January 11, 2024

It’s been nearly a year since The Embrace literally changed the landscape of Boston and challenged all of us to think about the purpose of public art. Now that we’ve moved on from the immediate reaction to this towering tribute to the Kings, what is The Embrace a commitment to and how is it shaping Boston beyond Boston Common? Imari Paris Jeffries, President and CEO of Embrace Boston joins me. From there, should opera be burdened with the reputation of being elite, arcane and unapproachable? After all, it is an ancestor of a very common genre of entertainment: the soap opera. And how does our relationship to opera in America compare to other countries? Are the latest local innovations and contemporary productions opening up the form? Dramatic soprano Jane Eaglen joins us for that. Finally, on Martin Luther King Day at the Peabody Essex Museum, something we like talking about this week: admission is …free.