El podcast de Yuleny Abarca

A seemingly all-powerful sorceress rules over her own island domain.  She enchants not only nature, but also men, who are helpless to resist her charms.  And when she does tire of those besotted men, it’s nothing that a transfiguration from man to animal cannot solve.  However, downfall is imminent when she truly falls in love with one of the ensnared men.  It turns out that this man’s true love is a fearsome warrior woman, whose skills rival those of Charlemagne’s famed paladins.  (Big trouble for Alcina!) This story, like Vivaldi’s Orlando Furioso (Ep. 130), is based on a 16th century epic that is so rich in dramatic detail and power that it has inspired countless works of art in myriad mediums.  Alcina is one of the three (!) operas by Handel based on this source material.  Join Pat and guest co-host Jeff Counts as we meet this enchanting woman and the characters who surround her. Jeff Counts is the general manager of the Grand Teton Music Festival and KHOL’s film critic.

Known to history as “The Scourge of God,” Attila was a rampaging conqueror who famously turned aside from the city of Rome after a meeting with the Pope.  In this version, Attila is also opposed by a vengeful slave, a morally flexible Roman general, and a wily and determined warrior woman.  Historical? Not so much.  But this stunning opera from early-career Verdi, Attila is a work that deserves to be heard and enjoyed, full of exquisite arias, duets, ensembles, choral numbers, and what may be opera’s most expeditious on-stage lead character death. Hosted by Pat with co-host Grant

All hands on deck! This episode of Opera for Everyone dives headlong into a leviathan of 21st-century opera: Jake Heggie’s Moby-Dick (2010). Adapted from Melville’s classic American novel, this seafaring drama is a gripping operatic meditation on obsession, authority, and the power of friendship. With Gene Scheer’s cinematic libretto and Heggie’s muscular score, the opera captures both the immensity of the sea and the intensity of life aboard the Pequod. Joining Pat on this voyage is guest Candice M. Kelsey, educator, poet, and Melville enthusiast, who brings a literary lens to the opera’s adaptation. Batten down the hatches and sail with us into operatic waters where the whale is white, the questions are vast, and the music is epic. For more on Candice Kelsey visit candicemkelseypoet.com  

When an entrenched oligarchy and a cynical revolution go to war with one another, what happens to all the people in the middle?  Some may be victimized, others silenced, and yet others swept up in the churn of events.  In Giacomo Meyerbeer’s Le Prophète, Jean of Leiden finds himself assuming the mantle of prophet and messiah, setting up expectations for himself that he can never fulfil.  This epic French Grand Opera, loosely based on a real historical figure who came to be known as “King of the New Jerusalem,” was a spectacular success.  However, for many reasons, not least of them the jealousy and resentment from composer Richard Wagner, Meyerbeer is not well-known today.  Nevertheless, his works offer many delights, as well as heart-rending drama.  Join host Pat, along with guest co-host Gerald Malone for a close look at Meyerbeer’s Le Prophète. Gerald Malone’s website, TheRestIsOpera.com is brimming with commentary on opera productions that he has seen around the world, as well as “scuttlebutt” about opera from a suspiciously well-informed little dog.

Richard Wagner’s first truly successful opera, set in medieval Rome, sees a young nobleman in love with a young plebeian woman.  While this might sound like it’s going to be an operatic love story, it’s quite a different thing entirely: Grand Opera, Wagner-style.  Based on a controversial and visionary historical figure who became a footnote, but aspired to change the face of history, it has soaring music, but this opera is less concerned with romance than the fortunes of a leader trying to accumulate power in order to bring peace and equality to his people.   Hosted by Pat, Kathleen, and Grant   For more cultural and arts commentary by Kathleen Van De Wille, visit Constructive Criticism on Substack.

Mac the Knife, terror of the London criminal underworld, is a character paradoxically best known to many as the subject of the upbeat, bubbly eponymous 1955, 1959, and 1960 hit single.  However, his fictional roots go much deeper, to a nearly 300-year old opera called The Beggar’s Opera.  From here, Mac’s trail led to 1928’s The Threepenny Opera, by Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill, that is the subject of today’s episode.  Join Pat and guest Maria Coulter for a conversation about this opera, which is as atypical as it was popular. A classically trained soprano, Maria is able to provide special insights, having performed the role of Lucy Brown in 2022.

