Sing LOUDER

Imagine finding your voice...in an opera house! On Sing LOUDER, host Jake Heggie talks with great artists about the high wire act of life an opera singer.

Bass-baritone Ryan Speedo Green is a fast-rising opera star with an inspiring story of survival and perseverance. He has already performed on some of the world’s great opera stages and told his story on major TV and radio programs, including 60 Minutes, The Daily Show, and Fresh Air. His journey is also the subject of the best-selling book “Sing For Your Life”, by Daniel Bergner.

As a child, Speedo spent time living in a trailer park, a bullet-riddled house, and even juvenile detention. In this episode, he shares about some of the people and critical moments that defined his path, as well as the back story to a few of his favorite performances.

You can find Speedo at ryanspeedogreen.com and @ryanspeedogreen on Facebook.

Featured Music:

• Jake Heggie: “Some Times of Day” from The Best Time of the Day
• Giuseppe Verdi: “Confutatis” from Requiem, with the Boston Symphony Orchestra led by Andris Nelsons, at the 2019 Tanglewood Festival
• “Deep River” sung a cappella at the 2017 Ravinia Festival
• Giacomo Puccini: “The Coat Aria” or “Vecchia Zimarra” from Act IV of La Bohème, at the Metropolitan Opera led by Carlo Rizzi
• “Urlicht" from Gustav Mahler’s Second Symphony, with pianist Adam Nielsen at the 2017 Ravinia Festival
• Jonathan Barlow: “Cinder”

Producer: Emily Shaw

Remote Recording Assistance: Seira McCarthy

Mixing: Marisa Ewing

Additional Recording & Technical Assistance: George S. Rosenthal (The Complex Recording Studio)

Executive Producer: Bob Ellis

Photo by Dario Acosta

Sing LOUDER is supported by a non-profit LLC promoting public education about the art of singing. Special thanks to the San Francisco Conservatory of Music.

Imagine finding your voice...in an opera house! On Sing LOUDER, host Jake Heggie talks with great artists about the high wire act of life an opera singer.

Ana María Martínez is one of the world’s foremost sopranos. She regularly stars in beloved operas like Madama Butterfly, Rusalka, and Otello, and performs everywhere from the San Francisco Opera to the White House and the World Cup. In this episode, Ana María shares her journey from musical theater to opera, and the spiritual connection she has to music and her voice.

You can find Ana María at anamariamartinez.com and @anamariamartinezsoprano on Facebook.

Featured Music:

• Jake Heggie: “Some Times of Day” from The Best Time of the Day
• Giacomo Puccini: “Un bel dí” from Madama Butterfly, with the Metropolitan Opera, led by Karel Mark Chichon
• Ernesto Lecuona: “María la O” with the Mozarteum Orchestra Salzburg, led by Jesús López Cobos
• Antonín Dvořák: ”Song to the Moon" from Rusalka, performed with the Glyndebourne Chorus and the London Philharmonic Orchestra at the 2009 Glyndebourne Festival, led by Jiří Bělohlávek
• Jonathan Barlow: “Cinder”

Producer: Emily Shaw

Remote Recording Assistance: Seira McCarthy

Mixing: Marisa Ewing

Additional Recording: George S. Rosenthal (The Complex Recording Studio)

Executive Producer: Bob Ellis

Photo by Svetlana Pasedko

Sing LOUDER is supported by a non-profit LLC promoting public education about the art of singing. Special thanks to the San Francisco Conservatory of Music.

Imagine finding your voice...in an opera house! On Sing LOUDER, host Jake Heggie talks with great artists about the high wire act of life an opera singer.

Brandon Jovanovich is one of the rarest types of tenor – the heldentenor or “heroic tenor” – and sings some of the most physically and vocally demanding roles in the entire operatic repertoire. In this episode, he shares about his existential journey from bass to powerhouse tenor...and from waiting tables at Metropolitan Opera parties to starring on its stage.

You can find Brandon at brandonjovanovich.com and @operabrandon on Instagram.

Featured Music:

• Jake Heggie: “Some Times of Day” from The Best Time of the Day
• Giacomo Puccini: “Ch’ella mi creda” from La Fanciulla del West, with the Bavarian State Opera, led by James Gaffigan
• Hector Berlioz: ”Nuit d’Ivresse" from Act IV of Les Troyens (The Trojans), performed with Ekaterina Semenchuk and the Paris Bastille Opera, led by Philippe Jordan
• Giacomo Puccini: “Manon Lescaut” with the Orchestra and Chorus of La Monnaie, led by Carlo Rizzi
• Richard Wagner: “Winterstürme” from Die Walküre, at the San Francisco Opera, led by Donald Runnicles
• Jonathan Barlow: “Cinder”

Producer: Emily Shaw

Mixing & Remote Recording Assistance: Seira McCarthy

Additional Recording: George S. Rosenthal (The Complex Recording Studio)

Executive Producer: Bob Ellis

Photo by Cara Jovanovich

Sing LOUDER is supported by a non-profit LLC promoting public education about the art of singing. Special thanks to the San Francisco Conservatory of Music.

Imagine finding your voice...in an opera house! On Sing LOUDER, host Jake Heggie talks with great artists about the high wire act of life an opera singer.

In this episode, mezzo-soprano J’Nai Bridges shares about the basketball game that defined her commitment to singing, and the power she’s found in her voice to wake people up - both on and off the opera stage.

You can find J’nai at www.jnaibridgesmezzo.com and @jnaibmezzo on Instagram.

