Opera Box Score

[@ 2 min] Alright, this week…in tribute to the late, great Martina Arroyo, it's a replay of her induction into the OBS Hall of Fame originally broadcast in 2023...

[@ 40 min] Then, in ‘Listener Mailbag,’ a field report from the Met’s current production of Cosi fan Tutte!

...And since we are all mourning Ms. Arroyo, we’ll put a pause on the Two Minute Drill.

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[@ 6 min] Alright, this week…One of her generation’s finest signing actresses, the great Ileana Cotrubas is posthumously inducted into the OBS Hall of Fame…

[@ 33 min] Then, in ‘Listener Mailbag,’ a field report on what’s happening on the ground outside the Kennedy Center…

[@ 41 min]  Plus, in the 'Two Minute Drill'... awards season begins with winners of Gramophone and Neue Stimmen, and nominees are announced for the International Opera Awards....

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[@ 5 min] Alright, this week…It’s a Don G extravaganza! First, Christian Van Horn, star of the season opener at Lyric Opera of Chicago, takes a Free Throw on the strike at San Francisco Opera, and on self-producing his solo album! Then, Lyric Opera will  make history as the first major American opera company to present live American Sign Language interpretation of a foreign-language opera. We’ll go Inside the Huddle with Veramarie Baldoza, the acclaimed ASL Interpreter for the performing arts. 

[@ 38 min] Then, in ‘Listener Mailbag,’ we get a field report on Alcina from the Royal Ballet and O...

[@ 2 min] Alright, this week...Louisa Proske goes Inside the Huddle! Her production of Verdi’s Scottish opera at the Met will be broadcast in HD  later this month, just as she heads to Detroit to direct the shabby little shocker…Tosca.  

[@ 40 min]  Plus, in the 'Two Minute Drill'... musician strikes may have come to an end in Cleveland and San Francisco, but the crisis in Nashville has led to extreme measures. Perhaps it’s time for classical music socialism, like in New York! 

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[@ 3 min] Alright, this week...Alright, this week…, bass Andrew Potter goes Inside the Huddle following his rise to fame as opera’s most famous 43-year-old retiree...

[@ 27 min]  Plus, in the ‘Two Minute Drill...In a duo of triumphant comebacks, both Simon Boccanegra AND Celine Dion return to the stage!

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[@ 3 min] Alright, this week...it’s Back to School and we kick off OBS season 12 with our picks for the fall opera season!

[@ 27 min]  Plus, in the ‘Two Minute Drill...we catch you up on all the latest news in the opera world, but there’s a 10% chance none of it will matter if AI eliminates humanity altogether....

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Alright, this week...as we gear up for season TWELVE of the OBS, its a replay episode featuring some of our biggest guests from season eleven!

[@ 1 min]  First up, countertenor Andreas Scholl goes Inside the Huddle to talk technique, vocal longevity, and the brutal math of being a soprano.

[@ 24 min] Then, iconic mezzo-soprano, director, and mentor Denyce Graves takes a Free Throw on retiring from the stage.

And in observance of the Labor Day holiday, we’ll skip the Two Minute Drill!

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[@ 2 min] Alright, this week...for our season 11 finale, Librettist, translator, and dramaturg Kelley Rourke goes Inside the Huddle in advance of the world premiere of 'A River Runs Through It' at  Montana Opera!

[@ 33 min]  Then, because she meant so much to all of us, our chief Dolly correspondent, Ashlee Hardgrave induct the great Dolly Parton into the OBS Hall of Fame....

[@ 48 min] Plus, in the Two Minute Drill...Trump threatens to tear down the Kennedy Center, the San Francisco Opera Orchestra threatens to strike, and everyone’s favorite Milanese restaurateur threatens to conduct at Carnegie Hall...

[@ 4 min] Alright, this week...Iván Ayón-Rivas goes Inside the Huddle! The Peruvian tenor made his American debut this summer as Lensky in Eugene Onegin at Santa Fe Opera. This fall, he stars as Ruggiero in Opera Rara’s world-premiere recording of the 1921 version of Puccini’s La rondine.

[@ 38 min] Plus, in the Two Minute Drill...Jonathan Biss says to knock 'em down, and we say RIP to the great Ileana Cotrubas...

