The #OperaTrash Podcast

If you can't sleep, Anna and Krista have the perfect solution: listening to their review of Bellini's La Sonnambula. The ladies also reveal the Bayerische Staatsoper's long-awaited (for Krista) 2022-23 season, but not before dedicating the show to two performers we lost in the past week. If you're in crisis, please contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255.

Anna and Krista welcome their friend, Dr. Nyri Bakkalian, as they talk about operas that are cursed for one reason or another. You'll hear about Richard Wagner's boner, Offenbach's race against death and Verdi's Neopolitan bodyguards. Then strap in for the epic story of the kabuki that was cursed from the start.

For Yom HaShoah, Anna and Krista drop some history on you this week with Viktor Ullmann's Der Kaiser von Atlantis. From its origins in a concentration camp to its many iterations today, it's a good building block for Holocaust education. They also rant about OperaWire's treatment of Russian artists and edit a glaring mistake on Wikipedia.

Since it's both Easter and Passover, Anna and Krista have decided to take a short break (they'll be back next week). For now, let's go back to their review of Parsifal - you know, the foolish goose and SHIRTLESS JONAS IN ACT II. Time to jump back in the pond!

What happens when you combine opera with Hitchcock's source material? You get the opera Marnie! Anna and Krista talk about this tale of theft and deception, and then they talk about which Hitchcock movies would make the best operas. AND Anna reviews her trip to see Carmen!

Hi-ho Rossini, retire! Anna and Krista talk about Guillaume Tell, Rossini's case of the Fuck-Its and what not to do with the story of William Tell. Oh, and get a load of the douchebag tenor in our news!

CW: mentions of child sexual abuse. This week, Anna and Krista feature a fairly new but very powerful opera from composer Terrance Blanchard, Fire Shut Up in My Bones. The episode is short, but that shows you just how good this opera is.

The ladies have uncovered another 20th century opera, and they love this one - L'amour de Loin. Listen as Anna gets her history nerd on, Krista gets angy at some tenor who dissed Jonas, and really, who the hell heckles during an opera? RIP Razor Ramon, our favorite Bad Guy.

This week's episode is specially dedicated to Emilio Delgado, who played Luis on Sesame Street for 44 years. Appropriately, their opera review focuses on the Spanish-language production Florencia en el Amazonas, which is beautiful from beginning to end. Reminisce along with Anna and Krista as they share their memories of Luis, Maria and growing up with the Street Gang.

After a lot of procrastinating - even in this very episode - Anna and Krista finally talk about the grandest of grand operas, Les Troyens. Such a shame that Berlioz fucked off before he could see the entire shitshow! They also explain a few things they've done to their merch, read Jonas' statement on the state of the world and squee over Anna's upcoming outing!