Opera For Everyone

I am an opera fan without having the benefit of seeing many of them in person. After the pandemic restrictions were eased, I started trying out new things to find out what I was missing. My first opera was Othello. I became hooked and determined to see as many as I could. I am so glad this podcast exists. It helps if there is an explanation for the story and now, before I attend a performance, I listen to this program or, if I find one that I am potentially interested in, I will listen just to find out if it is something that I would like to see. The narratives are very interesting and easy to understand. Thanks for sharing your experience and knowledge.

As a life long opera fan, I don’t really find this podcast accessible and wouldn’t recommend it to a neophyte. Aria Code is a much more accessible intro to opera. The sound quality is not great and the discussions the hosts and guests get into are often pedantic. They get sidetracked too often and go on tangents where they make guesses about the backstory, music, and history—I often fast forward through their ditsy conversations and just listen to the music. The dynamic of the hosts in the early episodes is tiresome: one of them is ignorant about opera and history and Pat corrects her in a stuck up, condescending, and overly verbose way. They don’t give enough credit to the performers whose recordings are used throughout. I wouldn’t share it with a friend who wants to get into opera because the episodes are so long, but it’s great to have in the background while doing something else—as long as my phone is close by so I can fast forward when the talking gets tedious.

What a joy this podcast is. Psyched to get it when new ones become available. Grateful for the effort!

I bet you have the opera Ruddigore (The Witch’s Curse) on this