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[@ 5 min] Alright, this week...it’s part two of our coverage of the Santa Fe Opera ,starting with a Free Throw on the artistry of Iestyn Davies! 

[@11 min] Then, Handelian prima donna Lucy Crowe goes Inside the Huddle to champion the Experienced, Middle-Aged singer...

[@ 29 min] AND then...a bonus Free Throw on the late Jessye Norman from her last recital partner, pianist and composer Damien Sneed!

[@ 37 min] Plus, in the Two Minute Drill...recovery in Detroit, the latest installments of Kennedy Center buffoonery, and throngs of missing mini Mozarts! 

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[@ 3 min] Alright, this week...we begin our Olympic-size field report on the Santa Fe Opera season with a Free Throw from Tobias Picker, whose Lili Elbe received its North American premiere at Santa Fe!

[@ 19 min] Then...we go Inside the Huddle with the star of Lili Elbe, a triumphant return for Friend of the Show Lucia Lucas.

[@ 53 min] Plus, in the Two Minute Drill...good thing we have legal correspondent Ashlee Hardgrave here, because we’re gonna need her…

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[@ 3 min] Alright, this week...we go Inside the Huddle with conductor Alan Pierson, whose band Alarm Will Sound collaborated on friend of the show David T. Little’s What Belongs to You, based on OTHER friend of the show Garth Greenwell’s novel of the same name!  Alan joins the OBS to give a tour guide of the acclaimed opera, sampling the brand new recording which features yet a THIRD friend of the show, Karim Sulayman.

[@ 32 min] Plus, in the Two Minute Drill...more hard-to-read developments out of Interlochen, the RBO gets nervous about its finances, and Jonas...

[@ 3 min] Alright, this week...we go Inside the Huddle with Laurence Kilsby! The rising British tenor just performed in the BBC Proms with the Jupiter Ensemble and is currently starring as The Novice in Michael Grandage’s production of Billy Budd at Glyndebourne Festival. That’s two venues on Oliver Camacho’s bucket list! 

[@ 32 min] Plus, in Listener Mailbag...it's a Field Report on Eugene Onegin at Wolf Trap!

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[@ 5 min] Alright, this week...ahead of the premiere of Santa Fe Opera’s 'Rodelinda,' we go Inside the Huddle with director R.B. Schlather! Will our baroque purist creative consultant find common ground with Schlather’s “noir melodrama gangster” concept? Stay tuned to find out…

[@ 36 min] Plus, in the ‘Two Minute Drill’… Congress is investigating the mismanagement of the Kennedy Center, and the Birmingham Symphony Orchestra asks if there’s any similarities between sports and classical music, a question that has never, EVER been explored before.

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[@ 4 min] Alright, this week...we get the full field report on the 2026 Des Moines Metro Opera Festival! First up, a Monday Evening Quarterback on Carlisle Floyd’s Of Mice and Men; then, ten, count 'em, TEN Free Throws from the Stars of Tomorrow apprentice program showcase. 

[@ 36 min] Then, we go Inside the Huddle with the star of Des Moines’s Tosca, soprano Laura Wilde. Finally, a recap on Oliver’s favorite King Roger costumes and a look ahead into the 2027 season.

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[@ 5 min] Alright, this week...we go Inside the Huddle with Suzanne Nance, the new Executive Director of Wexford Festival Opera! Find out how the career of this “Woman of Influence” went from onstage, to behind a mic, to the C-Suite...

[@ 39 min] Plus, in the ‘Two Minute Drill’… Friend of the Show Zachary James is Abraham Lincoln, and Friend of the Show Clay Hilley claps back at the critics! 

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[@ 3 min] Alright, as America prepares to celebrate its semiquincentennial, this week in Chalk Talk…we’re breaking down the history of American vocal music by playing 250 of our favorite clips! Or maybe like 12 or so to keep the episode length reasonable. From American folk song, operetta, Music theater, opera and art song, we'll hear tons of music, performed by favorite American artists…and no, Milli Vanilli was not invited.  

