[@ 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 Chicago Symphony Orchestra for once...! GET YOUR VOICE HEARD operaboxscore.com facebook.com/obschi1 @operaboxscore IG operaboxscore

[@ 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 Amonasro in "Aida"... [@ 52 min] In the ‘Two Minute Drill’… Voice majors feel seen by Beyoncé... GET YOUR VOICE HEARD operaboxscore.com facebook.com/obschi1 @operaboxscore IG operaboxscore

[@ 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] In the ‘Two Minute Drill’… Malfunctions at the Met lead to making lemonade out of lemons… GET YOUR VOICE HEARD operaboxscore.com facebook.com/obschi1 @operaboxscore IG operaboxscore

[@ 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 back with the "Battle Fatigue" tour... GET YOUR VOICE HEARD operaboxscore.com facebook.com/obschi1 @operaboxscore IG operaboxscore

[@ 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 HEARD operaboxscore.com facebook.com/obschi1 @operaboxscore IG operaboxscore

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 Throw'... GET YOUR VOICE HEARD operaboxscore.com facebook.com/obschi1 @operaboxscore IG operaboxscore

[@ 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 style, albeit for a heroic Verdi tenor... [@ 38 min] In the ‘Two Minute Drill’… It's Season Announcement Season. We’ll unpack the upcoming offerings from the Met, including Christina Nilsson as Aida... operaboxscore.com facebook.com/obschi1 @operaboxscore IG operaboxscore

[@ 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 sing all the way to the guillotine.... GET YOUR VOICE HEARD operaboxscore.com facebook.com/obschi1 @operaboxscore IG operaboxscore

[@ 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', and recap the music of Super Bowl LVIII... [@ 38 min] Plus… Is Sir Punch Slapiot Grabbeber ready to return to the stage? Find out in the Two Minute Drill... operaboxscore.com facebook.com/obschi1 @operaboxscore IG operaboxscore

[@ 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 Early Music... [@ 39 min] Plus, in the ‘Two Minute Drill’… the Grammy winners are in! Did the OBS bump have any effect...? GET YOUR VOICE HEARD operaboxscore.com facebook.com/obschi1 @operaboxscore IG operaboxscore

[@ 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'… you know that meme? The one with the dog in the house on fire saying “This is fine?” Maybe don’t send that one to Peter Gelb right now… GET YOUR VOICE HEARD operaboxscore.com facebook.com/obschi1 @operaboxscore IG operaboxscore

[@ 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 Oliver on Baroque stuff in advance of his debut with Chicago’s MOB… [@ 36 min] In the ‘Two Minute Drill’… Will the English National Opera chorus finally go on strike…? GET YOUR VOICE HEARD operaboxscore.com facebook.com/obschi1 @operaboxscore IG operaboxscore

[@ 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… Jack Swanson’s co-star, the legendary Italian baritone Alessandro Corbelli takes a ‘Free Throw’ on singing Mozart, bel canto buffo parts, and contributes to our Callas100 celebration... [@ 53 min] Plus, in the ‘Two Minute Drill’… We’re still waiting for our check from the estate of Lois Kirschenbaum… GET YOUR VOICE HEARD operaboxscore.com facebook.com/obschi1 @operaboxscore IG operaboxscore

[@ 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 (George)... GET YOUR VOICE HEARD operaboxscore.com facebook.com/obschi1 @operaboxscore IG operaboxscore

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 HEARD operaboxscore.com facebook.com/obschi1 @operaboxscore IG operaboxscore

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…

[@ 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 #Callas100 countdown continues… [@ 37 min] Tributes are flooding in for the late Marlena Malas. We share some with you in the ‘Two Minute Drill’... GET YOUR VOICE HEARD operaboxscore.com facebook.com/obschi1 @operaboxscore IG operaboxscore

[@ 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 course of the year, we'll countdown 'The Callas 100'… [@ 42 min] In the ‘Two Minute Drill’… It’s another climate protest, this time during "Tannhäuser" at the Met... GET YOUR VOICE HEARD operaboxscore.com facebook.com/obschi1 @operaboxscore IG operaboxscore

[@ 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 Amazonas"… [@ 33 min] In the ‘Two Minute Drill’… a British student stumbles upon an old Salieri manuscript thought to be lost. Was it SABOTAGE by Mozart...? operaboxscore.com facebook.com/obschi1 @operaboxscore IG operaboxscore

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 HEARD operaboxscore.com facebook.com/obschi1 @operaboxscore IG operaboxscore