Can an opera, that most complex of art forms, take you back to childhood?  Unlikely though it might seem, L’Enfant et les Sortilèges (“The Child and the Enchantments”) does just that through the talents of composer Maurice Ravel and writer Colette.  This one-act opera, fantastical though it is, can transport you to all-too-real, seemingly lost memories.  Over the course of the story, our nameless child protagonist wrestles with his powerlessness and power, responsibility and dependence, piteousness and pity.  Join host Pat with Erica Miner, the mystery writer, lecturer and former Met Opera violinist, in celebration of the 150th anniversary of the birth of French composer Maurice Ravel on this episode of Opera for Everyone. For more on Erica Miner, visit ericaminer.com

Which is stronger: the temptations of a shadowy wish-granter, or the love of a virtuous woman?  In The Rake’s Progress, Tom’s true love Anne seeks to save him from himself, seeking to unwind the schemes of the literal devil.  Yet when the dust settles, it is hard to say who has triumphed… Tom is saved, but it is a messy and piteous sort of salvation. In the only full opera composed by Igor Stravinsky, powerful supernatural elements are key to the drama, but the characters–archetypal in many respects–become believable individuals given full life by Stravinsky’s shimmering, evocative, and powerful music. Hosted by Pat and Kathleen For more cultural and arts commentary by Kathleen Van De Wille, visit Constructive Criticism on Substack.

King Arthur stands astride the intersection of history, myth, legend, and politics.  In every age of the history of Britain, he is reinterpreted for new audiences and new purposes.  When composer Henry Purcell and poet-librettist John Dryden set out to write their opera about Arthur, they did so following a century in which England had seen monarchs rise, fall, be beheaded, exiled, returned in triumph, and driven out in disgrace.  King Arthur takes place not in Camelot, but in a world of clashing cultures and ideals.  Arthur finds his Britons beset by Saxon invaders, but after his victory, he is able to lead as both peoples transition from fighting one another, to become a stronger people together. Join us for a close look at this fascinating work or art, and enjoy (in English, of course!) Dryden’s poetry and Purcell’s rich and tuneful music. Hosted by Pat with guest co-host Gerald Malone. Gerald Malone’s website, TheRestIsOpera.com is brimming with commentary on opera productions that he has seen around the world, and “scuttlebutt” about opera from a suspiciously well-informed little dog. Gerald Malone is also the Opera Critic of ReactionLife, a UK-based online current affairs and cultural publication.

It might at first sound like it would be nice to be the lover of the king of the Olympian gods, attended by divine spirits, and living in a luxurious palace among the clouds.  But this happily-ever-after turns sour after Princess Semele asks Jupiter for the gift of immortality.  After a bit of intrigue amongst the gods–not least among them Jupiter’s resourceful and ruthless wife Juno–disaster strikes the princess Semele and her dreams are reduced to ashes. An “English opera” from the later career of Baroque master, George Frideric Handel, Semele teems with engaging arias as well as sumptuous choral pieces. Inspired by a tale told by Ovid, Handel and his librettist, William Congreve crafted a work of art that beguiles and entertains supremely. Hosted by Pat and Kathleen For more cultural and arts commentary by Kathleen Van De Wille, visit Constructive Criticism on Substack.

The young Aida loves the dashing military commander Radamès, and he adores her with a burning passion.Their mutual love is, however, somewhat complicated by the fact that Aida is a slave, enslaved by a princess who is equally smitten with the heroic warrior.  Further complicating matters, Radamès’ military renown is founded on successfully prosecuting a war against Aida’s people.  In this violent clash of the personal and political, Aida triumphs in her quest to be together “ever after” with Radamès, but certainly not in the way they had hoped.  Join us this episode to marvel at the spectacle and scale of Giuseppe Verdi’s enduringly popular epic opera, Aida. Hosted by Pat with guest co-host Gerald Malone. Gerald Malone’s website, TheRestIsOpera.com is brimming with commentary on opera productions that he has seen around the world, and “scuttlebutt” about opera from a suspiciously well-informed canine. Gerald Malone is also the Opera Critic of ReactionLife, a UK-based online current affairs and cultural publication.

