year's s...

[@ 2 min] Alright, this week…we go Inside the Huddle with Cecilia Molinari! Last Sunday, the Italian mezzo-soprano wrapped her US debut at Lyric Opera of Chicago, just in time to return home for the closing ceremonies in her hometown and the start of the Paralympic games. [@ 31 min] And while the Olympics continue, we’ll Chalk Talk on Christopher Tin’s Turandot remix, elder millennial olympians, a...

[@ 4 min] Alright, this week…Andrzej Filończyk goes Inside the Huddle as he is set to return to the Met for the limited bonus run of The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay beginning next week. Can the Polish baritone think like The Escapist when it comes to unwanted advances from Oliver? [@ 37 min] Then, it's the return of the 90’s divas starring Mariah Carey, Cecilia Bartoli, and … Rick...

[@ 6 min] Alright, this week…we handicap the Big Game between New England and Seattle, the best way we know how: OPERA COMPANY cage match! Benjamin Sokol, a member of the Ryan Opera Center, joins us to fill in the considerable gaps in Weston's and Oliver's football knowledge... [@ 18 min] Then, Denyce Graves takes a Free Throw on portraying opera’s strongest and most powerful women while...

[@ 2 min] Alright, this week…as the national 10th anniversary tour of the trailblazing opera 'Fellow Travelers' is set to launch next month, one of the stars of the tour, baritone Joseph Lattanzi, goes Inside the Huddle to talk Tennis, Hawkins Fuller, and his upcoming role debut as another gay mid-20th century American: Van Cliburn! [@ 36 min] Then, JOYCE DIDONATO, the Queen D herself, t...

[@ 4 min] Alright, this week…we go Inside the Huddle with Christopher Sokoloski! The American Heldentenor had a breakout year in 2025, coming to international attention singing Captain Vere in the Story of Billy Budd at Aix-en-Provence, followed by an unscheduled role debut as Parsifal at Flanders Opera. Listen for the exact moment when Oliver falls in love…I promise you can hear Oliver’s heart br...