[@ 5 min] Harry Bicket, music director of Santa Fe Opera, takes a ‘Free Throw’ on being pigeonholed as an Early Music specialist. This summer, Maestro Bicket conducts "Don Giovanni"; we ask him to weigh in on his favorite act of a Mozart opera…[@ 19 min] In 'Chalk Talk'... It’s all very well for us to bust a bracket finding the Best School of Music…

[@ 3 min] The Final Four bracket for the Best School for Singing is here. Will a top seed prevail...?[@ 26 min] In 'Listener Mailbag,' PJ and Donald give us a preview of “La Rondine” at the Met, which features the house debut of Friend of the Show Emily Pogorelc...[@ 31 min] In the ‘Two Minute Drill,’ we ignore opera completely and talk about the C…

[@ 4 min] It’s the East and West regions of the Best School of Music bracket. Who will join IU and UNT in the Final Four?[@ 25 min] We go 'Inside the Huddle' with baritone Reginald Smith Jr. with the 2021 Cardiff Singer of the World contestant wrapping up his MVP season at Lyric Opera of Chicago as star of Terence Blanchard’s "Champion" and Amonasr…

[@ 3 min] March Madness is here! In 'Chalk Talk', we work through a bracket of our own to pick the top school of music in the country…[@ 26 min] Baritone Lucas Meachem returns to OBS to take a 'Free Throw' on developing young voices and how to decide on where one should get their undergraduate degree if they want to make it to the pros…[@ 37 min] I…

[@ 4 min] We go 'Inside the Huddle' with Hera Hyesang Park. The South Korean soprano’s sophomore album was just released and she tells us about how she was photographed for the album cover...[@ 29 min] Plus, in the ‘Two Minute Drill’… Swifties got the "Eras" tour and the Beehive got the "Renaissance" tour. Lookout, opera fans: Kathleen Battle is ba…

[@ 3 min] We go 'Inside the Huddle' with an icon of American opera, early music… and cabaret? It’s soprano Sylvia McNair...[@ 28 min] In the ‘Two Minute Drill’, we unpack Lyric Opera of Chicago’s hot-off-the-presses '24-'25 season announcement, and catch you up on the latest open letters to Arts Council England...GET YOUR VOICE HEARDoperaboxscore.c…

We kick off Women’s History Month with a replay of three our of favorite interviews with female artists...[@ 2 min] Francesca Zambello shares her philosophy on how to make an opera company an attractive place to work...[@ 27 min] Kathryn Lewek talks about singing the Queen of the Night...[@ 69 min] Isabel Leonard takes the OBS's first ever 'Free Th…

[@ 3 min] 2024 being a leap year not only means it’s an Olympiad, but also a Rossini birthday year. To celebrate his 56th (!) birthday, we’ll do some 'Spring Training' on the bel canto master’s career highlights...[@ 33 min] Maestro Enrique Mazzola takes a 'Free Throw' on the aria “Celeste Aida”, which he considers to be a written in the bel canto …

[@ 2 min] Ashlee couldn’t get an interview with Kermit the Frog, but she does have a segment all about the intersection between the Muppets and opera! (Hot take: all the cool opera singers hang with Miss Piggy...)[@ 24min] In the ‘Two Minute Drill’… Like the finale to "Dialogues of the Carmelites", ENO musicians get their redundancy notices and sin…

[@ 3 min] We go ‘Inside the Huddle’ with children’s book author Carolyn Sloan whose new picture book “Welcome to the Opera”, much to our surprise, does NOT use the story of Lady MacBeth of Mtsensk to introduce opera to the newest audiences...[@ 20 min] Then… We notch six more items from our Callas100 countdown, take a peek in the 'Listener Mailbag'…

[@ 2 min] The Met has now staged two operas, in working-class middle America, to “mixed” reviews. Were these bold artistic choices a bid to shake up elite opera audiences, or did someone in the props department just have access to a trailer...? [@ 23 min] Then, countertenor Reginald Mobley takes a 'Free Throw' on being a prominent Black artist in E…

[@ 5 min] We go 'Inside the Huddle' with composer Melissa Dunphy to excavate 250 years of Philadelphia history, discovering broken pottery, the music of ghosts, and why cricket isn’t actually a boring sport…[@ 29 min] Plus, PJ files a field report from Carnegie Hall’s "Song Studio" in the 'Listener Mailbag'...[@ 31 min] In the 'Two Minute Drill'… y…

[@ 4 min] Can’t wait to find out who’ll win the AFC and NFC conferences? In 'Chalk Talk', we pick the Super Bowl contenders with our patented opera prediction method… [@ 24 min] Jonathan Cohen takes a 'Free Throw' on the different national approaches of performance practice in early music. The cellist, harpsichordist, and conductor nerds out with O…

