Oliver goes ‘Inside the Huddle’ with bass Adrian Sâmpetrean, talking about what it takes to be a Romanian singer performing around the world, and what happens when you try to sing outside your comfort zone... But first, in ‘Chalk Talk’, recent articles arguing about English National Opera’s practice of translating their productions into English makes the OBS guys weigh in on that age-old argument in the opera world: "To translate, or not to translate...?" In the ‘Two Minute Drill’, find out why it's not a great idea to host a gamers convention in your opera house...

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The OBS crew go ‘Inside the Huddle’ with Alexandra Enyart. An orchestra and opera conductor, Alex serves as Music Director for Thompson Street Opera Company where she chartered “Faulty Systems”, an annual program in which activists and artists come together to present on underrepresented communities or ideas through music, speech, poetry, dance and other mediums... But first, San Francisco Opera and Lyric Opera of Chicago have announced their 2019-2020 seasons. The team reads between the lines about what’s to look forward to and what might be missing from each company’s list... In the ‘Two Minute Drill’, hear about the new diversity initiative at English National Opera...

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The guys go ‘Inside the Huddle’ with soprano Elena Villalón who placed first in the Metropolitan Opera National Council auditions Central region last weekend... Last Friday Chicago Opera Theater announced that General Director Douglas R. Clayton was stepping down from his leadership position with the company. In ‘Hometown Team’, the boys throw around some ideas on what’s behind this move... Then, they ‘Crunch the Numbers’: recent stats from the British Phonographic Institute reveal a rise in streams of classical tracks that is outpacing the rest of the sector... and in the ‘Two Minute Drill', you'll find out what was stolen from an opera house last week...

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George goes 'Inside the Huddle’ with Australian director Greg Eldridge. Greg was the youngest director ever to join the Young Artist programme at the Royal Opera House, London, where he recently directed Verdi’s “La Traviata”... Tobias opens up the Listener Mailbag and gets a letter all to himself... In the ‘Two Minute Drill’, the Disabled List is overflowing...

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In a ‘Chalk Talk’ double header, George, Oliver and Weston look back at the opera highlights of 2018, from live performances and seminal recordings to major news stories and just plain ol' clickbait. And they share what they're looking forward to in opera this coming year… In the ‘Two Minute Drill’, there's deception, drag queens and Dungeons & Dragons...

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NYE wishes from OBS host George Cederquist with a preview of 2019's first show on January 7...

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The guys go ‘Inside the Huddle’ with conductor Anthony Barrese. The recipient of the 2007 Georg Solti Foundation U.S. award for young conductors, he's currently preparing for two shows at Opera Southwest... In ‘Chalk Talk’, a petition called “End Application and Audition Fees for Opera Singers” has gathered over 5300 signatures as of December 10. But will this petition have any effect?... In the ‘Two Minute Drill’, Grammy nominations and airport names abound...

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The OBS boys go ‘Inside the Huddle’ with soprano Rachel Willis-Sørensen, a winner of multiple singing competitions and a former ensemble member at the Semperoper in Dresden. She talks about how opera became the medium in which she found her voice... In ‘Chalk Talk’, conductor Sir Simon Rattle’s recent article for the BBC website outlines seven essential pieces of advice for young musicians. Find out how few of those our guys have followed over the years... Plus, in the ‘Two Minute Drill’, it's the beginning of the Yannick Nézet-Séguin era at the Met...

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The OBS boys are joined by conductor Cathy O'Shaughnessy as a guest co-host and go ‘Inside the Huddle’ with conductor Michael Christie. At Minnesota Opera, Christie led 24 productions over six seasons as its first-ever Music Director, including the world premiere of Kevin Puts and Mark Campbell’s opera “Silent Night”. Plus this guy flies planes... In the ‘Two Minute Drill’, Plácido Domingo celebrates a milestone... Oliver plays ‘Monday Evening Quarterback’ on Verdi’s “Il Trovatore” at Lyric Opera of Chicago...

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A recent article by E.J. Roller on the Vox website argues that “if students want to pursue the arts, they may be accepted to an arts program without a scholarship and find themselves $200,000 in debt before realizing they aren’t going to be able to get a real paycheck with their arts degree — at least in the next decade.” The OBS boys talk about the financial problems and potential fixes of a life in opera… With Thanksgiving later this week, our guys give thanks for a menu of opera works and artists... In the 'Two Minute Drill', a big premiere at La Scala and a little problem in Palo Alto...

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