What do you do when you find yourself filled with rage? In the opera world, you sing an emotionally charged Rage Aria. In this episode, we're talking about some of opera's most rageful moments.

Ep. 132: Rage Arias

Forget what you thought you knew about classical music, and leave your preconceived notions at the door! Co-hosted by Naomi Barrettara, Elspeth Davis, and Kyle Homewood, Opera After Dark is a journey into the surprisingly wild, sometimes sexy, ALWAYS weird world of classical music. Join us as we settle in, open a bottle of wine, get tipsy, and discuss and share the crazy stories and bizarre facts about the “high art” that we love.

Ep. 0: Sneak Peek!

A self-proclaimed hunter of "wild fowl, operatic libretti, and attractive women," it's safe to say that Puccini had a fair share of skeletons in his closet. In this episode, we talk about the scandalous affairs that inspired some of his best known opera characters.

Ep. 1: Puccini - The Men Behind the Music

Our second episode of “The Men Behind the Music” is all about the one and only Leoš Janáček and his pen pal and imaginary wife, Kamila Stösslová!

Ep. 2: Janáček - The Men Behind the Music

Genius. Flute player. Appreciator of Shakespeare and Virgil. Terrible pianist. Psychopath attempted murderer. Just some of the phrases that best describe composer Hector Berlioz. You aren't going to believe these true stories as written by the man himself!

Ep. 3: Berlioz - The Men Behind the Music

Welcome to episode 4! In this episode, the first of two, we’ll be discussing the rock stars of the 18th century, THE CASTRATI. Known for their incredible stamina, both on and off the stage (get it?), these powerhouse singers caused audience hysteria wherever they went.

Ep. 4: Castrati - Part 1

Today we decided to extend our badass women series so that we could talk about one of the ORIGINAL lady badasses of classical music history - Hildegard von Bingen! Also known as "Gertrude," which became our code name for this episode because Kyle could never remember her real name.

Ep. 17 Hildegard von Bingen

In this episode, we delve into the incredibly sad and tumultuous life of Tchaikovsky, and get very emotional about the incredibly beautiful music he gave the world.

Ep. 22: Tchaikovsky

Taking the opposite tack of last week's episode, today we delve into operas that we hate. And before you write us off as a bunch of "negative nancys," we actually go above and beyond (in our opinion) to highlight the best and most beautiful moments in the works that we tend stay away from as a whole. We also try to explain solid reasons for our dislikes. And we do end on a fantastic happy note, with a sneak peak of what we plan to talk about next week!

Ep. 24: Operas that we Hate

Happy Halloween to all of our listeners! To celebrate this most cherished holiday, the OAD team recorded a special episode to discuss our favorite scary and "Halloweeny" moments in opera. So grab a Bloody Mary and enjoy these wonderfully creepy operatic moments!

Ep. 41: Happy Halloween!

To celebrate episode number 50 (!!!) on Opera After Dark, we give you...OPERA: THE ORIGIN STORY. It all started with a group of Italian dudes(before Italy was actually country - but they all lived in Florence) in the late 1500s who had this theory that all ancient Greek dramas were sung instead of spoken... (...no really, this IS where it all begins...)

Ep. 50: Opera - The Origin Story

Ahead of Heartbeat Opera's performances of the opera next week, Elspeth and Naomi talk about Mozart's take on the legendary Don Juan. In addition to listening to some of Mozart's best composed music, they will also shed some light on the classic Donna Anna debate.

Ep. 64: Don Giovanni

We're excited to geek out over this beautiful Czech opera! Those of you that know The Little Mermaid are familiar with this story. Mermaid, Prince, Sea Witch - all of the pieces are there. However, we like this music better than Disney's. Yeah, we said it. Antonin Dvorak's only entry into today's opera canon sure is a beauty!

Ep. 72: Rusalka

We are beginning 2019 with an opera that consistently ranks within the top 10 most often performed operas in the world today: La Traviata! This is a tragic one (shocker), but the music is beautiful, the plot involves a lot of partying, doomed love, and a heroine that rises above them all as the best person (despite being surrounded by horrible, selfish people), and makes the ultimate sacrifice for love.