[@ 5 min] Tenor Jack Swanson goes ‘Inside the Huddle’. The young American bel canto specialist has already debuted at the Rossini Festival in Pesaro, and won Oliver’s heart as Almaviva at Santa Fe Opera Festival. Now he's in Chicago set to make his house debut in another signature Rossini part: Prince Ramiro in "Cinderella"...[@ 39 min] And then… J…

[@ 5 min] We go ‘Inside the Huddle’ with Briana Hunter. The American mezzo-soprano is accomplished stage actress and a champion of new works, making her a stage director’s dream...[@ 32 min] In the ‘Two Minute Drill’… a Gilbert & Sullivan manuscript has been missing for over a century. If you know where it is, please return it to its rightful owner…

Happy New Year from the OBS Team! We'll be back with an all-new episode on Thursday, January 11, 2024...Please enjoy this replay of three of our favorite interviews from 2023: OperaDelaware's Kerriann Otaño [@ 3 min], and stage directors Marcus Shields [@ 24 min] and David Alden [@ 55 min]...GET YOUR VOICE HEARDoperaboxscore.comfacebook.com/obschi1…

It’s a full house for our last new episode of 2023! We wrap things up with the best and worst from Operaland over the past year, including trends, performances, and passings, plus we vote for the inaugural OBS Person of the Year…Από τον Opera Box Score

[@ 4 min] Canadian-American bass John Relyea goes ‘Inside the Huddle’ with us from Rome where he just completed a run in the title role of Boito’s "Mefistofele". Little did he know that he would be bargaining with his OWN soul when he agreed to be interviewed...[@ 24 min] It's a field report from PJ and pals on the Met’s "Tannhäuser", and the #Call…

[@ 5 min] We go ‘Inside the Huddle’ with Maya Kherani. In addition to being a rare example of a soprano of South Asian descent who has gained traction in the largely white world of Early Music, Maya is also establishing herself as an advocate for mothers in opera...[@ 30 min] We've finally arrived at the centenary of Maria Callas’ birth; over the c…

[@ 4 min] Legendary stage director and Intendantin Francesca Zambello goes 'Inside the Huddle' to share her philosophy on how to make an opera company an attractive place to work, and she previews her current project at Chicago Opera Theater: Shostakovich's "The Nose"...[@ 30 min] It's a field report from PJ on The Met’s new "Florencia en el Amazon…

It’s a special, all-clips, holiday episode for you, dear listener. Whether you’re stuffing a turkey or waiting in baggage claim, find out which moments in opera make our team think of family and togetherness. Like "Elektra"...GET YOUR VOICE HEARDoperaboxscore.comfacebook.com/obschi1@operaboxscoreIG operaboxscore…

[@ 3 min] It’s awards season! Grammy nominations are in; so are the International Opera Awards winners. Find out who’s cashing in on the OBS bump this year… Plus, Matt and Ashlee play 'Monday Evening Quarterback' from coast to coast to... well, third coast…[@ 51 min] Friends of the Show Boston Early Music Festival are set to present "The Dragon of …

[@ 5 min] As Lidiya Yankovskaya prepares to step down as Music Director of Chicago Opera Theater, we take a look at some of the ‘Swings and Misses’ of her tenure, including being a three-time Inside the Huddle guest on the OBS...[@ 30 min] And then… PJ files a report on “X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X” from the Met, and Lise Davidsen joins us f…

[@ 2 min] After an injury sidelined Alex DeSocio from a college football career, the baritone turned to the most logical alternative: opera. His young career has already taken him to Pensacola Opera, Opera Birmingham, Fort Worth Opera, and now the world premiere of Jake Heggie and Gene Scheer’s “Intelligence” at Houston Grand Opera…[@ 25 min] And t…

[@ 3 min] It’s the annual Hallowe’en Spooktacular, the scary and shocking moments of opera that will have you lose your head…[@ 46 min] In the ‘Listener Mailbag’... A field report from Donald and PJ, and a review of Opera Arizona’s "Frankenstein"...[@ 53 min] In the ‘Two Minute Drill’… The scariest thing about opera? We’d have to say: the sexism…GE…

[@ 3 min] It’s a Band Geek Edition of 'Sportzando!' Say. No. More.[@ 31 min] And then... I don’t know how we pulled it off, but we have a 'Free Throw' with tenor, author, stage director, clown, radio host, and television personality Rolando Villazón...[@ 40 min] Plus, in the ‘Two Minute Drill’… Well, at least Martyn Brabbins didn’t punch anyone whe…

