Come join the holiday party with our special guests Royce Vavrek and Jonathan Blalock. We’re out of control as usual, with tons of great information about what’s happening in opera and what to look for next year.

We also use some highfalutin’ words.

• Shibboleth
• Chimera
• Macaronic
• Oneiric
• Diegetic

Show Notes

• “Dog Days”
  • Royce Vavrek, David T. Little, Alan Pearson
  • NPR top recorded albums of the year list
  • National Sawdust and VIA Records
  • Solange
    Beyonce – Lemonade
    A Tribe Called Qwest
    Margo Price
  • Prototype Festival
  • Skirball Theater
  • Lauren Worsham, Marnie Breckenridge, James Bobick, Michael Marcotte, Peter Tantsits, and Cherry Duke
  • L.A. Opera
  • “Mirror, Mirror” aria
• Jonathan Blalock in “Paul’s Case”, Gregory Spears
• “Becoming Santa Claus”
• Bright Sheng’s Festival: The Intimacy of Creativity
  • New York Festival of Song
  • This Is Hong Kong, a book by M. Sasek
  • Shogun
• “Homeless Tom”
  • Br’er Rabbit
• Dorrance Dance: “The Blues Project”
  • Toshi Reagan and The Big Lovely
  • Joyce Theater
  • Sweet Honey in the Rock, a band
  • Bernice Reagan
• “Rent”
• “Falsettos” (The Broadway revival cast)
  • Andrew Rannell’s
  • Stephanie J. Block
  • Christian Borle
  • Tracie Thoms
  • Anthony Rosenthal
  • Brandon Uranowitz
  • Betsey Wolfe
• “Manon Lescaut”
  • Anna Netrebko
  • La Fanciulla del West
  • Turandot
    • Leontyne Price
• The Opera Platform
  • The European opera season online. Every month, discover a new production alongside a range of background material.
  • Opera National de Lyon
  • Arnold Schoenberg
    • “Von Heute Auf Morgen” – comic opera
  • “Le Nozze di Figaro”
• “Un Ballo en Maschera”
• Jerome Bel, The Philosopher of Dance
  • Joyce program – The Show Must Go On
  • MOMA
  • Duchamp
• Public Theater: “Twelfth Night” at The Delacorte
• Donnacha Dennehy
• “Being Alive”
  • Sondheim
  • Raul Esparza’s Bobby in Company – was on netflix (BL)
• “Flight,” an opera by Jonathan Dove
  • Juilliard Opera Theater
  • James Darrah, director
  • Steven Osgood, conductor
  • BLO – Boston Lyric Opera (BL)
• Opera America National Conference
• Opera de Montreal
• “Lillies (Les Feluettes),” a new opera by Kevin March, composer and Michel Marc Bouchard, librettist
  • Directed by Serge Denencourt
  • Jean-Michel Richer, one of the lead singers
• “Moonlight,” a film
  • Naomie Harris
  • Mahershala Ali
• “Keisha,” a film
  • Director/Writer – Trey Edward Schults
• Christine Goerke
  • “Turandot”
  • “Thriller” dance being done by Christine on video (with Bradley Smoak)
  • Marco Berti
  • Bryan Hymel
• “Dr Strange”
• “La La Land”, Best Film winner possibility
• “Arrival”
• “Fences”
• “Elle” by Paul Verhoeven
  • Isabelle Huppert, Best Actress winner possibility
  • The Piano Teacher
  • “Robocop”
• • “Total Recall”
  • “Showgirls”
• “Jackie,” a film
• “Fellow Travelers” Cincinnati Opera premier
  • by Gregory Spears, composer and Greg Pierce, librettist
  • About the “lavender scare”
• Holiday Operas
  • “Silent Night” – Kevin Putts, composer and Mark Campbell, librettist
    • David Blalock
    • Wexford Festival
    • Director – Tomer Zvulun
  • “Amahl and the Night Visitors”
  • “God Bless Us Everyone,” an opera by Thomas Pasatieri, it continues the Christmas Carol story
  • “Little Women” – Mark Adamo
  • “The Long Christmas Dinner” – Paul Hindemith, based on a short play by Thornton Wilder
    • “Mathis der Maler”
    • “Cardillac”
  • “The House Without a Christmas Tree,” composer, Ricky Ian Gordon – librettist, Royce Vavrek
    • is a 1972 television movie, novelized into a children’s book by Gail Rock in 1974
    • Houston Opera is producing it Christmas 2017
  • “It’s a Wonderful Life” a new opera based on the movie, produced by Houston Grand Opera
    • composer, Jake Heggie and librettist, Gene Scheer
    • Joshua Hopkins plays Harry Bailey
    • Talise Trevigne plays Clara, an angel
  • A Quiet Place produced by New York City Opera
  • The Grinch Who Stole Christmas
• Daily Beast article by Jake Heggie
  • San Francisco Opera
  • The Sun Also Rises, a book
• “Breaking the Waves” at Prototype Festival
  • based on the movie by Lars von Trier
  • Opera by composer, Missy Mazzoli and librettist, Royce Vavrek
  • Opera Philadelphia
• “Song from the Uproar”
  • Missy Mazzoli, composer; Royce Vavrek and Missy Mazzoli co-librettists
• “Angel’s Bone” by composer Du Yun and Royce Vavrek
  • Directed by Michael McQuilken
• “JFK,” a new opera at Fort Worth Opera
  • David T. Little, composer; Royce Vavrek, librettist
  • Opera de Montreal
• “Midwestern Gothic” A new musical by Royce Vavrek and Josh Schmidt
  • being produced by Signature Theater in Arlington, VA
  • Catherine Breillat (filmmaker)
  • meets Sam Shepherd
• “Jerry Springer: The Opera”
• Maestro Michael Morgan
  • Oakland Symphony
  • Harold Farberman (Peter’s Mentor)
  • 50th Anniversary of the Black Panthers, a holiday concert
    • Filled with new arrangements of songs:
    • Deck the Halls, What’s Goin On, Stand, Everyday People, Lean On Me
    • Sly and the Family Stone
    • Hallelujah Chorus
    • Sing-a-Long Messiah – Kugelplex, a Klezmer band
  • Pete Seeger
  • Leonard Cohen & Prince
• Loft Opera
  • “Macbeth”
• Experiments in Opera at The Miller Theater, Columbia University
  • “Story Binge”
  • “Sasquatch”: The Opera
    • composed by Faith No More band member, Roddy Bottum
  • “The Captives” by Jason Cady
  • “And Here We Ar”e by Matthew Welch
• “L’Amour de Loin”
  • composer/librettist – Kaija Saariaho
  • directed by Robert Lepage
  • Ethel Smyth’s “Der Wald” in 1903 last opera by a woman composer produced by Metropolitan Opera
• “Proving Up,” a new opera by Missy Mazzoli and Royce Vavrek
  • Tim Tibbetts
  • Carnegie Hall
  • VOX
• Paola Prestini
• Mohammed Fairouz
  • “The New Prince”, a new opera
  • Dutch National Opera
• Ross Crean, a composer
  • “The Great God Pan,” a new opera