This week we tackle a perennial topic perfect for the dog days of summer: when and why to make cuts in an operatic score. Matthan Black joins Tobias and George live in-studio to discuss...

Plus, 'Pop Quiz' returns in a piano-only version, and we've got all your opera news headlines in 'The Two Minute Drill'...

The Olympics have begun in Rio; here on the OBS, we follow suit and argue about Olympian feats of athleticism in singing...

Is it stamina? Is it hitting high notes? Is it volume...?

Guest co-host Matthan Black joins host Oliver Camacho and co-host Tobias Wright as they choose recordings and match up virtuosic performances to specific Olympic sports...

Game on!

We go 'Inside the Huddle' and are joined live in-studio with guest co-host Dr. Kevin Byrne, an assistant professor of dramaturgy at the University of Arizona. We get him to explain, once and for all, what a dramaturg actually does. The answer might surprise you...

Then, on our ‘Chalk Talk’ segment, we sing happy birthday to the Met in HD broadcasts, which turn ten years old this month. But is that ten years too many? Find out why some folks think these movie theater screenings of live opera performances should never have been born...

Plus, Oliver gives a tribute to Lorraine Hunt Lieberson, and we have all your opera headlines in 'The Two Minute Drill'...

Giovanna Jacques is back state-side from her trip to France and Italy. She’ll give you the latest on opera and culture from continental Europe...

But first, it’s war on our ‘Chalk Talk’ segment. Military conflicts have been central to opera stories ever since George Frederic Handel composed “Giuilo Cesare” in the early 1700s. Tonight we look at contemporary operas that are continuing to tell those stories, including such works as “Fallujah” by Tobin Stokes and Jeremy Beck’s “The Long Walk”...

Plus, we’ve got all your opera headlines in our “Two Minute Drill” segment, and at the bottom of the hour, we bring back some memories with one of the most famous opera memes ever to grace YouTube. See if you recognize it...

We took Independence Day off, so we’ve got a loaded show for you this week. Oliver Camacho goes ‘Inside the Huddle’ with baritone David John Pike, who talks about coaching the role of Scarpia from Puccini’s “Tosca” with Sherill Milnes, and also reflects on singing George Butterworth’s song cycle "A Shropshire Lad" on the hundredth anniversary of the Battle of the Somme...

But first, it’s our ‘Chalk Talk’ segment. Ticket sales are up at Los Angeles Opera and the Wiener Staatsoper, but down at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City. What factors are pushing these numbers up (or down) and who’s responsible? Tobias Wright has some theories to share...

Plus, Giovanna Jacques checks in from the Bellini Museum in Sicily, we’ve got all your opera headlines in ‘The Two Minute Drill’, and Oliver plays ‘Monday Evening Quarterback’ after seeing Renée Fleming in concert...

There's a new piece at LA Opera called 'Anatomy Theatre'. Set in the 1700s, it dissects – literally – the body and mind of a murderer. We examine the gross-out factor of this opera, and see how it stacks up against other bloody opera productions we’ve seen...

Then, 'TKO' is back! This time our opera singer death match pits Luciano Pavarotti against Jussi Björling. Can the Swedish Caruso de-throne the King of the High C? We’ll put two of the greatest champions in the ring and let them "duke" it out in Verdi’s 'Rigoletto'. There will be blood, as Tobias Wright and Matthan Black take sides, and Oliver Camacho is the judge...

Plus, Giovanna Jacques checks in from the Teatro Massimo in Sicily and George has got all your opera headlines...

This week we go “Inside the Huddle” with soprano Erica Schuller, an early music specialist. Find out about her specialized training in foot and hand positions and how it led her to become a star of Chicago's Haymarket Opera...

But first we take a look at a recent burst of opera activity in the Middle East. They’re building new opera houses in the Dubai and in Turkey. What’s the rationale behind this geographic expansion of the art form...?

Plus, it’s our first listener-generated Pop Quiz, and we've got all your opera headlines in 'The Two Minute Drill'...

Summer is finally here, and that means it’s time to get some sunscreen, a cold PBR, and some chips and salsa, and head to the nearest summer opera festival... Right?

On tonight’s show, we preview the best of America’s -- and the world’s -- summer festivals. We give you the locations, the repertoire, the rosters, and everything else you need to know, from Aix to Wolf Trap...

Plus, George writes the questions for an all-new 'Pop Quiz' format, Oliver leads 'Monday Evening Quarterback', and Tobias and Giovanna share their hot takes on all your opera headlines in 'The Two Minute Drill'...

We go 'Inside the Huddle' with baritone Matthan Black. In addition to being a great singer, he’s also got his own arts podcast called 'Doing the Work'. And he’s our guest co-host for this episode, so you’re gonna get his hot takes on all of our content...

In our 'Chalk Talk' segment, we give you our $0.02 on the big news this week that Yannick Nézet-Séguin is to take over from James Levine as the new Music Director at the Metropolitan Opera. And we tell you about the best and worst conductors we’ve worked with...

Plus, Oliver Camacho puts Matthan and Tobias to the test in our Pop Quiz, asking them to identify conductors, just by listening to an audio recording of their work...

We run down the winners and losers of the 2016 International Opera Awards. Who stole the show, and who got robbed? You can see the full list of nominees on our website: operaboxscore.squarespace.com...

Plus, we've got all your opera headlines, Tobias leads the charge in 'Monday Evening Quarterback' and Oliver hosts a dance version of 'Pop Quiz'. Will Tobias and Giovanna be able to name specific dance styles, and the operas they come from, just by listening...?