If you’re going to have a love triangle, why not have a singing knight, a literal saint, and the Goddess of Love herself?  Come and enjoy the kind of sweeping, romantic, metaphysical yet dramatic opera that could only come from the utterly unrestrained Richard Wagner.  Evil and good, bondage and freedom, power and love clash cataclysmically, and a legendary story is definitively rewritten. Hosted by Pat with guest co-hosts Kathleen and Grant For more cultural and arts commentary by Kathleen Van De Wille, visit Constructive Criticism on Substack.

Once upon a time, there was a heroic knight, the greatest of Charlamagne’s famed paladins, and his name was Orlando (or Roland, depending on whom you ask.)  Among his many heroic deeds and great journeys was this: a quest to a magical isle to abduct the headstrong princess Angelica and steal the ashes of Melin (yes, that Merlin).  As his failure to win Angelica’s heart leads him down the path to madness, we must ask: is there hope for this broken hero after all? Antonio Vivaldi, famed composer of The Four Seasons, is not widely known for his operas, however, he composed between 70 and 100 in his lifetime.  Join us for a discussion of this treasure of Baroque opera. Hosted by Pat and Jeff Counts (General Manager of the Grand Teton Music Festival, and KHOL’s film critic) Grand Teton Music Festival

You’ve never heard the story of Romeo and Juliet told like this! Not even if you have listened to the three previous episodes in which Pat and Kathleen discuss three operas based on the enduring tale of the “star-crossed lovers,” Ep. 120 Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette, Ep. 124 Vaccai’s Giulietta e Romeo, Ep. 126 Bellini’s I Capuleti e i Montecchi.   Hector Berlioz’s Roméo et Juliette is a “dramatic symphony” in which three choirs and three soloists help tell the story of the two iconic lovers, who are themselves voiced by the orchestra.  Please join us for our discussion of this magnificent and unusual work. Hosted by Pat and Kathleen For more cultural and arts commentary by Kathleen Van De Wille, visit Constructive Criticism on Substack.

What can one woman do, when set against the entire world? Quite a lot, if she happens to be the sorceress Medea.  This French Baroque opera written by Marc Antoine Charpentier takes on the ancient tale of Medea’s struggle to find a place for herself in the world of mythic Greece’s heroes and kingdoms, which eventually descends into fire, chaos, and death. Hosted by Pat, with guest host Petria Fossel

Can a young man win a wife through a singing competition?  He just might, if he’s in Richard Wagner’s romantic comedy (yes, you read that right, “Richard Wagner’s romantic comedy,”) Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg.  Young Walter may not be trained in the masters’ techniques, but ultimately his passion wins the hearts of the beautiful Eva, the singing masters, and the people of Nuremberg.  Join Pat and guest co-host Gerald Malone for an in-depth discussion of one of Wagner’s most intriguing operas. Gerald Malone is the Opera Critic of ReactionLife, a UK-based online current affairs and cultural publication.

Ill-fated lovers caught up in a world incapable of supporting love not sanctioned by officialdom… it’s a story for the ages.  Join Pat and Kathleen for their third look at the Romeo and Juliet story in operatic form, I Capuleti e I Montecchi, by bel canto master, Vincenzo Bellini.   If you haven’t already, we invite you to listen to Episode 120 on Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette, and Episode 124 on Nicola Vaccai’s Giulietta e Romeo.   Hosted by Pat and Kathleen For more cultural and arts commentary by Kathleen Van De Wille, visit Constructive Criticism on Substack.

“Seems an opera house is the perfect place for mischief and mayhem,” says the hard-boiled Inspector Cristina as she seeks to unravel the mystery at the heart of Overture to Murder, the meticulously researched third book of Erica Miner’s “Julia Kogan Opera Mystery Series.” Mayhem and mischief are no strangers to the opera house, both on and off-stage.  Join us for a discussion of both Erica’s new book and Giacomo Puccini’s Il Tabarro, a powerful, gritty verismo opera inspired by the dramatic potential of the darker human impulses. For more on Erica Miner, visit ericaminer.com

A great story is one that we are never done with, and there are few stories in human history with as many retellings and reimaginings as the epic tale of Romeo and Juliet.  Nicola Vaccai wrote this 1825 opera based not on the Elizabethan play, but on the source materials from which Shakespeare drew.  Here, the Montagues and Capulets are not merely feuding families, but armies waging war as a part of the titanic power struggles between the Holy Roman Empire and the Papacy that wracked medieval and renaissance Italy.  However, the heart of the story remains the doomed romance between young lovers caught in a maelstrom beyond their control.   This is the second in a (non-contiguous) series in which Pat and Kathleen closely consider the Romeo and Juliet story in opera.  For an episode that presents an operatic take on Shakespeare’s play about these famous lovers, please listen to Opera for Everyone, Episode 120. Hosted by Pat and Kathleen For more cultural and arts commentary by Kathleen Van De Wille, visit Constructive Criticism on Substack.

