Opera Box Score

Tonight the OBS team gets you ready for the holidays. We reveal some of our favorite holiday opera recordings and share a few things from our Christmas lists...

But first, the biggest story of 2017 continues: conductor James Levine, who was accused by four different men of sexual abuse, and who has since been suspended from his position as Music Director Emeritus at the Metropolitan Opera, has now spoken publicly about these accusations. We’ll tell you what’s surprising about his statement...

And later, it’s ‘The Two Minute Drill’. You get all your opera headlines from the past week and our hot takes on them...

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Operaland was rocked over the weekend when allegations of sexual abuse were leveled against famed conductor James Levine. Michael Rice, the disgraced Godfather of opera podcasting (wait, sorry, the creator of the OperaNow! podcast) joins Oliver and Tobias live via phone with his take on this developing story...

Then, George plays ‘Monday Evening Quarterback’ and reviews last week’s Met in HD Encore screening of Thomas Adès “The Exterminating Angel”...

Plus, it’s ‘The Two Minute Drill’: all your opera headlines from the past week and our hot takes on them...

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We look back at the career of Russian baritone Dmitri Hvorostovsky who died last week at the age of 55, and we take a closer look at the vocal technique of phrasing, for which Dima was so famous...

But first, Oliver plays ‘Monday Evening Quarterback’ and reviews the production of Bizet’s “The Pearl Fishers” at Lyric Opera of Chicago...

And later it’s ‘The Two Minute Drill’, when you get all your opera headlines from the past week and our hot takes on them...

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The OBS gets you ready for Thanksgiving! George and Matt share the music, composers, singers, directors and traditions that they’re thankful for. Pass the Pepto...

And it’s the ‘Two Minute Drill’: all your opera headlines from the past week with our hot takes on them...

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In the ‘Hometown Team', Oliver hosts Alex Enyart, conductor of Chicago Fringe Opera’s upcoming production of “As One”, a chamber opera with a transgender protagonist...

Then, Oliver and Matt play ‘Fantasy Fachball’. They compare and contrast two different singers tackling the same aria: Turandot’s number “In questa reggia” from Puccini’s eponymous opera. George picks a winner...

And the ‘Two Minute Drill’ returns, featuring all your opera headlines from the past week and our hot takes on them, including us asking “Just how high can a person sing anyway?”...

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Composer Julian Grant joins us live via phone! He’s part of the team behind “The nefarious, immoral but highly profitable enterprise of Mr. Burke and Mr. Hare”, a world premiere chamber opera at Boston Lyric Opera that opens this week. Find out exactly why the residents of Edinburgh in 1828 just weren’t dying quickly enough...

And Oliver goes ‘Inside the Huddle’ with Rubén Dubrovsky, conductor and artistic director of Third Coast Baroque, a Chicago ensemble that reframes early music...

But wait, there’s more! In ‘Monday Evening Quarterback’, Oliver and Matt review productions of Wagner’s “Die Walküre” at Lyric Opera of Chicago and Menotti’s “The Consul” at Chicago Opera Theater. See if George's boys can agree to disagree...

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Well, it’s that time of year again: Gruesome masks. Screams of horror. Death by chocolate. It’s National Opera Week! A special welcome to all our listeners who are supporters of Opera America, the nation’s umbrella organization for the creation, presentation and enjoyment of opera.

Tonight, George, Matt and guest Matthan Black get ready for Hallowe’en. We share some horror stories from our time in the opera business, we listen to some spooky opera excepts and we examine a few terrifying news items from the past week in Operaland...

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John M. Clum, Professor Emeritus of Theater Studies and English at Duke University, joins George and Oliver 'Inside the Huddle'. Professor Clum has written nine books about theater and staging. He’s also a playwright and an experienced stage director, as well as being a librettist for contemporary American operas...

He’ll also be with us for ‘The Two Minute Drill’, when you get all your opera headlines from the past week, and our hot takes on them...

And then, it’s our new segment ‘Fantasy Fachball’. Oliver and the Professor face off by backing different singers tackling the same aria. OBS co-host Matt Cummings will the judge as to who's the best. It could get nasty...

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Stage director Amy Stebbins and composer Hauke Berheide are working on a new piece for children called “Einar hat einen Vogel”. They talk about what you need to remember when you’re writing for kids. And some picky critics tackle Dean Burry’s opera for children “The Scorpions’ Sting”, which was at Lyric Unlimited here in Chicago last weekend...

But first, Amy and Hauke update you on what’s happening in opera in German-speaking Europe, including details on some important changes of artistic leadership that have taken place in the past year, including the promotion of several women at major German and Austrian houses...

And then, it’s ‘Monday Evening Quarterback’ with creative consultant Oliver Camacho. Although he’s not live in studio tonight -- he’s sitting one out recovering from seeing five operas in four days -- Oliver checks with reviews of Verdi’s “Rigoletto” at Lyric Opera of Chicago and Sir John Eliot Gardiner’s Monteverdi trilogy...

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Oliver goes ‘Inside the Huddle’ with countertenor Justin Kim. The Korean-American has established himself as one of the most sought-after countertenors of his generation, having already collaborated with such prestigious conductors as Sir John Eliot Gardiner...

But first, it’s ‘The Hometown Team’, this week with Chicago’s Third Eye Theater Ensemble. The company presents Daniel Crozier's opera “With Blood, With Ink” which tells the chilling and beautiful story of the life of Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz, the iconic 17th century Mexican poetess and nun. Stage director Rose Freeman and mezzo-soprano Rena Ahmed join George live in studio...

And then, it’s ‘The Two Minute Drill’: all the things you need to know from the past week in Operaland, plus our hot takes...

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