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[@ 4 min] Alright, this week…John Holiday goes Inside the Huddle! The American countertenor and 'The Voice' finalist is wrapping up a banner 25-26 season at the Munich Opera Festival. Next month, his solo album, 'Over My Head,' with pianist Kevin Miller, drops on the Pentatone label! John joins us from Munich where he co-stars with Jeanine De Bique and Julian Pregardien in Handel’s 'Alcina. '

[@ 43 min] Creatine Price is making herstory in France…and John Eliot Gardner comes out as a dendrophobe.

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[@ 3 min] Alright, this week…Early music specialist Jory Vinikour goes Inside the Huddle! The conductor and harpsichordist returns to his native Chicago to lead a production of a pretty gay tragedy…no, not Oliver’s mid-life bachelorhood, but Charpentier’s "David and Jonathan" for Haymarket Opera!

[@ 35 min] Then, in the Two Minute Drill…Audiences at La Scala are protesting ticket prices, an ousted music director is threatening to sue La Fenice, Washington National Opera is suing the Kennedy Center…but hey, at least we got a win this week in the form of one less president being named on ...

[@ 3 min] Alright, this week…Maestro James Conlon takes a Free Throw on his tenure as Music Director of LA Opera, a post he held for 20 years…and we’re rewarding him by letting him talk to Oliver? Poor guy!

[@ 23 min] Then, in Monday Evening Quarterback…The Tony Awards were last Sunday, but as many longtime listeners will attest, Weston doesn’t know anything about Broadway. Luckily, Ashlee Hardgrave is here to take him through a new segment she’s calling, ‘Tonys for Dummies!’ 

[@ 35 min] Plus, in the Two Minute Drill...things are getting messy at Sarasota Opera, b...

[@ 2 min] Alright, this week…tenor and author Ben Bliss goes Inside the Huddle to share his financial survival guide for singers and other freelancers in the performing arts. It’s all in his new book, 'Making it Work,' coming to a TedTalk near you!

[@ 35 min] Then, in Listener Mailbag...it’s a Field Report on Orfeo from Ars Lyrica Houston, starring friend of the show Karim Sulayman!

[@ 42 min] Plus, in the Two Minute Drill...let me see here…it says here that…Donald Trump…did something…illegal??? *gasp* With the Kennedy Center??? WHAT??? That can’t be…no…ye...

Alright, this week…it’s a holiday week! Soooo we’re skipping the Two Minute Drill and dipping into the Inside the Huddle archives to replay a pair of recent interviews.

[@ 1 min] First up, conductor James Gaffigan tells us why the Komische Oper is a total party! He went Inside the Huddle shortly after being named Music Director of Houston Grand Opera last fall. 

[@ 38 min] And then...Grammy Award-winning soprano Amanda Forsythe joins us from last summer’s Boston Early Music Festival, when she was a mere Grammy-hopeful. That’s the OBS Bump, folks. It’s powerful. <...

[@ 2 min] Alright, this week…how DO you solve a problem like Jeff Bezos? How do you catch a donation and pin it down, in an era when the hills are NOT alive with the sound of donors? Is this bit working? We answer these questions, and more, in Chalk Talk…

[@ 18 min] And then...Santa Fe Opera General Director Robert K. Meya takes a Free Throw on the recently announced 2027 festival season, and picks where HE wants to go see opera this summer.

[@ 29 min] Shocking news from the Met. Yes, we’re sad, but we can confir...

[@ 1 min] Alright, this week…we continue  with the OBS playbook for the upcoming Summer Opera Season. This time the team picks the most anticipated performances in the Western European League!

[@ 17 min] And then...soprano, stage director, and Opera Theatre of St. Louis artistic director Patricia Racette returns to take a  Free Throw on performing MT at OTSL!

[@ 28 min] Lakmé gets cancelled, and the Met gets a visit from Typhoid Mimi...

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[@ 2 min] Alright, this week…Conductor David Neely goes Inside the Huddle to share highlights from Des Moines Metro Opera’s upcoming festival season! 

[@ 22 min] And since we're  already on the topic of the Summer opera season, in Chalk Talk, the team handicaps the opera festivals here in the US of A…

[@ 38 min] Plus, in the ‘Two Minute Drill’…Bard College’s Leo Botstein steps down, and Friend of the Show Eric Einhorn steps up!