Trying desperately to return home alive from the Trojan War, King Idomeneo makes a terrible promise to the sea god from the deck of his storm-ravaged ship.  The consequence of his promise is worse than he could imagine, and only after many twists does he achingly find his way to peace.  The emotional depth of the characters of Idomeneo gives Mozart ample opportunity to demonstrate his compositional powers in this, his first fully mature and unquestionably successful opera. Hosted by Pat, with guest co-host Gerald Malone Gerald Malone is the Opera Critic of the UK online current affairs and cultural publication, ReactionLife.

It’s a battle for the fate of the universe as the Dark Side plots, schemes, and fights to gain dominance over the Light Side.  Though this opera predates Mozart’s The Magic Flute by several decades, you may find echoes here of Mozart’s beloved work, as it is also heavily influenced by the ideals of the Enlightenment and the principles of Freemasonry.  Jean-Philippe Rameau was the pre-eminent French composer of his day, and close with thinkers such as Voltaire.  Rameau’s librettist for Zoroastre, Louis de Cahusac, was the secretary for the Grand Master of the Freemasonry’s Grand Lodge in Paris.  Join Pat and Grant for a deep dive into this grand, mythical story’s cosmic stakes and spiritual resonances.

Die Zauberflöte (“The Magic Flute”) is, by any measure, one of the most popular, successful, and well-known operas ever written, delighting adults and children alike.  Yet experiencing Mozart’s The Magic Flute has left countless opera-goers reflecting contentedly on the sumptuous musical feast, but scratching their heads over the plot and characters.  With the help of conductor Ben Manis, Opera for Everyone takes a close look at both Mozart’s musical genius and a narrative journey into a fantastical and dreamlike world.  In this realm of magic and incarnate forces, we try to discover what can be understood, and what must simply be felt and experienced. Hosted by Pat and Conductor Ben Manis

Of all the love stories ever told, none quite compare to the enduring power of Romeo and Juliet. Over four centuries ago, English playwright William Shakespeare crafted a timeless story harnessing both the powers of profound love and deep hatred, and his tale of “star-crossed lovers” has become an inspiration to countless artists.  Two and a half centuries later, French composer Charles Gounod and his librettists took Shakespeare’s play as a starting point, and crafted it into an exquisitely beautiful and heart-rending opera.  Join us for an in-depth discussion of how this story plays out as a French grand opéra. Hosted by Pat and Kathleen For more cultural and arts commentary by Kathleen Van De Wille, visit Constructive Criticism on Substack.

An unscrupulous king pressures a woman to marry him.  She resists, knowing her heart belongs to the man who truly loves her, the chief general in the king’s army. Into this love-triangle, toss in a scheming underling of the king, a sympathetic maid of the woman, a devoted best friend of the general, and you have all the ingredients for a gripping story.  Enhance the whole tale with a magnificent score, and you have a delightful opera, and, in fact, the first fully successful opera by the most prolific composer of the Bel Canto style, Gaetano Donizetti.  Though Donizetti composed 70 operas, only a small number of those are regularly staged these days.  We invite you to meet Zoraida di Granata, and enjoy an early work from a beloved composer. Hosted by Pat and Janet

KHOL in Jackson WY is Opera for Everyone’s home radio station, and Wyoming’s only community radio station.  If you have ever wanted to support Opera for Everyone, please consider supporting KHOL at 891KHOL.org/donate. June 15 marks the beginning of KHOL’s summer membership drive. Thank you everyone!

“The course of true love never did run smooth.”  Shakespeare’s iconic "A Midsummer Night’s Dream" gives us some of the Bard’s most memorable (and ridiculous) characters and situations.  Benjamin Britten, together with his partner Peter Pears, so appreciated the merits of Shakespeare’s play that they faithfully adapted the script into a libretto for Britten’s 1960 opera of the same name. The good-natured story shifts among fairy and human characters and their antics on a midsummer night.  Observing the chaos, Puck, puckish henchman to the fairy king, exclaims, “Lord, what fools these mortals be!” True enough, but there’s plenty of entertaining foolishness here from mortals and fairies alike. And, after all, doesn’t love make fools of us all? Hosted by Pat and Kathleen For more cultural and arts commentary by Kathleen Van De Wille, visit Constructive Criticism on Substack.  

