Opera After Dark

This episode started as a 5 minute casual conversation before a recording session... and then we got carried away! So we decided to turn it into an episode for you, giving you the inside scoop on a very recent performance at The Met Opera, which Naomi was at, and which has gone down in history as her BEST night at the opera...EVER. And since this SAME performance got a little lambasted in a NYTimes review, all we can say is: Go to the opera and decide for yourself, because a truly great night at the opera really is in the ears and eyes of the beholder!

Welcome to the first installment of our "this vs.that" mini-series, comparing none other than RENT and LA BOHÈME!! From the plot, to the music, to our feelings about how different things transpire in each work, we have some good fun and listen to some good tunes! Also, you'll learn a little bit about our high school obsessions... because #SeasonsOfLove.

This episode is all about a well known classic, Verdi's RIGOLETTO. This opera has got everything - twisted plot involving a court jester, a jerk Duke, a naive girl, a hit man and his sister, a curse, love, lust, murder, and more, all tied together with incredible music. Despite the tragic tale, we had a lot of fun with this one, as you can tell by the extreme length! PS: Please forgive any lingering radiator noise. We had no control over it, and we tried to edit it out, but we can only work so much magic (such is life in NYC in the winter).

In this episode, we explore Debussy's only opera, Pelléas et Mélisande! Debussy may have intended to write the ultimate anti-opera, but the music is one of the most amazing things ever created. It is dark, moody, and tragic. It's about everything and nothing all at the same time. What does it all mean? Is it all a timeless mystery?

We are beginning 2019 with an opera that consistently ranks within the top 10 most often performed operas in the world today: La Traviata! This is a tragic one (shocker), but the music is beautiful, the plot involves a lot of partying, doomed love, and a heroine that rises above them all as the best person (despite being surrounded by horrible, selfish people), and makes the ultimate sacrifice for love.

Happy Holidays, Everyone! In this episode, we talk about some holiday themed operas, and then descend into madness with some bloopers and outtakes! Thank you for listening to us all year, and we look forward to being back with you in 2019! P.S. In order for one particular outtake to make sense, it is important to know that Kyle has a dog named Bilbo. Also, Elspeth LOVES Bilbo.

In this episode, we look at a rarely performed operatic masterpiece, The Golden Cockerel, by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov! We will give you three guesses why we picked this topic, although, if you have listened to us before, you will probably only need one. And to be clear, the title is NOT a metaphor, a rooster actually features heavily in the story. It’s a Russian romantic work, so obviously the music is pretty dope. The crazy story (which involves a magician/wizard, a rooster, magic beans, a war, a Czar, a mystical tent, a mysterious Queen, and so much more) is brought to life brilliantly by Elspeth, and along the way, we give you our own sung renditions of several musical anecdotes(everything from Jason Derulo to Jurassic Park to Broadway Musicals).

To finish out Puccini's Il Trittico, we talk about his only comic opera: Gianni Schicchi, a story about a greedy family trying to save their inheritance from a monastery. Amidst the ridiculousness that ensues is one of the most famous arias of all time. We're sure you'll recognize it.

Following a day in the life of a 17th-century convent, Suor Angelica is the second (and most boring) opera in Puccini's Il Trittico. In all seriousness, the opera's all-female cast features some gorgeous music and a heartbreaking story of loss. It's title role has also become a calling card for many great sopranos.

Just before the 100th anniversary of its premiere performance at the Metropolitan Opera, we dive into Puccini's Il Trittico, a trilogy of one-act operas. This week we discuss the first and probably most intense of the trio, Il Tabarro (The Cloak).