Opera Box Score

[@ 4 min] Alright, this week…OBS Season Eleven starts with a kickoff return touchdown! The legendary German countertenor Andreas Scholl goes Inside the Huddle to share advice for a long career, and to tell the story of making THAT recording. You’ll know which one.

[@ 31 min] Plus, we add a few extra minutes to the Two Minute Drill to catch you up on all the stories you missed, including the Met…in Saudi Arabia?

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[@ 1 min] Alright, this week…as the team gears up for OBS Season 11, we bring you some of the best of season 10, starting with a Free Throw from Sondra Radvanovsky on singing one of her quote unquote “EASIEST” roles.

[@ 12 min] Then, it’s George’s pick for his favorite interview of 2025. We go Inside the Huddle with stage director, author, and Detroit Opera Artistic Director Yuval Sharon.

[@ 32 min] And to round-out this All-Replays episode, we revisit our conversation with tenor Jordan Pitts, the creator of drag diva Creatine Price.

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[@ 4 min] Alright, this week…Friend of the Show Kerriann Otaño goes Inside the Huddle...again! Vice President of Engagement for Opera Delaware, Otaño returns to share news about Delaware’s revolutionary studio artists program.

[@ 32 min] And as it’s our season finale, we’ll take a break from the Two-Minute Drill as all the news seems to be men behaving badly, or MAN bickering with a Russian soprano. Instead, we've brought back THE George Cederquist to mercilessly criticize OBS Season Ten.

[@ 45 min] Plus…we continue the classic OBS callback streak with a Listener Mailbag from Anthony. You know, Anthony. From the Bronx.

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[@ 5 min] Alright, this week…music critic Anne Midgette goes Inside the Huddle. As the co-author of the article that launched Classical Music’s #metoo movement in 2018 AND as the former music critic of the Washington Post, today’s guest is uniquely qualified to comment on just about everything we care about on this podcast. Next month, Anne Midgette is a guest speaker for the Jussi Bjorling Society’s webinar “The Myth of Park and Bark,” so in addition to asking her about the Kennedy Center and what we should do with all of our Domingo recordings, we’ll talk about acting for singers too!

[@ 47 min] Plus, in the ‘Two Minute Drill’…Tom Cruise has to wash his hair, Ben Folds is not really into North Korea vibes, and we warned you, Peter Gelb.

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[@ 3 min] Alright, this week…Grammy-winning tenor Nicholas Phan takes a Free Throw on finally winning that Grammy on his fifth nomination, for his performance in OBS Hall of Famer Kaija Saariaho’s 'Adriana Mater.'

[@ 15 min] ...which gets us thinking about Grammy winning opera recordings. In Chalk Talk, we take a look at the history of the only Grammys category that matters, Best Opera Recordings. Which winners have stood the test of time and which recordings are the equivalent of Oscar winners like Crash or Green Book?

[@ 44 min] Plus, in the ‘Two Minute Drill’…Renee Fleming calls out conservatories for predatory pricing, and the PR disaster surrounding the New York Philharmonic sex abuse scandal continues.

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[@ 6 min] Alright, this week…it’s a Santa Fe Spectacular! First, we go Inside the Huddle with THEIR hometown hero, Kevin Burdette. The American bass, dubbed the “Robin Williams of Opera,” recently gave his 100th performance at Santa Fe Opera in his 15th role for the company.

[@ 43 min] And then…Florian Sempey takes a Free Throw on his time at Santa Fe Opera. The French baritone is wrapping up his American debut in one of his signature roles: Count Almaviva in The Marriage of Figaro.

[@ 58 min] Plus, in the ‘Two Minute Drill’…aa fake philanthropist swindles the Met; Melania, the Opera, is set to premiere in September; and our own George Cederquist pays tribute to the late Robert WIlson.

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[@ 2 min] Alright, this week…Maestro Enrique Mazzola goes Inside the Huddle! The Italian conductor just wrapped up performances of Massenet’s "Werther" in Berlin, but his summer season continues stateside with debuts at the Grand Teton and Aspen Music Festivals before returning to Chicago for his *other* little gig.

[@ 28 min] And then…in 'Listener Mailbag,' a vocal coach and a sound tech walk into a bar…I mean opera. Let’s see what happens as someone experiences their first opera EVER at Santa Fe!

[@ 41 min] Plus, in the ‘Two Minute Drill’…Peter Gelb puts his foot in his mouth (legally speaking), and a famous soprano’s foundation is being evicted for not paying rent...you have to wait for the drill to find out which soprano. Or scrub through the episode if you’re impatient, I’m not your dad.

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[@ 6 min] Alright, this week…We go Inside the Huddle with Elizabeth DeShong, who has entered the She Can Sing Anything stage of her career. Set to return to Chicago next month for Alcina, Haymarket Opera’s debut at Ravinia Festival, the American mezzo and bel canto boss reveals The Role She is Dying to Sing.

[@ 25 min] And then…they say We Had No Idea…which, to us, means they haven’t been listening to Opera Box Score. Yes, Classical Music DOES have a sexual abuse problem, and in other news, Serena Williams is good at tennis.

[@ 34 min] Plus, in the ‘Two Minute Drill’…Zachary Woolfe’s being booted from the classical music section at the New York Times. And, I mean, we DO need another co-host…

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[@ 4 min] Alright, this week…We go Inside the Huddle with Joshua Winograde, one of opera’s leading administrators and now-director of opera studies at Rice’s Shepherd School of Music. Is this the interview that finally lands the OBS team a tenure track position in Opera Bantering?

[@ 35 min] Plus, in the ‘Two Minute Drill’…sweating employment at the Kennedy Center, sweating a conductor at Caserta, and straight up sweating and fainting in Verona.

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[@ 5 min] Alright, this week…Jacquelyn Stucker goes Inside the Huddle. The American soprano joins us from Santa Fe Opera where she is set to make her role debut as the Governess in The Turn of the Screw. Will the Governess overcome her biggest fear? (having to withstand being questioned by Oliver Camacho?) Stay tuned to find out!

[@ 35 min] And then..a message in the Listener Mailbag gets us thinking about what we should call our OBS fans...

[@ 39 min] Plus, in the ‘Two Minute Drill’…are opera singers are being force fed Ozempic like a goose gavage? Also...no shirt, no shoes, no Scala! 'La' Scala, that is…

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