Was it only a dream? Baroque composer Henry Purcell was on his way to establishing a national operatic tradition based on the dramatic and musical traditions of the English, when, alas, his life was cut short after just 36 years.  Join us as we explore Purcell’s musically and emotionally rich “The Fairy Queen,” a delightful twist on the Bard’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” Shakespeare was content to end his tale with ambiguity, and so must we content ourselves with what Purcell has given us, and not indulge in the fantasy of what might have been had he enjoyed additional years composing. Hosted by Pat and Kathleen For more cultural and arts commentary by Kathleen Van De Wille, visit Constructive Criticism on Substack.

Where passion joins with music and poetry we find opera. In this sweet spot, we also find What We Need Is Here, the most recent project by accomplished musician and singer, Lisa Reagan. Lisa joins us to talk about creating an album of songs for classic poems that have been meaningful to her life. Lisa Reagan spent twenty years singing with the Washington National Opera and her first performance there was in Verdi’s La Forza del Destino, an opera of epic scope and dramatic extremes. Join Pat, Kathleen and Lisa for a close look at this powerful opera and the varieties of human experience it explores. Hosted by Pat and Kathleen, with special guest Lisa Reagan For more on Lisa Reagan and her album What We Need Is Here, visit lisareagan.com For more cultural and arts commentary by Kathleen Van De Wille, visit Constructive Criticism on Substack.

Two things never go out of fashion: opera and mystery.  In this episode, mystery writer and former opera violinist Erica Miner talks with us about her opera mystery series and Lulu, Berg’s high-body-count melodrama.  Lulu, which features prominently in Erica’s new novel, centers on a beautiful young woman whose admirers descend into obsession.  Join us for a fascinating discussion of the nuts and bolts of opera, how it has informed Erica’s writings, and a close look at Berg’s masterpiece. Erica Miner is the author of Prelude to Murder, the second book in the Julia Kogan Opera Mystery Series.  For more on Erica, visit ericaminer.com

In Amahl and the Night Visitors, a young boy and his mother unexpectedly play host to the Magi on their way to meet the infant Jesus.  Originally written for television, this opera uniquely bridges the ancient and modern in a heartfelt exploration of the meaning of hospitality. In the second half of this episode, we are joined by Grant to talk about the role of Epiphany in the Christmas story, and enjoy some of the more beloved songs associated with the timeless story of the Magi. Hosted by Pat and Kathleen. For more cultural and arts commentary by Kathleen Van De Wille, visit Constructive Criticism on Substack.

By turns funny, serious, and seriously funny, L’Italiana in Algeri is a fascinating assembly of romantic tropes: a spurned wife, a shipwrecked lover, a pirate king, and a daring escape.  At the same time, it deals with serious themes of agency, power, and silence.  Set in a world that is both alien and familiar, this opera has something to say to all of us. Guest co-host Emily Cohen, executive director of Opera For Everyone’s home station KHOL, joins us for an opera in which she once performed!

“The face that launched a thousand ships.” Helen of Troy, the most beautiful woman in the world, has a problem.  Her husband plans to kill her, but she just wants him to fall in love with her again.  She may just need a miracle to pull it off, but if anyone can do it, she can.  Richard Strauss and Hugo von Hofmannsthal aimed for a light and comic operetta with Die Ägyptische Helena, but delivered a profound and dramatic work of art about the road to repairing broken relationships. Hosted by Pat, Kathleen, and Grant For more cultural and arts commentary by Kathleen Van De Wille, visit Constructive Criticism on Substack.

One of the top ten most-performed operas in the world, Puccini’s Tosca is considered by some the greatest of operas.  A painter provides refuge for an escaped political prisoner, which begins a chain of events that starts with petty jealousy and ends in a death leap.  Things spiral further and further out of control in this epic confrontation of tyranny and passion, set in the tempestuous era of the Napoleonic Wars.  Join Pat and Greg for an in-depth discussion of the story and the power of this masterpiece.