Ep. 79: La Traviata

In this episode, we explore Debussy's only opera, Pelléas et Mélisande! Debussy may have intended to write the ultimate anti-opera, but the music is one of the most amazing things ever created. It is dark, moody, and tragic. It's about everything and nothing all at the same time. What does it all mean? Is it all a timeless mystery?

Ep. 80: Pelléas et Mélisande

This episode is all about a well known classic, Verdi's RIGOLETTO. This opera has got everything - twisted plot involving a court jester, a jerk Duke, a naive girl, a hit man and his sister, a curse, love, lust, murder, and more, all tied together with incredible music. Despite the tragic tale, we had a lot of fun with this one, as you can tell by the extreme length!  PS: Please forgive any lingering radiator noise. We had no control over it, and we tried to edit it out, but we can only work so much magic (such is life in NYC in the winter).

Ep. 81: Rigoletto

It took almost three full seasons, but we are finally talking about the polarizing composer Richard Wagner. Whether you love him or you hate him, most opera fans feel strongly about his contributions to the repertory and we are no exception. As is appropriate for Wagner, this episode is one of our longest, but it comes as our own Naomi Barrettara is about to join the Met Opera Quiz during the radio broadcast on Saturday, March 30, 2019. Be sure to tune in and cheer her on!

Ep. 89: Richard Wagner...finally

The OAD team embarks on Wagner's epic opera cycle, Der Ring des Nibelungen, AKA the Ring Cycle. Of course, we must start with the first of the four operas: Das Rheingold. We hope you enjoy this deep dive into Wagner's mythological world inspired by Norse mythology.

Ep. 90: Das Rheingold

We are back with the next installment of Wagner's epic Ring Cycle, DIE WALKÜRE! Kyle is excited for the ride of the Valkyries. Elspeth is still against this whole thing. And this is probably Naomi's favourite opera of the cycle (we spelled "favourite" the Canadian way, just for her). We also learn more about leitmotifs in this episode. And swords stuck in trees. And weather/season-related love metaphors. And rings of fire!

Ep. 91: Die Walküre

For our 100th episode, we tackle one of the difficult operas to talk about concisely... Berg's LULU! It is NOT funny, it is NOT uplifting, it is NOT easy to talk about concisely... but it is one of the most important operas of the 20th century, and it was a listener request... so here we go! Thank you for listening, and here is to 100 MORE episodes to come! <3

Ep. 100: Lulu

As Halloween approaches, our favorite composers visit us from beyond the grave via composer/medium: Rosemary Brown. That's right, Rosemary Brown became world famous for "transcribing" works of dead composers who she claimed visited her from the beyond. Do you believe in ghosts? Maybe you should listen to these incredibly believable compositions before you make up your mind....

Ep. 103: Rosemary Brown

In 1731, Antoine François Prévost introduced the character of Manon to the world through his "smutty" novel L'Histoire du chevalier des Grieux et de Manon Lescaut, and she has seduced audiences time and again ever since! In this episode, we talk about the two operas that have survived in the modern canon that tell her story - one by Massenet, and one Puccini!

Ep. 104: Manon vs. Manon Lescaut

In this episode, we talk all about the great American composer Samuel Barber and one of his greatest operatic works - that we think should be done more often - VANESSA!

Ep. 105: Samuel Barber and Vanessa

So many good things come out of the 60s, 70s, and 80s.... like minimalist opera! In this episode, we talk about the life and work of Philip Glass, and dig into the style of minimalism! He actually dislikes being labelled a "minimalist" composer - but it's helpful in understanding the historical context and impact of his work in the grand scheme of things. While it might not be everyone's jam, we advocate for giving it a chance - the music is pretty amazing!