[@ 5 min] It's an ‘Inside the Huddle’ is a double-header! First up, in the middle of rehearsals for “The Barber of Seville” at LA Opera, it’s the dreamy Italian bass-baritone Luca Pisaroni...[@ 34 min] For the second interview of theTwi-night, it’s the young Heldentenor Robert Watson, who just completed his Lyric Opera debut as Erik in “The Flying …

[@ 4 min] We go ‘Inside the Huddle’ with John Brancy in London, where he's reprising his role as the Artisan & Collector in George Benjamin’s “Picture a Day Like This”. He tells us how that role was customized to his freakish abilities and why we shouldn’t limit ourselves to just one way of singing…[@ 35 min] And then… Lisette Oropesa, who makes he…

[@ 4 min] In our new segment, ‘Swings & Misses’, we look at the best and worst decisions from Operaland, starting with the home runs and strikeouts of Anthony Freud’s tenure at Lyric Opera of Chicago…[@ 25 min] He was in Fantasy Football enemy territory, but did he enjoy Opera Philadelphia’s Festival O23? Oliver tells all in ‘Monday Evening Quarter…

We go 'Inside the Huddle' with soprano Amanda Majeski. The tap-dancing Mozart 'n' Strauss diva is from Illinois and lives in Wisconsin. You'll be shocked when you find out where her sports allegiance lies...Plus, in the 'Two Minute Drill'… Where are all the gay white male opera administrators going? Starting their own super opera company in P-town.…

[@ 7 min] Season 9 of the OBS begins with a mixed doubles ‘Inside the Huddle’ when FOUR artists join us to preview Opera Philadelphia’s Festival O23...[@ 57 min] Plus, in the ‘Two Minute Drill’… It’s Ying Fang. YING. FANG. Not WANG FAN...SHOW NOTEShttps://www.cnn.com/2023/09/08/europe/china-opera-singer-mariupol-intl/index.htmlGET YOUR VOICE HEARDo…

We dive into the OBS archives for a highlight from Season 6 when we went ‘Inside the Huddle’ with soprano Ying Fang…We’re back with an all-new show on Thursday, September 14th, when we kick off Season 9 of the OBS with a preview of Festival O23 at Opera Philadelphia… Join us!GET YOUR VOICE HEARDoperaboxscore.comfacebook.com/obschi1@operaboxscoreIG …

[@ 3 min] It’s transition season in sports and on the OBS… We let you know what’s new on this season’s college football gridiron, we handicap the men’s draw of the US Open, and we recap our favorite Season 8 OBS highlights…[@ 22 min] And then… Before we take our Labor Day break, we get into those Listener Mailbag submissions from both regulars and …

[@ 4 min] She was More Than a Diva, and now she enters the OBS Hall of Fame. It’s our tribute to the late, great Renata Scotto…[@ 36 min] In a blow to American opera cognoscenti, the Metropolitan Opera Guild will cease publication of ‘Opera News’. That means all you PR agents out there? The OBS is all you’ve got left...[@ 48 min] In the ‘Two Minute…

[@ 4 min] The Women’s World Cup is down to its final four teams, and we’re here to pick a winner, based on a head-to-head clash between each country’s greatest female singer…[@ 32 min] And then… We go ‘Inside the Huddle’ with baritone Huw Montague Rendall, who’s starring in the current production of “Pelléas et Mélisande” at the Santa Fe Opera. Fin…

[@ 3 min] It’s a double-header on Oktavian when we go ‘Inside the Huddle’ with Samantha Hankey, star of the Met’s recent production of “Der Rosenkavalier”… and then we’re joined by the Oktavian of her generation… Susan Graham! Plus you’ll get color commentary from Matt Cummings about why it’s one of the best mezzo roles in Operaland…[@ 1 h 1 min] I…

[@ 3 min] Oliver goes ‘Inside the Huddle’ with mezzo-soprano Raehann Bryce-Davis, whose electrifying sense of fearlessness shines whether she’s onstage or being recorded by a cheap USB mic on Oliver’s vacation in Santa Fe…[@ 25 min] And then… It’s the 3rd period of the Mozart vs. Mozart vs. Mozart ‘TKO’ clash! Which single act of a Mozart opera wil…

[@ 3 min] Hot off the presses, Patrick Dupré Quigley has been named Artistic Director Designate of D.C.’s Opera Lafayette, with his first obstacle going ‘Inside the Huddle’ with Team OBS...[@ 31 min] And then, in ‘TKO’... Mozart vs Mozart vs Mozart enters the 2nd period, when another soubrette is thrown into the rink with Susanna and Despina. Find …