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[@ 4 min] Alright, this week…we go Inside the Huddle with Dane Lam! Just in time for AAPI Heritage Month, the Australian-Chinese-Singaporean conductor shares his perspective on the state of opera in the Asia-Pacific, as well as collaborating with thee Sir Thomas Allen, the stage director of the Marriage of Figaro for Scottish Opera. 

[@ 38 min] And then...the Listener Mailbag is full of Field Reports from the Giulio Gari Competition Finals AND the Yale Baroque Opera Project...

[@ 49 min] Plus, in the ‘Two Minute Drill’…the Saudis ditch the Met, La Fenice ditches their music director, and Opera Phi...

[@ 3 min] Alright, this week…Anthony Gregory goes Inside the Huddle. The British tenor is currently starring in the title role of 'Glaucus and Scylla' at Opernhaus Zürich, under the baton of Emmanuelle Haïm. This summer, he makes his US debut at Santa Fe Opera, but you can and SHOULD follow him on Instagram right now!

[@ 32 min] And then... a Field Report from American Symphony Orchestra’s Der Freischütz, reimagined.

[@ 40 min] Plus, in the ‘Two Minute Drill’… an embezzlement scandal rocks Teatro San Carlo, sponsors withdraw from the Salzburg Festival, and the Atlantic reveals an in...

[@ 12 min] Alright, this week…Lyric Opera of Chicago has announced their 26/27 season, and we break down the stats, report who’s active on the roster, and ask the all-important question…will Luck Be a Lady at the Lyric next year?

[@ 30 min] And then...Friend of the Show Randall Scotting returns to the OBS to take a free throw on Nicolò Grimaldi, the castrato who conquered the opera world under the stage name Nicolini. His latest album, 'Divine Impresario' is now available to conquer your earholes...

[@ 42 min] Plus, in the ‘Two Minute Drill’… Timothée Chalamet may have been...

[@ 6 min] Alright, this week…we go Inside the Huddle with Adam Smith! The British tenor made his Met debut in Madame Butterfly last month and continues his breakout season, starring in the Spring run of the Zeffirelli Boheme production beginning this weekend. We’ve been tipped off that he compares the pressures of being a leading tenor to playing tennis, so brace yourselves for Oliver’s gloating...

[@ 2 min] And then...it's a Field report from opening night(!)  of Kaija Saariaho’s 'Innocence'...

[@ 42 min] Plus, in the ‘Two Minute Drill’… the 2027 Federal budget proposal will eviscerate the arts--and w...

[@ 6 min] Alright, this week…we go Inside the Huddle with Marshall Pynkowski and Jeannette Lajeunesse Zingg, co-artistic directors of Opera Atelier, the company that built its reputation of lavish productions of operas from the French Baroque, and is now set to present…Pelléas and Melisande!?! 

[@ 42 min] Plus, in the ‘Two Minute Drill’… Violinist Lara St. John settles a lawsuit, and preservationists SUE to protect the Kennedy Center...

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[@ 2 min] Alright, this week…it’s a very important Hall of Fame induction for the late, great Jose Van Dam! The legendary Belgian bass-baritone finally breaks our streak of inductees that are either sopranos, tenors, or Georg Solti…

[@ 44 min] And then…Oliver Camacho’s in the Big Apple to give us a field report from the Eric and Dominique Laffont Competition! Who won, who lost, and who’s clamoring to be the next guest here on the OBS? Stay tuned to find out the answer to at least two of these questions…

[@ 51 min] Plus, in the ‘Two Minut...

[@ 3 min] Alright, this week…Alright, this week…We go Inside the Huddle with Rosa Feola! The Italian lyric soprano joins us from Naples, where she is singing the title role of Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor. Tomorrow, her album of rare Donizetti Songs with Carlo Rizzi drops on the Opera Rara label. Find out WHO taught her how to be a Donizetti boss...

[@ 22 min] Plus, in the ‘Two Minute Drill’… Lise Davidsen says singing “has been my world, my everything. And now it’s not.” And Ric Grenell used to be the head of the Kennedy Center, and now HE'S not.<...

[@ 3 min] Alright, this week…Susanne Burgess goes Inside the Huddle! The British-American soprano is about to compete in the quadrathlon known as The Tales of Hoffman, singing the Four Heroines at Florentine Opera this weekend! Find out how she’s training so she doesn’t 'fach' up her voice. 