Ep. 106: Philip Glass

Following our last episode all about Philip Glass, this episode goes deep into the third opera in his portrait trilogy: AKHNATEN! We talk about the music, the inspiration and creative process, the source material, the text of the libretto, the real historical Akhnaten (including theories that his whole family were aliens) and his very complicated family (hint: recent DNA testing reveals that the family tree is REALLY MESSY, involving Nefertiti, King Tut, half-sisters that are also wives, aunts that are also mothers, husbands that are also siblings of some kind, daughters that are also wives, etc. etc. etc.), and all kinds of other interesting stuff!

Ep. 107: Akhnaten

In our second installment of song cycle episodes, we look at the work of the two Schus(sounds like "shoes"... but it actually "Schus"): Schumann and Schubert! Rob and Franz! These song cycles are super poetic, super romantic, and in some cases, pretty dark, tragic, creepy, or twisted. But the music is so beautiful! You'll see. Give it a listen - you won't be sorry!

Ep. 113: Song Cycles - The Schus

In this episode, we delve deep into the life of the Russian wunderkind Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev! He wrote a ton of stuff, he moved around a lot, he was kind of child prodigy, he wrote protest music that people didn't realize until much later was actually protest music... and he really liked to play chess. There is more to Sergei than you might think!

Ep. 114: Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev!

In this episode, we talk about one of opera's greatest legends, the diva of all divas, and the experience of getting to see her holographic reincarnation perform with a live orchestra. The one and only Maria Anna Cecilia Sofia Kalogeropoulos... a.k.a. Maria Callas!

Ep. 117: Maria Callas... and Holograms

In this episode, we talk about the opera that Wagner considered his first "true" work - DER FLIEGENDE HOLLÄNDER! Or, The Flying Dutchman. Its got leitmotifs. Its got arias. Its got orchestral storms with lots of brass. Its got a love triangle, a curse, a ghost ship, a ghost captain, and a obsessive leading lady. What more could you want in an opera?

Ep. 120: Der fliegende Holländer

With Memorial Day upon us (USA) and Victoria Day (Canada) just passed, we are taking the opportunity to talk about Queen Victoria and her love of opera, which she shared with her husband Prince Albert.

Ep. 123: Victoria and Albert

Opera After Dark is back for season 5!! And we're kicking things off by talking about the greatest ragtime composer of all, Scott Joplin. Don't worry, we're not abandoning our roots. In addition to being the king of ragtime, Mr. Joplin also composed for the operatic stage.

Ep. 124: Scott Joplin & Treemonisha

Who knew that the most popular opera from the 17th-century was about some guy named Jason?! Apparently Elspeth did. Before you start imagining an opera about a '90s frat boy, you should know this opera is actually based on a Greek myth and composed by the most successful composer of its era.

Ep. 125: Il Giasone

In addition to his many accolades in the jazz world, Duke Ellington is another notable composer that tried his hand at opera. Though Ellington never finished his opera Queenie Pie, he definitely left us with some great tunes!

Episode 126: Duke Ellington and Queenie Pie

Haven't heard of José Maurício? Neither had we! But it turns out he was a prolific Brazilian composer of the Classical Era, with over 200 published works and a Requiem that got the attention of Europe's best composers.

Ep. 127: José Maurício Nunes Garcia

In the realm of classical music, there are few individuals as influential as Franz Joseph Haydn. Though not known for his operas, Haydn is the original master of the symphony and string quartet, and definitely lived an interesting life.

Ep. 128: Papa Haydn

When you think about an opera about the Moon, does 20th-century music come to mind, or maybe the 21st? It turns out the first opera about space came way back in 1777. We hope you enjoy hearing about the Classical Era space opera, Il mondo della luna.

Ep. 129: The opera about the moon

Happy Holidays from Opera After Dark! We all love (or love to hate) a good holiday album. In this episode we discuss some of the most notable holiday albums by opera stars.

Ep. 130: Holiday Albums

What is a singer to do when the composer didn't right a banging aria for their character, or their aria leaves something to be desired? Insert a favorite aria of their choosing! It's hard to believe that this actually happened in the world of professional opera, but it turns out this was commonplace for much of opera's history.

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