[@ 3 min] It’s an epic three-act ‘TKO’… the OBS team takes to the ice to settle, once and for all, that eternal question: what IS the best single act of a Mozart opera…?[@ 39 min] In the ‘Two Minute Drill’… Jonas calls a time-out: is he still butt-hurt from being Fass-bendered…?SHOW NOTEShttps://operawire.com/jonas-kaufmann-cancels-paris-festival-a…

[@ 3 min] You may know Morris Robinson as *the* former-All-American-college-defensive-lineman-turned-bass, but when he goes ‘Inside the Huddle’, you’ll learn he’s recently been cast as a basketball “Big Man”…[@ 36 min] Plus, in the ‘Two Minute Drill’… Taking a cue from Megan Rapinoe’s announcement, will Chautauqua Opera also retire after this seaso…

As Team OBS takes the week off for the Fourth, enjoy a rerun of our Independence Day show from last year, when we launched 'Singer Trading Cards', a look at the American League and some great artists of the recent past you’ll want to add to your collection...We're back with an all-new show on Thursday, July 13, when bass Morris Robinson goes 'Insid…

[3 min] The Santa Fe Opera’s current season starts this weekend, and we get a field report, but not from PJ...[9 min] It’s bonus content from Oliver’s recent trip to the Boston Early Music Festival, when German soprano Dorothee Mields takes a 'Free Throw' on the subject of… birds?[@ 24 min] In the ‘Two Minute Drill’… Friend of the Show Christine Go…

[@ 3 min] We go ‘Inside the Huddle’ with Olivier-award winning stage director David Alden, who is creating a new production of “The Flying Dutchman” for the Santa Fe Opera. George is in New Mexico with his OBS poncho, bolo tie, and handheld recorder to get the scoop…[21 min] In the ‘Two Minute Drill’… ticket sales are inching upward at the Met *whi…

[@ 4 min] Live from the Boston Early Music Festival, Oliver goes 'Inside the Huddle' with Jonathan Woody. The bass-baritone and composer just wrapped up performances of the Festival’s centerpiece opera "Circé" as one of only two Black artists in the cast of dozens, but he’s not calling for the cancelation of Baroque music altogether (like *some* pe…

[@ 4 min] We induct the latest-departed great composer into the OBS HOF…[@ 38 min] In the ‘Two Minute Drill”... Dude, where’s our Music Director?GET YOUR VOICE HEARDoperaboxscore.comfacebook.com/obschi1@operaboxscoreIG operaboxscoreΑπό τον Opera Box Score

[@ 2 min] We revisit our (virtual) Summer 2021 opera road trip when we stopped in Knoxville for a special ‘Hall of Fame’...[@ 34 min] PJ is back with a ‘Listener Mailbag’ report from “The Flying Dutchman” at the Met…[@ 38 min] It’s a blast from the past with Oliver’s Summer 2022 trip to Santa Fe to get Ryan Speedo Green ‘Inside the Huddle’…We’re ba…

[@ 4 min] We go ‘Inside the Huddle’ with soprano Whitney Morrison, the Chicago native who created the role of Yasmine Miller in Daniel Bernard Roumain and Anna Deveare Smith’s “The Walkers” at Lyric Opera of Chicago, where Whitney is the company’s inaugural Artist-in-Residence…[@ 28 min] It’s not a field report from our friend PJ!, but from George …

[@ 4 min] We go ‘Inside the Huddle’ with American bass-baritone Ryan McKinny, who will reprise his role as Joseph De Rocher when “Dead Man Walking” finally makes its Met debut next season. Oliver talks to Ryan about that Jake Heggie opera, as well the Heggie piece he’ll tour with “Music of Remembrance”…[@ 27 min] In ‘Free Throw’… Apple Classical. W…

[@ 2 min] In ‘Chalk Talk’, Matt and Weston make you grateful that - whatever your issues are with your mother - at least she isn’t Clytemnestra…[@ 34 min] Then, ‘Listener Mailbag’ entries abound from NYC…[@ 38 min] Plus, in the ‘Two Minute Drill’… “Can we live without the phone for just one damn hour?”…We’re back with an all-new show next week when…

[@ 3 min] Imagine the best sports contest ever. Now imagine that turned into an opera. In our ‘Sportzando!' segment, we reveal what we’re imagining…[@ 26 min] In the ‘Two Minute Drill’… it’s Ladies Night at the BBC Proms…We’re off next week for the annual OBS Office Retreat and Team Building Exercises (yikes!) but we’re back on Thursday, May 11 wit…