Opera Box Score

A singer described by Opera News as a “true stage animal,” the OBS ballers go ‘Inside the Huddle’ with American bass-baritone Zachary James to talk about starring in Philip Glass’s ‘Akhnaten’, being a queer villain in Britten’s “Billy Budd”, and a break-through role in “The Addams Family” musical… ‘Spring Training for Your Ears’ continues with Part Two of the team's look at Britten’s comic masterpiece “Albert Herring”... In the ‘Two Minute Drill’… you knew it was coming… The Zoom Opera… www.facebook.com/obschi1 www.operaboxscore.com @operaboxscore

Lidiya Yankovskaya returns! The highly sought after conductor has already had a whirlwind season with world premieres at the Prototype Festival, Minnesota Opera, and with one of our hometown teams, Chicago Opera Theater. Find out how she juggles it all when she goes ‘Inside the Huddle’ with Oliver and Ashlee... It’s ‘Spring Training for Your Ears’. Over the next few weeks, tune up your familiarity with the comic masterpiece “Albert Herring”. With history hurdles and recording reps, get ready to become the point guard for Team Benjamin Britten... And then… in the Two Minute Drill… #MeToo tenor Vittorio Grigolo wants to... caress your ears? www.facebook.com/obschi1 www.operaboxscore.com @operaboxscore

Which soprano sang more than eighty different roles, spinning out long phrases in operas ranging from Salome to Norma? Find out when Matt makes his next pick for the OBS ‘Hall of Fame’... But first, Oliver goes ‘Inside the Huddle’ with baritone John Taylor Ward, a darling of the contemporary and early music concert scenes and the co-founder of Minnesota’s Lakes Area Music Festival… In the ‘Two Minute Drill’, COVID-19 claims the life of playwright and librettist Terrence McNally… www.facebook.com/obschi1 www.operaboxscore.com @operaboxscore

Zach Finkelstein of middleclassartist.com 'Crunches the Numbers' with George on the metrics of Force Majeure clauses in the many contracts that are being cancelled in the wake of COVID-19... But first, Weston inducts a composer into the OBS 'Hall of Fame' that's right on, er, The Nose... Oliver leads a 'Two Minute Drill' with a pair of bizarre stories about Plácido Domingo... facebook.com/obschi1 operaboxscore.com @operaboxscore

The OBS crew take social distancing a little too literally, as it’s just George live in-studio, with the rest of the team calling in with their personal stories as to how Coronavirus is affecting them - and others - as artists in opera... facebook.com/obschi1 operaboxscore.com @operaboxscore

The OBS crew go 'Inside the Huddle' with multi-operatic-hyphenate Priti Gandhi of Minnesota Opera about her most recent role as mover, shaker, and Chief Artistic officer... In ‘Chalk Talk’, Operaland has coronavirus fever! Hear what opera companies all over the world are doing in reaction to the panic... In the ‘Two Minute Drill’, it's talk about a “mutual” parting of ways between the Royal Opera House and Plácido Domingo, the fact that Hitler apparently tried to write a terrible opera, and a misogynist computer algorithm... facebook.com/obschi1 operaboxscore.com @operaboxscore

Enigma Chamber Opera hit the ground running earlier this year with a new production of Britten’s “The Turn of the Screw” in Boston. Artistic director Kirsten Cairns and tenor Matthew DiBattista join the OBS-ers live in studio to talk storefront opera... In ‘Chalk Talk’, the team takes a look at Opera Philadelphia’s upcoming season. It’s a doozy, and they'll tell you why... In the ‘Two Minute Drill’, apparently the everyone has to keep talking about Plácido Domingo... facebook.com/obschi1 operaboxscore.com @operaboxscore

The 2020 season announcements are coming in fast and furious. George and Weston take a deep dive into the recently announced line-up at Opera North in England and take another deep dive at Washington National Opera’s season…. And they take a deep dive into the Listener Mailbag for a real barnstormer of a question… Plus, in ‘Two Minute Drill’, the Coronavirus hits Operaland... facebook.com/obschi1 operaboxscore.com

Lyric Opera of Chicago and the Metropolitan Opera have announced their 2020-2021 seasons, and the OBS guys are happy to declare that progress is being made… But first, classical music’s racial diversity problem. It’s an evergreen topic on OBS, but two articles published this month shed light on the striking lack of Black and Latinx people on the stages and in the audiences of America’s elite performance venues... In the ‘Two Minute Drill’, Anna Netrebko gets an award (and some criticism) and Javier Camarena gets yet another encore... facebook.com/obschi1 operaboxscore.com @operaboxscore

The OBS-ers go ‘Inside the Huddle’ with American soprano Marnie Breckenridge, a darling of the contemporary opera circuit starring in the world premiere of Tapestry Opera’s "Jacqueline" in Toronto later this month... Then, in 'Chalk Talk', the team remembers Mirella Freni, playing some favorite clips of the iconic Italian soprano who died at the age of 84... In the ‘Two Minute Drill’, big money in St. Louis and headshaking in New Zealand... facebook.com/obschi1 operaboxscore.com @operaboxscore