[@ 34 min] Plus, in the ‘Two Minute Drill’… The Met’s financial woes are made embarrassingly public ,and Timothée Chalamet galvanizes the global performing arts community...against him.

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[@ 2 min] Alright, this week…Countertenor Hugh Cutting takes a Free Throw! The OBS artist-to-watch is set to perform with the Irish Baroque Orchestra in Manhattan later this month ,and joins us from England with dodgy audio...but we’re thrilled to have him, at any rate.

[@ 17 min] Plus, in the ‘Two Minute Drill’… Yuja Wang makes sure that disc is fully slipped...

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[@ 7 min] Alright, this week…Just back from his trip to Milan, composer-conductor Christopher Tin takes a Free Throw on his collaboration with men’s figure skating silver medalist Yuma Kagiyama….and we’ll tack on our final thoughts on the 2026 Winter Olympics, including the victory of American women.

[@ 37 min] Then...in Chalk Talk, we unpack recent announcements from the Met on next year's season offerings, ticket revenues from the current season, and even news about their 2030 season!

[@ 52 min] Plus, in the ‘Two Minute Drill’… Bruno de Sa may be too gay for Turkey, and we say farewell t...

[@ 2 min] Alright, this week…we go Inside the Huddle with Cecilia Molinari! Last Sunday, the Italian mezzo-soprano wrapped her US debut at Lyric Opera of Chicago, just in time to return home for the closing ceremonies in her hometown and the start of the Paralympic games.

[@ 31 min] And while the Olympics continue, we’ll Chalk Talk on Christopher Tin’s Turandot remix, elder millennial olympians, and…cheating Canadian curlers? 

[@ 47 min] Plus, in the ‘Two Minute Drill’… lifechanging funds in Detroit, Zambello’s foreshadowing at The Guardian, and at this point, it may be better to list who’s *not...

[@ 4 min] Alright, this week…Andrzej Filończyk goes Inside the Huddle as he is set to return to the Met for the limited bonus run of The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay beginning next week. Can the Polish baritone think like The Escapist when it comes to unwanted advances from Oliver?

[@ 37 min] Then, it's the return of the 90’s divas starring Mariah Carey, Cecilia Bartoli, and … Ricky Martin! That’s right, we’re talking about the intersection of music and sports in Sportzando, the Olympics - Bowl edition.

[@ 54 min] Plus, in the ‘Two Minute Drill’… Oper...

[@ 6 min] Alright, this week…we handicap the Big Game between New England and Seattle, the best way we know how: OPERA COMPANY cage match! Benjamin Sokol, a member of the Ryan Opera Center, joins us to fill in the considerable gaps in Weston's and Oliver's football knowledge...

[@ 18 min] Then, Denyce Graves takes a Free Throw on portraying opera’s strongest and most powerful women while being a vulnerable human being with a tender heart...

[@ 31 min] Plus, in the ‘Two Minute Drill’…Roberto Alagna seems to have lost more than his wives, and the Kennedy Center is just…lo...

[@ 2 min] Alright, this week…as the national 10th anniversary tour of the trailblazing opera 'Fellow Travelers' is set to launch next month, one of the stars of the tour, baritone Joseph Lattanzi, goes Inside the Huddle to talk Tennis, Hawkins Fuller, and his upcoming role debut as another gay mid-20th century American: Van Cliburn!

[@ 36 min] Then, JOYCE DIDONATO, the Queen D herself, takes a Free Throw on how to make the most impact in one of her public masterclasses.

[@ 41 min] Plus, in the ‘Two Minute Drill’…Renee Fleming says she has to wash her hair, De...

[@ 4 min] Alright, this week…we go Inside the Huddle with Christopher Sokoloski! The American Heldentenor had a breakout year in 2025, coming to international attention singing Captain Vere in the Story of Billy Budd at Aix-en-Provence, followed by an unscheduled role debut as Parsifal at Flanders Opera. Listen for the exact moment when Oliver falls in love…I promise you can hear Oliver’s heart break wide open, and its strange because we know he doesn’t even like Wagner operas.

[@ 34 min] Then, tenor Zachary Wilder takes a Free Throw on being an American in the elite realm of histo...