Richard Wagner’s style is one of the most distinctive and recognizable in all of opera.  But Wagner wasn’t always the Wagner we’ve come to know. The earliest of Wagner’s operas to be performed in his lifetime was an adaptation of Shakespeare’s Measure for Measure,  Das Liebesverbot, where he is still developing his craft and working on his relationship to German opera.  The result is an opera which does not shy away from Italian styles. It even makes the villain of the piece the one German character among a multitude of Italians bumping up against the moral codes of their city, Palermo, Sicily!  Discover this infrequently performed opera with us, learning about how Wagner became Wagner… and experiencing a lively story of the conflict between personal morality and the enforcement of communal rules.  Hosted by Pat and Kathleen For more cultural and arts commentary by Kathleen Van De Wille, visit Constructive Criticism on Substack.

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At once a sweeping story about humanity and a deeply personal look at a married couple with unfulfilled aspirations, Die Frau Ohne Schatten is often considered the magnum opus of the famed partnership between composer Richard Strauss and librettist Hugo von Hofmannsthal.  Moving between lofty, other-worldly, and gritty settings, this opera simultaneously puzzles and inspires audiences.  Being human, this opera tells us, is a messy business, but ultimately, the greatest pursuit and prize in all creation. Hosted by Pat and Kathleen For more cultural and arts commentary by Kathleen Van De Wille, visit Constructive Criticism on Substack.

One of history’s most infamous women, Lucrezia Borgia has inspired artists, dramatists, and TV show writers for centuries.  Donizetti’s opera follows the play by Victor Hugo, telling of Lucrezia’s effort to find the kind of love that might change her life.  However, it isn’t easy being a powerful woman in Renaissance Italy.  Gaetano Donizetti, a prolific composer in the Bel Canto style, gives us an opera with a fascinating story, and, of course, “beautiful singing.” Hosted by Pat, Kathleen, and Grant For more cultural and arts commentary by Kathleen Van De Wille, visit Constructive Criticism on Substack.

“Double, double toil and trouble.”  Composer Giuseppi Verdi enthusiastically declared that Shakespeare’s Macbeth “is one of the greatest creations of man!”  Harnessing this passionate admiration, he went on to craft the first of his three completed operas based on Shakespeare plays.  Verdi’s Macbeth is full of powerful choral pieces, arias from a royal couple lurching toward self-destruction, and Verdi’s own personal vision of a people yearning to free themselves from despotic oppression.  In the end, Macbeth concludes that life is “a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing,” but to Verdi, the tyrant’s downfall brings soaring triumph to a suffering people, and perhaps something closer to self-determination. Hosted by Pat & Kathleen Van De Wille  For more cultural and arts commentary by Kathleen Van De Wille, visit Constructive Criticism on Substack.

One of the world’s most formidable generals and one of history’s most beguiling politicians are joined by two frustrated young men and an irresistible widow in Handel’s Baroque masterpiece, Giulio Cesare in Egitto.  Join Pat, Kathleen, and Grant for a journey through history, literature, and myth in exploring the influences and meaning of this enduring opera.   For more cultural and arts commentary by Kathleen Van De Wille, visit Constructive Criticism on Substack.

One of the world’s most beloved operas, Mozart’s  Le Nozze di Figaro, is not only the focus of this episode, but also the inspiration for Elly Uncomposed: A Novel Opera, a magical realist novel by author and retired opera singer, Valerie Niemerg.  Like the opera Figaro, some truly serious and important topics are addressed in Elly Uncomposed, but with a charmingly comical touch. Join Valerie and Pat for a wide-ranging conversation about her delightful book, stories about her time in professional opera, and an exploration of Le Nozze di Figaro.

A people yearns for freedom.  The power of their prayers, set to Verdi’s incomparable music, have stirred audiences ever since the première of Nabucco in 1842.  The impact of this opera may relate to Verdi’s own struggle to overcome personal tragedies preceding the composition the music.  It also resonates with the passions of the Italian people of his day, and their desire to free themselves from foreign domination.  Drawing inspiration from scripture, Verdi and his librettist created an opera that tells a timeless story, and gave Italians one of their great anthems, Va pensiero. Hosted by Pat and Grant

Handel’s beloved Messiah, known for its thrilling Hallelujah Chorus, is a long-standing favorite during the Christmas season.  Neither an opera, nor Christmas music, this English-language oratorio was composed for the Easter Season and premièred in Dublin in 1842.  The magnificent text was crafted from the King James Bible by Handel’s friend, Charles Jennens.  Join Pat and Grant for their newly remastered conversation about this enduring Baroque masterpiece.  

