[@ 3 min] Alright, this week, it's Monday Evening Quarterback on the 2025 Boston Early Music Festival, and we’ll be joined by Amanda Forsythe with a scoop on the 2027 centerpiece opera! We promise this is the only opera podcast talking Telemann.

[@ 21 min] And then...the centenary of Dietrich Fischer Dieskau’s birth was last month, and we have a Free Throw from one of his last pupils, Benjamin Appl. Considered to be one of the all-time great Lieder interpreters, WE will consider Dieskau’s notable opera roles.

[@ 43 min] Plus, in the ‘Two Minute Drill’…a decline in tourism coupled with the rise in deportations may be adversely affecting ticket sales at the Met...but that’s not stopping the Laffont competition from scouting in South America.

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Abso-Flute-Ly Amazing! ft. Benjamin Appl and Amanda Forsythe

[@ 2 min] Alright, this week...former countertenor, now baritone and stage director Drew Minter goes Inside the Huddle to preview Haymarket Opera’s upcoming production of Vinci’s Artaserse.

[@ 30 min] And then…in 'Chalk Talk,' new data suggests that the problem with opera attendance isn’t actually price after all! Nobody tell Anthony Roth Costanzo.

[@ 46 min] Plus, in the ‘Two Minute Drill’…is it possible to have ethical AI usage in the arts? Opera Baltimore is on the case...

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Is it Opera or is it Cake? ft. Drew Minter

[@ 4 min] Alright, this week…live (on tape) from Opera Theatre of St Louis, Anthony León goes Inside the Huddle to tell the story of his career acceleration after winning Operalia in 2022. The American born Cuban-Columbian tenor makes his debut with Lyric Opera of Chicago this season.

[@ 38 min] Plus, in the ‘Two Minute Drill’…Bavarian State Opera joins the streaming community, and our friends at OperaWire join the podcast community. 

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Don't Make Me Sing! ft. Anthony León

[@ 5 min] Alright, this week…Jacquelyn Stucker goes Inside the Huddle. The American soprano joins us from Santa Fe Opera where she is set to make her role debut as the Governess in The Turn of the Screw. Will the Governess overcome her biggest fear? (having to withstand being questioned by Oliver Camacho?) Stay tuned to find out!

[@ 35 min] And then..a message in the Listener Mailbag gets us thinking about what we should call our OBS fans...

[@ 39 min] Plus, in the ‘Two Minute Drill’…are opera singers are being force fed Ozempic like a goose gavage? Also...no shirt, no shoes, no Scala! 'La' Scala, that is…

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Così Fan Fiction! ft. Jacquelyn Stucker

[@ 4 min] Alright, this week…We go Inside the Huddle with Joshua Winograde, one of opera’s leading administrators and now-director of opera studies at Rice’s Shepherd School of Music. Is this the interview that finally lands the OBS team a tenure track position in Opera Bantering?

[@ 35 min] Plus, in the ‘Two Minute Drill’…sweating employment at the Kennedy Center, sweating a conductor at Caserta, and straight up sweating and fainting in Verona. 

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Win everything! Win everywhere! ft. Joshua Winograde

[@ 6 min] Alright, this week…We go Inside the Huddle with Elizabeth DeShong, who has entered the She Can Sing Anything stage of her career. Set to return to Chicago next month for Alcina, Haymarket Opera’s debut at Ravinia Festival, the American mezzo and bel canto boss reveals The Role She is Dying to Sing.

[@ 25 min] And then…they say We Had No Idea…which, to us, means they haven’t been listening to Opera Box Score. Yes, Classical Music DOES have a sexual abuse problem, and in other news, Serena Williams is good at tennis. 

[@ 34 min] Plus, in the ‘Two Minute Drill’…Zachary Woolfe’s being booted from the classical music section at the New York Times. And, I mean, we DO need another co-host…

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Faster, Higher, Stronger! ft. Elizabeth DeShong

[@ 2 min] Alright, this week…Maestro Enrique Mazzola goes Inside the Huddle! The Italian conductor just wrapped up performances of Massenet’s "Werther" in Berlin, but his summer season continues stateside with debuts at the Grand Teton and Aspen Music Festivals before returning to Chicago for his *other* little gig.

[@ 28 min] And then…in 'Listener Mailbag,' a vocal coach and a sound tech walk into a bar…I mean opera. Let’s see what happens as someone experiences their first opera EVER at Santa Fe! 

[@ 41 min] Plus, in the ‘Two Minute Drill’…Peter Gelb puts his foot in his mouth (legally speaking), and a famous soprano’s foundation is being evicted for not paying rent...you have to wait for the drill to find out which soprano. Or scrub through the episode if you’re impatient, I’m not your dad.  

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Big Shoulder Belcantista! ft. Enrique Mazzola

[@ 6 min] Alright, this week…it’s a Santa Fe Spectacular! First, we go Inside the Huddle with THEIR hometown hero, Kevin Burdette. The American bass, dubbed the “Robin Williams of Opera,” recently gave his 100th performance at Santa Fe Opera in his 15th role for the company.

[@ 43 min] And then…Florian Sempey takes a Free Throw on his time at Santa Fe Opera. The French baritone is wrapping up his American debut in one of his signature roles: Count Almaviva in The Marriage of Figaro.

[@ 58 min] Plus, in the ‘Two Minute Drill’…aa fake philanthropist swindles the Met; Melania, the Opera, is set to premiere in September; and our own George Cederquist pays tribute to the late Robert WIlson.

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Santa Fe Superstar! ft. Kevin Burdette & Florian Sempey

[@ 3 min] Alright, this week…Grammy-winning tenor Nicholas Phan takes a Free Throw on finally winning that Grammy on his fifth nomination, for his performance in OBS Hall of Famer Kaija Saariaho’s 'Adriana Mater.'

[@ 15 min] ...which gets us thinking about Grammy winning opera recordings. In Chalk Talk, we take a look at the history of the only Grammys category that matters, Best Opera Recordings. Which winners have stood the test of time and which recordings are the equivalent of Oscar winners like Crash or Green Book? 

[@ 44 min] Plus, in the ‘Two Minute Drill’…Renee Fleming calls out conservatories for predatory pricing, and the PR disaster surrounding the New York Philharmonic sex abuse scandal continues.

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How to Win a Grammy! ft. Nicholas Phan

[@ 5 min] Alright, this week…music critic Anne Midgette goes Inside the Huddle. As the co-author of the article that launched Classical Music’s #metoo movement in 2018 AND as the former music critic of the Washington Post, today’s guest is uniquely qualified to comment on just about everything we care about on this podcast. Next month, Anne Midgette is a guest speaker for the Jussi Bjorling Society’s webinar “The Myth of Park and Bark,” so in addition to asking her about the Kennedy Center and what we should do with all of our Domingo recordings, we’ll talk about acting for singers too!

[@ 47 min] Plus, in the ‘Two Minute Drill’…Tom Cruise has to wash his hair, Ben Folds is not really into North Korea vibes, and we warned you, Peter Gelb. 

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Straight Out of the Box! ft. Anne Midgette

America's Talk Radio Show About Opera.  Period.

Is it Opera or is it Cake? ft. Drew Minter

Opera Box Score

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