Opera Out of the Box

How will the looming federal funding cuts affect (or have affected) local arts & humanities organizations? Listen to a discussion on that topic from Toledo Opera's Leah Whitaker, Arts Commission CEO Marc Folk, and Executive Director of Ohio Humanities Rebecca Asmo. More about how you can take action right now at www.protectmypublicmedia.org

In our final episode, we welcome three Toledo Opera luminaries: General Director James Norman, Artistic Director Kevin Bylsma, and Development Director Leah Whitaker. Our main point of discussion is last season — what lessons we learned, season highlights, and takeaways from the past season.

We have a thoughtful and detailed discussion of how war affects art, and vice-versa. Joining the conversation is Dr. Adam M. Levine, Director of the Toledo Museum of Art; Toledo Opera's General Director James Norman, and Toledo Opera's Development Officer Leah Whitaker.

As we continue our deep dive into WWII and its harsh reality, we have a serious discussion with two women who lived through it: Mary Kamidoi is an activist and long-time employee of Ford Motor Company who lives in Detroit. At age 11, Mary was sent with her family to a Japanese Internment Camp.We also hear from Keiko Hahn, a Japanese-born "War Bride," who moved to Lima, Ohio, with her American husband since 1952. Keiko is the subject of the documentary "War Brides," which was directed by her nephew (we also hear from Matthew Neeley, President of the Lima Sister Cities Association, which facilitated the documentary). Joining in the discussion is Toledo Opera's Leah Whitaker.

In preparation for Rodgers and Hammerstein's South Pacific at Toledo Opera, we continue our series of discussions about WWII and the Pacific Theater in particular. Joining us for this episode is Dr. Peter Mansoor, an esteemed military historian from The Ohio State University and the author of the forthcoming book Redemption, which traces the arc of General Douglas MacArthur's leadership during the Campaign for the Philippines.

As we prepare for the upcoming production of South Pacific, Toledo Opera's Leah Whitaker and WGTE's Brad Cresswell talk with WWII veteran Bob Masters, who celebrated his 99th birthday this past October. Bob talks about his service in the war, and shares the many stories he's accumulated from that time (including serving on the Enterprise and the time he bumped into — literally — Admiral Nimitz).

We round out our trilogy of Tosca-themed podcasts with a discussion on how Puccini's opera was received, and how it affected the genre as a whole. Using musicologist and critic Joseph Kerman's characterization of Tosca as a "Shabby Little Shocker" as a starting point, we focus on the music of Tosca and put it into historical context. Joining us are Dr. Eftychia "Effie" Papanikolaou, a musicologist and professor at Bowling Green State University; Dr. Douglas Forsyth, a historian also on faculty at BGSU, and musicologist (and Puccini expert) Dr. Jane Sylvester, from the University of Missouri-Kansas City Conservatory.

In advance of the opening of Toledo Opera's production of Tosca, we examine the ups and downs of the 19th century — the time in which the opera takes place. Joining the discussion are three historians: Barry Jackisch from The University of Toledo; Doug Forsyth from Bowling Green State University, and Alice Conklin from Ohio State University. We're also joined by Leah Whitaker, Toledo Opera's Development Officer (and former Seminarian).

As Toledo Opera's production of Puccini's Tosca fast approaches, we lay out the history of the "diva" character — and explore the ins-and-outs of some operatic divas (including Toledo Opera's own diva-within-a-diva, Tosca). Our guests for this episode are Artistic Administrator Kevin Bylsma, BGSU professor and musicologist Eftychia Papanikolaou, and our own Tosca, singer Lindsay Anderson.

Today's topic revolves around the necessity of Opera in our community and the importance of supporting it. We're joined by three distinguished patrons of the opera: Joel Gorski (current board president), Trina Secor (current trustee), and Ann Sanford (a former trustee and current donor).