Opera Box Score

Tonight, it’s a ‘Chalk Talk’ double header. Our team responds to a recent article in ‘The New Yorker’ magazine on African-American countertenor John Holiday. And then, we look at why one of Britain’s most distinguished singers has accused fellow devotees of Richard Wagner of repeated attempts to undermine her position and “rewrite history”...

But first, we ‘Crunch the Numbers’ on English National Opera’s 2018 season on the Dodson Scale™. Find out how ENO stacks up against its European rivals...

Plus at 9.40 pm, it’s the ‘Two Minute Drill’: everything you need to know from the past week in Operaland, and our hot takes on those stories...

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Soprano Madison Leonard, a winner of the 2018 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, joins George, Tobias and guest co-host Catherine O'Shaughnessy 'Inside the Huddle' to talk through her big night at the Met, how she got there, and what happens next...

Then, George plays ‘Monday Evening Quarterback’ and reviews "Jesus Christ Superstar", now playing at Lyric Opera of Chicago, while Tobias and Cathy ‘Crunch the Numbers’ and look at Washington National Opera’s upcoming season.  Where will the District’s house fall on the Dodson Scale™...?

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

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Creative consultant Oliver Camacho goes ‘Inside the Huddle’ with costume designer Meriem Bahri. Find out how the French biologist went from academia to being Haymarket Opera Company’s secret weapon...

But first, in ‘Chalk Talk’, we take you back. Way back. We’ll listen to some old school recordings made around the turn of the century using Thomas Edison’s wax cylinder equipment, and compare those to recordings of today’s opera singers using similar old-fangled technology...

And later, it’s the ‘Two Minute Drill’: everything you need to know from the past week in Operaland, and our hot takes on those stories...

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Facebook Live sensation Jakub Józef Orliński joins Oliver ‘Inside the Huddle’ to talk about how a video of the Polish countertenor went viral, and about just WHO is in charge of writing the ornaments for the Vivaldi and Handel da capo arias Orliński is singing all over the world, and now, as an exclusive recording artist for the Erato label.  (And yes, they do talk about the whole breakdancing thing...)

But first, the Deutsche Oper in Berlin recently announced its 2018-2019 season.  Weston and George ‘Crunch the Numbers’ and run the schedule through the Dodson Scale™.  Surely a German opera house will set a new high score, right…?

And later, it’s the ‘Two Minute Drill’...  We get you up to speed on everything from the past week in Operaland and our hot takes on those stories...

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Soprano Angela Mortellaro joins us ‘Inside the Huddle’ live by phone. She’s currently singing two roles in the Donizetti double bill which opened at Chicago Opera Theater last week. We ask her about the unique process of rehearsing two operas at once...

And then, in ‘Chalk Talk’… the average age at the Metropolitan Opera is about to get lower. Much lower. The Met is presenting a new opera for babies. The company will present ten free performances of “BambinO” [sic], an opera for babies between 6 and 18 months old. Tobias tells us if he’d take his kids to the show...

Plus, it’s the ‘Two Minute Drill’... We get you up to speed on everything from the past week in Operaland and our hot takes on those stories…

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It shocked people when it opened on Broadway in 1971. By 2014, the Catholic Church was blessing productions of it. Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice’s rock opera "Jesus Christ Superstar" opens at Lyric Opera of Chicago later this month, on the heels of John Legend’s NBC Easter special. So, the operatic stage or the dustbin of history? We discuss where "JCS" should end up...

Then, it’s the ‘Two Minute Drill’... Find out who said “Any of this sexual bullsh*t, we don't have it" earlier this week, and get our hot takes on other news stories from Operaland...

Plus, we reveal the results from the 2018 International Opera Awards, and just how (in)accurate our predictions were...

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It’s that time of year again... Brackets have been filled out across the country. Upsets abound. Fans are going crazy. It’s the International Opera Awards, of course. The OBS team breaks down the categories, gives you insider info on the nominees and predicts some winners in our two-part ‘Chalk Talk' segment...

And then, it’s the ‘Two Minute Drill’... Soprano Nadine Sierra in a bikini? We get you up to speed on everything from the past week in Operaland and our hot takes on those stories...

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He’s sung Mozart, Stravinsky, and Handel in the world’s major opera houses. He’s given recitals at Carnegie Hall and London’s renowned Wigmore Hall, and has just made his debut with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra under Riccardo Muti. American tenor Paul Appleby goes ‘Inside the Huddle’ with Oliver Camacho…

But first, a recent article in Chicago’s NewCity magazine suggests that due to what’s onstage at Lyric Opera of Chicago, the city risks becoming “a provincial opera town where operatic bonbons are being perceived as a mainstay diet.” We’ll give you our hot takes on that story...

Plus Tobias and Weston play ‘Monday Evening Quarterback’ on last week’s production of Gregory Spears and Greg Pierce’s opera ‘Fellow Travelers’ at Lyric Unlimited…

And then, it’s the ‘Two Minute Drill’. We tell you everything you need to know about the past week in Operaland, and we grade Opera Philadelphia’s recently announced 2018-2019 season on the Dodson Scale™...

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Tonight in ‘Chalk Talk’: the gloves are off as James Levine sues Peter Gelb and the Metropolitan Opera for defamation and breach of contract. We’ll get you up to speed on the “Face Denter at Lincoln Center”...

And then, ‘Pop Quiz’ returns as Oliver and Matt face off in naming the 25 most performed operas in the 2016-2017 season...

Plus, we open up the Listener Mailbag and respond to your responses about the Dodson Scale™...

And later, it’s the ‘Two Minute Drill’: everything you need to know from the past week in Operaland, and our hot takes on those stories...

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It’s a triple header from Lyric Opera of Chicago... Composer Gregory Spears joins us live via phone. With librettist Greg Pierce, he created the opera ‘Fellow Travellers’. Find out why the two Gregs were drawn to the story of forbidden love in McCarthy-era 1950s Washington, DC...

And then, Oliver goes ‘Inside the Huddle’ with tenor Andrew Stenson who’s singing the role of Ferrando in Lyric’s production of Mozart’s “Così fan tutte”. Oliver and Andrew discuss singing Mozart and they commiserate over the pressures of being a hot Asian dude in opera...

Plus, Oliver and Matt play ‘Monday Evening Quarterback’ and review Lyric’s recent production of Gounod’s “Faust” as well as the Met in HD presentation of Rossini’s “Semiramide”...

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