Los Angeles Opera “Lift Every Voice” Facebook Live recording: https://www.laopera.org/discover/laoathome/lift-every-voice/

Featured Music:

• Jake Heggie: “Some Times of Day” from The Best Time of the Day
• Camille Saint-Saëns: “Mon coeur s’ouvre á ta voix” from Samson and Delilah, recorded at WCRB's “On the Rise” event honoring their 10th anniversary as part of WGBH
• Alban Berg: “Die Nachtigall” from Sieben fruhe Lieder, from the BBC Cardiff Singer of the World Competition in 2015, led by Thomas Sondergard
• “Oh, Glory”, arranged by Shawn Okpebholo with Paul Sanchez at the piano
• Robert MacGimsey: “Sweet Little Jesus Boy” from the 2018 WQXR Christmas Concert at The Greene Space
• Jonathan Barlow: “Cinder (Instrumental)”

Producer: Emily Shaw

Mixing & Remote Recording Assistance: Seira McCarthy

Additional Recording: George S. Rosenthal (The Complex Recording Studio)

Executive Producer: Bob Ellis

Photo by Dario Acosta

Sing LOUDER is supported by a non-profit LLC promoting public education about the art of singing. Special thanks to the San Francisco Conservatory of Music.

Imagine finding your voice...in an opera house! On Sing LOUDER, host Jake Heggie talks with great artists about the high wire act of life an opera singer.

In this episode, we check back in with two-time Grammy award-winning singer Sasha Cooke to see how she’s doing, and what advice she has for other COVID-confined singers.

You can find Sasha at www.sashacooke.com and @sashamezzomama on Instagram.

Featured Music:

• Jake Heggie: “Some Times of Day” from The Best Time of the Day
• Jonathan Barlow: “Cinder”

Producer: Emily Shaw

Mixing & Remote Recording Assistance: Seira McCarthy

Additional Recording: George S. Rosenthal (The Complex Recording Studio)

Executive Producer: Bob Ellis

Photo by Stephanie Girard

Sing LOUDER is supported by a non-profit LLC promoting public education about the art of singing. Special thanks to the San Francisco Conservatory of Music.

Imagine finding your voice...in an opera house! On Sing LOUDER, host Jake Heggie talks with great artists about the high wire act of life an opera singer.

In this episode, two-time Grammy award-winning singer Sasha Cooke shares how she went from hiding her voice, and herself, to shining brightly on the great stages and opera halls of the world. She reveals the process behind a few of her most memorable performances...including how she overcame every singer’s worst nightmare in front of an audience of thousands.

You can find Sasha at www.sashacooke.com and @sashamezzomama on Instagram.

CORRECTION: Sasha grew up in College Station, Texas.

Featured Music:

• Jake Heggie: “Some Times of Day” from The Best Time of the Day
• Hector Berlioz: “La damnation de Faust, Op. 24 - Part IV - Romance de Marguerite”, with the Aspen Festival Orchestra and the Colorado Symphony Orchestra Chorus led by Robert Spano
• Arrigo Boito: “Ecco il mondo” from Mefistofile, performed by Sam Ramey, with the Philharmonia Orchestra led by Donato Renzetti
• Samuel Barber: “Sure on This Shining Night” to poetry by James Agee, with pianist Wu Han
• Gustav Mahler: “Ruckert Lieder: IV. Ich atmet’ einen linden Duft”, with the Colburn Orchestra led by Yehuda Gilad
• John Adams: “Am I In Your Light” from Doctor Atomic, with the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra led by Alan Gilbert
• Mason Bates and Mark Campbell: “Scene 17: Kan Ji Zai Bo Za Tsu” from The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs, with the Santa Fe Opera Orchestra led by Michael Christie
• Giuseppe Verdi: “Messa da Requiem”; Sasha Cooke and Angela Meade sing with the Houston Grand Opera Chorus and Orchestra led by Patrick Summers, from the 2017 run at the Wortham Theater Center
• J.S Bach: “Suite No.1 In G, VI. Gigue - Vivace (Instrumental)” performed by Daniel Domb

Producer: Emily Shaw

Story Editor: Nathan Tobey

Mixing Engineer: Seira McCarthy

Sound Recordists: Seira McCarthy, Dylan Williams, Raheem Frederick (San Francisco Conservatory of Music); George S. Rosenthal (The Complex Recording Studio)

Executive Producer: Bob Ellis

Photo by Stephanie Girard

Sing LOUDER is supported by a non-profit LLC promoting public education about the art of singing. Special thanks to the San Francisco Conservatory of Music.

Imagine finding your voice...in an opera house! On Sing LOUDER, host Jake Heggie talks with great artists about the high wire act of life as an opera singer.

Featured Music:

• “Die Nachtigall” from Alban Berg’s Sieben fruhe Lieder, from the BBC Cardiff Singer of the World Competition in 2015, led by Thomas Sondergard
• “Some Times of Day” from Jake Heggie’s The Best Time of the Day
• “María la O” by Ernesto Lecuona, with the Mozarteum Orchestra Salzburg, led by Jesús López Cobos

Producer: Emily Shaw

Remote Recording Assistance & Mixing: Seira McCarthy

Additional Recording: George S. Rosenthal (The Complex Recording Studio)

Executive Producer: Bob Ellis

Sing LOUDER is supported by a non-profit LLC promoting public education about the art of singing. Special thanks to the San Francisco Conservatory of Music.