By Opera Box Score
America's Talk Radio Show About Opera. Period.
[@ 3 min] Imagine the best sports contest ever. Now imagine that turned into an opera. In our ‘Sportzando!' segment, we reveal what we’re imagining… [@ 26 min] In the ‘Two Minute Drill’… it’s Ladies Night at the BBC Proms… We’re off next week for...
[@ 3 min] We go ‘Inside the Huddle’ with stage director, cinematographer, and Friend of the Show Marcus Shields to get a peek behind the curtain of Ivo van Hove’s new-to-the-Met production of “Don Giovanni”… [@ 35 min] And then, from...
[@ 8 min] We go ‘Inside the Huddle’ with Matthew Principe, Director of Innovation at Detroit Opera and Director of Livestreams at Boston Baroque, to talk about the Mets! No, not that Met. And no, not the museum, either… [@ 32...
[@ 4 min] In an act of true sportsmanship, we introduce you to a rival podcaster: Daniel Gundlach, host and producer of Countermelody. He may be our foe, but he deserves your compassion, all Ted Lasso-like… [@ 29 min] And then… PJ...
[@ 4 min] Baseball’s Opening Day is here already, and the games will be shorter. We ‘Crunch the Numbers’ on how the MLB and the MET are responding to audiences with less time to spare and shorter attention spans… [@ 22...
[@ 12 min] The English Choral Tradition: is it Misogynist? Is it Harmful? Is it Ageist? Countertenor, choral director, and Friend of the Show Christopher Lowrey has a surprising and galvanizing take in ‘Free Throw’… [@ 25 min] In the ‘Two...
[@ 5 min] We go ‘Inside the Huddle’ with composer Justine F. Chen, whose “The Life and Deaths of Alan Turing”, with a libretto by David Simpatico, gets its world premiere in Chicago… [@ 28 min] And then… Apple Music takes a...
[@ 4 min] It’s that time of year, already… ‘Spring Training for Your Ears’ gets you back in shape with a slate of singers, composers and directors to level up your listening and viewing… [@ 40 min] And then… We open...
[@ 4 min] We go ‘Inside the Huddle’ with countertenor beefcake Randall Scotting to talk about Senesino, Lute Song, and weightlifting… [@ 30 min] The Met’s '23-'24 season is out. There’s at least one name missing from the roster and it rhymes...
[@ 4 min] We induct a diva from Harlem - who is indisputably the quickest wit in opera - into the OBS ‘Hall of Fame’… [@ 42 min] In ‘Chalk Talk’… The ‘Don’t Say Gay’ Bill has reached all the way to...
[@ 5 min] We go ‘Inside the Huddle’ with tenor Andrew Morstein, who is set to star in Odyssey Opera’s upcoming production of “Awakenings”. The opera is by Tobias Picker, and Andrew reveals that he and Tobias are both members of a...
[@ 3 min] Hurts. Mahomes. Lanza. Ramey. We handicap Super Bowl LVII teams Philly and KC based on their hustle on the opera stage… [@ 21 min] The gold paint is still wet on Sunday night’s trophies. Viola Davis is EGOT-ed and Beyoncé has...
[@ 6 min] We go ‘Inside the Huddle’ with Kerriann Otaño, VP of Engagement at Opera Delaware, about getting shushed in her own opera house… [@ 30 min] In ‘Chalk Talk’… It’s the most underwhelming event in sports: the NFL Pro...
[@ 4 min] We go ‘Inside the Huddle’ with conductor Gil Rose, founder of Odyssey Opera and the Boston Modern Orchestra Project. The companies just completed the second run of John Corigliano’s “Lord of Cries” and are preparing the East...
[@ 4 min] Boom… ‘Sportzando!’ returns with a round-up of the most iconic stadium anthems and why sports fans love ‘em… [@ 31 min] And then… Everyone’s a critic. Our ‘Listener Mailbag’ reveals a tween’s take on opera… [@ 38 min] Plus, in...
