Podcasts by He Sang/She Sang
He Sang/She Sang is a new podcast from WQXR for the opera-curious and opera superfans who want to know what all those big voices are really singing about. The podcast follows the radio broadcast season of the Metropolitan Opera with a weekly roundtable chat that discusses the plots, characters, music, productions, social significance and great performances of that week's opera.
Further podcasts by WQXR Radio
Podcast on the topic Musikrezensionen
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Stopping the Clocks With Strauss' 'Der Rosenkavalier' from 2017-05-11T00:00
Richard Strauss'Der Rosenkavalieris an opera about the passage of time — what it means to grow older, what we lose and what we gain as the years pass, and how we know when it's time to ...
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A Nose by Any Other Name: Franco Alfano's 'Cyrano de Bergerac' from 2017-05-03T00:00
According to soprano Jennifer Rowley, there’s a little bit of Cyrano in all of us.
When it comes to pathos, Franco Alfano’s opera based onCyrano de Bergerachits this sentimental s...
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'The Flying Dutchman': Wagner's Eternal Wanderer from 2017-04-26T00:00
For his fourth full opera,The Flying Dutchman, Wagner chose a popular maritime legend as the basis for an eerie and evocative work. In it, we meet an archetypal character that appears t...
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Aida: Verdi's Most Intimate Spectacle from 2017-04-12T00:00
Pharaohs. Mummies. Pyramids. Hieroglyphs. The mystique of ancient Egypt never fades. For more than 2,000 years, Europeans have wondered at her mysteries, and not surprisingly, so did Giuseppe Ve...
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Love and Death in Wagner's 'Tristan und Isolde' from 2017-04-06T00:00
Wagner's Tristan und Isolde is an extraordinary journey through the human psyche, and through the two most powerful forces guiding our lives: love and death. From the opening bars of th...
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Into the Light With Beethoven's 'Fidelio' from 2017-03-29T00:00
Revolutionary times call for revolutionary music, and Beethoven was living in revolutionary times. At the beginning of the 19th century, he quickly became disillusioned by Napoleon Bonaparte — a...
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Fate and Forbidden Love in Mozart's 'Idomeneo' from 2017-03-22T00:00
Idomeneois considered Mozart's first "mature" opera — the first in which he displays his incredible talent as a vocal and dramatic composer. "Mature" also fittingly describes the centra...
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William Tell: Rossini's Grand Finale from 2017-03-14T00:00
Gioachino Rossini was only 37-years-old when he wrote his final opera,William Tell. Although he lived for another 40 years, this epic work would remain a swan song of sorts. The librett...
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La Traviata: Verdi's Timeless Fallen Woman from 2017-03-07T00:00
On this week's episode of He Sang/She Sang, hosts Merrin Lazyan and Julian Fleisher are joined by dramaturg Cori Ellison to discuss Verdi's mythical and timeless masterpiece, La Traviata Listen
Werther: Massenet's Lovelorn Hero from 2017-03-01T00:00
When Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's epistolary novelThe Sorrows of Young Wertherwas published in 1774, it became an overnight sensation. Men wore yellow waistcoats and leather breeches to...
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Nymphs, Witches and Gnomes: The Magic of 'Rusalka' from 2017-02-21T00:00
Antonin Dvorak fell in love with the story ofRusalka as soon as he laid eyes on the libretto, and it was an immediate success when it premiered at the National Theater in Prague in 1901...
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The Madness and Music of 'I Puritani' from 2017-02-14T00:00
On this week's episode of He Sang/She Sang, Merrin Lazyan and Jeff Spurgeon speak with director Sarah Meyers about why, despite its utterly implausible plot, some consider Bellini's I Purita...
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Carmen: Bizet's Famous Femme Fatale from 2017-02-07T00:00
The 1875 premiere of Carmen at the Opera Comique in Paris was met with shocked gasps and raised eyebrows. Both the story and its seductive heroine were shockingly risque for the audience and the...
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Rigoletto: Verdi's Tragic Jester from 2017-01-31T00:00
Even beforeRigoletto's Venice premiere in 1851, Verdi knew that "La donna è mobile" would be a huge hit. He instructed the orchestra members not to whistle or sing the melody, and he ev...
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Humor and High Jinks in Rossini's 'The Barber of Seville' from 2017-01-24T00:00
Despite its disastrous premiere in 1816 — complete with raucous heckling, a bloody nose and a stray cat scampering across the stage — Rossini’sThe Barber of Sevillequickly joined the ra...
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Head Over Heels with Diana Damrau from 2017-01-19T00:00
This week on He Sang/She Sang, we have a special bonus episode! Join us at the Metropolitan Opera for a discussion with soprano Diana Damrau, who is making her role debut as Juliette in Go...
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Romeo And Juliet: All About The Love Duets from 2017-01-17T00:00
This week, the He Sang/She Sang team is joined by WQXR morning show host Jeff Spurgeon to discuss Charles Gounod's Romeo and Juliet. Hear how this opera is really a vehicle for four gor...
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Behind the Scenes and Into the Chorus of Puccini's 'La Bohème' from 2017-01-10T00:00
On this week's episode of He Sang/She Sang, soprano Ailyn Pérez and bass Edward Hanlon discuss one of the best-loved operas in the world, Puccini'sLa Bohème. Join us as we ...
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Nabucco: Verdi's Triumphant Return from 2017-01-03T00:00
Nabuccois the opera that got Verdi back in the game after a long time away from composing, but its premiere almost didn't happen. Hear how it was saved and in an ironic twist of fate, h...
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L'Italiana in Algeri: Rossini's quest for Italy from 2016-12-27T00:00
L'Italiana in Algerimay seem like a classic battle of the sexes story set in North Africa, but it's really all about Italy. At least that's one way to look at it. On this episode of He ...
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Hansel and Gretel: Inside the Gingerbread House from 2016-12-20T00:00
On this week's episode of He Sang/She Sang, hosts Merrin Lazyan and Mike Shobe are joined by WQXR morning host Jeff Spurgeon to discuss Englebert Humperdinck's operaHansel and Gretel. H...
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Behind Salome's Seven Veils: Lust, Murder and Mutilation from 2016-12-13T00:00
On this week's episode of He Sang/She Sang, hosts Merrin Lazyan and Mike Shobe are joined by soprano Patricia Racette and music writer Paul Thomason to discussSalome. Hear how an innoce...
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Up Close with 'L'Amour de Loin' from 2016-12-06T00:00
On this week's episode of He Sang/She Sang, hosts Merrin Lazyan and Mike Shobe get you ready for the new Metropolitan Opera production of L'Amour de Loin. We'll discuss the plot, charac...
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We're a Go for 'Manon Lescaut' from 2016-11-29T00:00
On the premiere episode of the new podcast He Sang/She Sang, hosts Merrin Lazyan and Mike Shobe discuss the plot, characters and music of Puccini'sManon Lescautwith the principle stage ...
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