Tenor and visual artist Luther Lewis goes ‘Inside The Huddle’ with the OBS team. Luther is part of “Illustrations”, a gallery exhibition and concert which celebrates the contributions of African-American singers to opera. You'll get Luther's insights on the genesis of this interdisciplinary project and hear what sorts of obstacles remain for black classical music artists... The infamous ‘Pop Quiz’ segment returns when Oliver drops the needle on important singers you should know... In the ‘Two Minute Drill’, a mezzo sweeps the awards at the Operalia competition, Miss America sings opera and two opera birthdays are celebrated...

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Despite promising to take Labor Day off, the OBS boys can't stay away from the mics... Enjoy a recap of the interview with John von Rhein, who recently retired as the Chicago Tribune’s classical music critic, when he joined the show live via phone ‘Inside the Huddle’ with his highlights and lowlights from over forty years of attending and writing about classical music performances in Chicago... Then catch the replay of the OBS team working through the 2018 World Cup bracket using each country's opera strengths to predict the winners... And, on Monday September 10th at 9 pm CT, it's the kickoff to the fourth season of the OBS!

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The world’s most famous countertenor, David Daniels, and his husband, conductor Scott Walters, have been accused of drugging and violently raping another opera singer. In a ‘Chalk Talk’ double header, the team takes a look at the evidence for the accusation, recent developments in the story, as well as the ways in which other voices in the opera world have responded to these allegations...

[WARNING: While profanity isn't used on our show, some listeners may find the details of the conversation to be graphic.]

In the ‘Two Minute Drill, the OBS guys: guess how many roles Plácido Domingo has sung, argue why atonal music promotes drug abuse, and say farewell to soprano Inge Borkh...

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John von Rhein, who recently retired as the Chicago Tribune’s classical music critic, joins the show live via phone ‘Inside the Huddle’ with his highlights and lowlights from over forty years of attending and writing about classical music performances in Chicago... Then the OBS team takes off on another summer opera festival road trip. This time they head overseas to the Granddaddy of Them All, the Bayreuth Festival in Germany... Plus, in the ‘Two Minute Drill’, tribute is paid to Aretha Franklin's opera voice, and the best way to punish your neighbors with opera is revealed...

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Oliver Camacho returns from a father and son-in-law concert at the Ravinia Festival for a double-header ‘Monday Evening Quarterback’ review... Matt Cummings offers up a family feud style ‘Pop Quiz’ with disastrous results... In the ‘Two Minute Drill’, Anne Midgette follows up on her sexual harassment expose with a classical music primer, "Bel Canto" rears its head again, and Kathleen Battle turns 70...

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An annual report by arts consultant Drew McManus shows that the average compensation for the music directors of sixty four American ensembles has topped $600k for the first time ever. The OBS boys ‘Crunch the Numbers’ to figure out why conductors’ salaries are on the rise... A handful of OBS alums, including Aryeh Nussbaum Cohen, Justin Kim, and Madison Leonard sang high profile performances last week. The guys play ‘Monday Evening Quarterback’ and review their work... In the 'Two Minute Drill', it's revealed that Orff's "Carmina Burana" actually does have bad words in it...

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Matt Boresi returns as a guest co-host to help celebrate Leonard Bernstein's 100th birthday. Hear the team's favorite clips from the best of Bernstein and get an inside look at 'Mass', performed last weekend at the Ravinia Festival... But first, the crew react to an exhaustive -- and exhausting -- article by Anne Midgette in 'The Washington Post' detailing the stories of over fifty victims of sexual harassment within the classical music world... Then, find out the connection between baseball and opera, and who'll be stepping up to the plate at the Kennedy Center Honors...

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This week, the team takes the road trip to Cooperstown! Go 'Inside the Huddle' with Glimmerglass Festival's Christopher Powell and find out about the podcast "Breaking Glass", which explores social justice through the lens of opera. Then, Benjamin Britten is inducted into the OBS 'Hall of Fame'. Find out why satire, ostracism, and all things nautical float George Cederquist's boat. In the 'Two Minute Drill', Cecilia Bartoli stars as an Italian, Anna Netrebko may be hazardous to your health, and a farewell to Brian Kellow of "Opera News".

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We kick off the OBS tour of America’s summer opera festivals. Over July and August, we’ll take you to our favorite locations to hear opera and sweat at the same time. We start by going off the beaten path to some personal favorites…

But first… a recent article in the ‘Wall Street Journal’ described how Europe’s opera houses won over millennials. How did it happen? Can it be replicated in America?

Plus… it’s the ‘Two Minute Drill’: everything you need to know from the past week in OperaLand, plus our team’s hot takes on those stories...

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Tonight… We go ‘Inside the Huddle’ with tenor Jonathan Zeng, who’s currently singing the role of Edwin in Chicago Folks Operetta’s production of Emmerich Kálmán’s “The Csárdás Princess”. Find out why this piece has been largely ignored on American stages, and how Jonathan prepared to play this unique role...

And then… in ‘Chalk Talk’... it’s the OBS World Cup. Our panel predicts the outcome of the world’s greatest sporting event. How? By using each country’s contributions to opera as the deciding factor in their respective soccer matches, of course...

Plus… it’s the ‘Two Minute Drill’: everything you need to know from the past week in OperaLand, and our team’s hot takes on those stories...

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