Have you ever asked what might be going on backstage at an opera house?  Or wondered about what secrets hide behind those glittering stages?  Drawing on 21 years as a violinist in the Metropolitan Opera, Erica Miner guides her readers through a dramatized version of the opera world in her mystery novel, Aria for Murder, the first in the “Julia Kogan Opera Mystery” series. Join Pat for a conversation with Erica about her experiences in professional opera and the work of crafting them into thrilling works of fiction. Find Erica at: ericaminer.com

Glittering and gloriously tuneful, Die Fledermaus (“The Bat”) is the most enduring operetta of Vienna’s famous “Waltz King,” Johann Strauss II.  Its plot features revenge, infidelity, disguised identities, and a glamorous ball at its center, given by a wealthy host who requires his guests to keep the party lively.  Toasting “King Champagne,” the characters of this “spirited” operetta recognize the royalty of sparkling wine: the beverage that motivates, infuriates, and ultimately exonerates them.    Hosted by Pat and Rosie (www.rosiebrooks.com)  

Masks, both literal and figurative, abound in Verdi’s Un Ballo in Maschera, “A Masked Ball.”  Conspirators feign support of a leader they despise.  A noblewoman must veil both her face and her feelings from her husband.  The governor must put on a disguise to understand his subjects, and his beloved.  The governor’s chief councilor dons a mask to take murderous revenge on him for an imagined betrayal.  Even the setting itself, colonial Boston, is a thin disguise for the original setting, Sweden under Gustav III.   Hosted by Pat and guest co-host Michael Severance, long-serving bassoonist and contrabassoonist with the San Francisco Opera Orchestra.

A beloved king becomes reviled by his family and his people as previously hidden dark deeds come to light.  A young woman loses her innocence and freedom through the machinations of the lord of the underworld.  The timeless ancient Greek stories of King Oedipus and Persephone captured the imagination of Igor Stravinsky, a composer unafraid to present drama in new and unexpected formats.  Join Opera for Everyone as we explore the characters, and the powerful music of these two short operas. Hosted by Pat and Kathleen Van De Wille

There is no secular story nearly so important to the Western tradition as the Odyssey, a timeless tale of heroism, achievement, and loss.  The subject matter of this epic poem has found its way into many works of art, and likely the earliest opera adaptation was Monteverdi’s Il Ritorno d’Ulisse in Patria, first performed in 1639 in the city of Venice.  Monteverdi’s opera tells one of the oldest remembered human stories through the new form of art of which he was one of the pioneers, the opera.  His reimaginings of Greek myth often fused Christian and pagan elements into a beautiful and complex melange, and this is no exception.  At once philosophical and lyrical, Il Ritorno d’Ulisse in Patria comes to us from a very different time from our own, but continues to thrill through its inventiveness and beauty. Hosted by Pat and Grant

We all know that feeling when we want to marry one rebel leader, but our father wants us to marry the chief rebel leader, but then one day a wandering king disguised as a huntsman starts chatting us up on the moors. With this timeless and relatable set-up (based on a poem by Sir Walter Scott that is credited with starting the Scottish Romantic movement) Rossini crafts an opera that blends romance and political intrigue.  Featuring a druid chorus, a major character unceremoniously killed offstage, and an unexpectedly happy ending, La Donna del Lago (“The Lady of the Lake”) is a wonderful example not only of Rossini's beautiful music, but also of Sir Walter Scott's seldom-read masterpiece. Hosted by Pat Wright and Kathleen van de Wille For more of Kathleen's musings on the power and possibilities of story, read and subscribe to Constructive Criticism on Substack.  (Discussed at 1:44:01 on this podcast.)

Meet Maestro Joseph Rescigno–gentleman, author, and opera conductor extraordinaire.  The Maestro joins OFE for this wide-ranging discussion of the how, what, and why of conducting opera.  Drawing on material from his book, Conducting Opera: Where Theater Meets Music, and a lifetime of conducting opera around the world, Maestro Rescigno brings a unique perspective to the theory and practice of operatic composition and performance.  In the second half, we explore Richard Strauss’ unusual and fascinating Ariadne auf Naxos, which hybridizes myth and psychodrama, opera and commedia dell'arte.  Hosted by Pat