The OBS gents go ‘Inside the Huddle’ with Pulitzer Prize-winning librettist Royce Vavrek, creator of such works as "Breaking the Waves", "Dog Days", and "JFK"... How should we be selling opera for newbies? NPR’s got opinions... In the ‘Two Minute Drill’, there's talk about everyone’s convenience store, 7-11... facebook.com/obschi1 operaboxscore.com wnur.org/popup

We go ‘Inside the Huddle’ with stage director Jennifer Williams, an artist who’s created numerous immersive and site-specific opera productions. Plus, we recap the winners and near-misses at last night’s Grammy Awards, and take a peek into the Listener Mailbag. And in the ‘Two Minute Drill’, plumbing problems at Bayreuth and everything else you need to know in Operaland... www.facebook.com/OBSCHI1 www.operaboxscore.com www.wnur.org/popup

In ‘Chalk Talk’, it’s an MLK celebration with a closer look at three notable artists: a composer, a singer and a director... A recent article from the 'Daffodil Perspective', a website that champions gender equality in classical music, outlined “the real reasons classical music is inaccessible and 10 easy ways to solve them immediately”. The OBS boys tackle that list... In the ‘Two Minute Drill’, there're anti-Domingo protests in Berlin, and everything else you need to know from the past week in Operaland... www.facebook.com/OBSCHI1 www.operaboxscore.com www.wnur.org/popup

American soprano Tamara Wilson joins Oliver and Weston 'Inside the Huddle' via phone from Texas, where she headlines in Houston Grand Opera’s upcoming production of Verdi's "Aida"… It’s a 'Chalk Talk' about gig work, and why its prevalence in the opera world could mean trouble for small companies in California right now... In ‘The Two Minute Drill’, will Anna Netrebko ever do new music? And why are only eight of the top 100 conductors in the world women...? www.facebook.com/OBSCHI1 www.operaboxscore.com www.wnur.org/popup

The OBS knuckleheads go 'Inside the Huddle' with last year’s Grammy Award winner for Best Classical Vocal Solo album, Lebanese-American tenor Karim Sulayman... In 'Chalk Talk', the hosts handicap the Grammys for later this month, and they tell you how to put your thumb on the scale for the International Opera Awards... In ‘The Two Minute Drill’, the Prototype Festival gets underway and vandalism strikes Bach’s home town... www.facebook.com/OBSCHI1 www.operaboxscore.com www.wnur.org/popup

Tonight... We go 'Inside the Huddle' with soprano Elyse Kakacek to talk about her new album "Untethered". We’ll also get her take on the highlights and lowlights from Operaland over the past year... And then… It’s the decade in review! We talk about what changes Operaland has gone through during the 2010s, and what we predict will happen in the roaring twenties... Plus... In the 'Two Minute Drill', Paris is on strike, and it turns out classical music impacts climate change...

Wherever you are, however you're listening, however you celebrate the holidays, do it with light, with love and with opera! The OBS-ers are back on Monday December 30 at 9 pm CT for the Best and Worst of 2019 in Operaland... only on WNUR 89.3 FM & HD1 Evanston-Chicago and streaming on wnur.org/popup.

Team OBS bids farewell and good riddance to OBS co-founder and co-host Tobias Wright. They talk with Tobias about his career change, watch with horror as he inducts himself into the OBS Hall of Fame, listen to some of his favorite singers and recap the highlights and lowlights of his own checkered career on the airwaves... Plus, in ‘The Two Minute Drill’, who do you think gets paid more, Peter Gelb at the Met or Dominique Meyer at the Vienna State Opera...? www.facebook.com/OBSCHI1 www.operaboxscore.com www.wnur.org/popup

The OBS lads go ‘Inside the Huddle’ with American mezzo-soprano Annie Rosen, who just finished a run of Philip Glass’ “Akhnaten” at the Metropolitan Opera. They talk to her about performing in HD and why this show is returning to the Met so soon... South Korean conductor Eun Sun Kim was just appointed music director at San Francisco Opera. Hear how she got to SF and what her hire means for the company and for the art form... In ‘The Two Minute Drill’, “Porgy and Bess” is extended at the Met, and Italian tenor Vittorio Grigolo is fired at the Met... www.facebook.com/OBSCHI1 www.operaboxscore.com www.wnur.org/popup

Rapper Kanye West’s opera premiered in Hollywood a few weeks ago. The OBS crew are joined by guest co-host K. F. Jacques to take a closer look into the piece itself and if the harsh critical reception was justified... In ‘The Hometown Team': Lyric Opera of Chicago recently announced that it was getting new seats in its home. The OBS team spitballs about what sort of amenities their dream opera house would have... Then, they go on to make some predictions on the upcoming Grammy awards in the classical music division... In ‘The Two Minute Drill’, a legendary director exits stage right... www.facebook.com/OBSCHI1 www.operaboxscore.com www.wnur.org/popup