[@ 3 min] The Metropolitan Opera is reducing performances and dipping into its endowment to survive. We ‘Crunch the Numbers’ to see if these tactics will swell the coffers… [@ 26 min] In ‘Chalk Talk’, it's our predictions for Operaland in 2023....
[@ 5 min] We go 'Inside the Huddle' with Heinz Field and PPG Paints Arena anthem singer Graham Fandrei to talk all things opera as part of his Postcard from Pittsburgh… [@ 27 min] And then… John Brancy returns to the...
[@ 3 min] In ‘Chalk Talk’... It’s the OBS’s patented method for predicting the winner of the Men’s FIFA World Cup. Have we ever led you wrong…? [@ 28 min] And then… We intercept a letter from slate.com’s Agony Aunt “Dear Prudence”...
[@ 2 min] It’s our new segment ‘View from the Pit’, when we roll up our sleeves and get down and dirty with the best grinders in the business: instrumentalists playing in opera house orchestra pits. We chat with...
[@ 3 min] We go ‘Inside the Huddle’ to catch up with director librettist Amy Stebbins and composer Hauke Berheide - a team who haven’t been on the OBS since the Before Times - to find out how they used...
[@ 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...
[@ 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...
[@ 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,...
[@ 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...
[@ 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...
[@ 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...
[@ 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...
[@ 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...
[@ 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...
[@ 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...
[@ 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...
[@ 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...
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’...
[@ 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...
[@ 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...
[@ 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...
[@ 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...
[@ 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...
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...
[@ 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... [@...
[@ 5 min] Oliver goes ‘Inside the Huddle’ with soprano Joyce El-Khoury, currently starring under the baton of Riccardo Muti in “Un Ballo in Maschera” with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. And that’s just days after being named the Maria...
[@ 3 min] It’s the return of the beloved ‘Spring Training for Your Ears’ segment… Sound like a pro when you talk about the three operas that a real opera fan should know, but that no one has time to listen...
[@ 3 min] In ‘Crunching the Numbers’… You’ve always known opera is gay. Nicklausse and Hoffman. Octavian and the Marschallin. But it’s Pride Month, and the OBS family are celebrating those operas that are explicitly gay using a score card to...
This week… We wrap up a fabulous run on TDO Network with a video-only episode. The OBS Fab Five play an opera-themed version of HORSE on the basketball court… with a surprising victor… Watch the madness: https://www.thedallasopera.tv/opera-box-score/season:1/videos/the-free-throw-finale The team is off for Memorial...
[@ 3 min] In ‘Chalk Talk’… Just as summer baseball starts to heat up, a bullpen full of opera summer festival seasons steps up to the plate. We’ll give you the lineups of each team and tell you which balls to...
[@ 2 min] This week… It’s one of those ‘Best-of…’, podcast-only, shows! The OBS wrecking crew revisit Oliver’s ‘Inside the Huddle’ segment with tenor Charles Castronovo: an interview that was so good, Oliver forgot what they talked about… [@ 29 min] And...
[@ 2 min] This week… The OBS skeleton crew go ‘Inside the Huddle’ with guest co-host and stage director Amy Hutchison to find out how she and her career survived when COVID hit Operaland… [@ 12 min] And then… Amy and George go...
[@ 4 min] Oliver goes ‘Inside the Huddle’ with tenor Ian Koziara to talk about performing “Fidelio” for the deaf, and about having a darker, lower tenor voice that works well in German repertoire… without saying the world “Held_______”... [@ 34...
[@ 3 min] This week… In ‘Sportzando!’, Ashlee draws a straight line from opera houses to ESPN, via baseball. Trust the OBS bullpen: it works. [@ 17 min] In the ‘Two Minute Drill’… Valery Gergiev is in the news again? More...
[@ 2 min] This week, a personal hero of Oliver’s is inducted into the OBS Hall of Fame. A few hints: he’s one of his generation’s pioneering Rossini singers, he’s from Queens, and Sir Georg Solti once told him that...