Podcast appearances and mentions of aria code

Carmen is maybe the most famous heroine in all of opera. She's a woman of Romani descent living in 19th century Spain, sensual and self-confident, aware of the power she wields over men — and she enjoys it. In her signature aria, popularly known as the “Habanera,” she describes herself as a bird who can't be captured. True to her own word, Carmen — and what she represents — is hard to pin down.  When “Carmen” premiered in Paris in 1875, it was deemed wildly immoral. Carmen becomes intrigued by a soldier, Don José, who initially pays her no attention. She seduces him, Don José abandons his fiancée to run away with her, and one thing leads to another (this is opera, after all) — he winds up murdering Carmen in a fit of jealous rage. One interpretation is that this is the story of a man giving into temptation and meeting his downfall. A more modern view would position Carmen as a proto-feminist. She's a woman who refuses to be controlled, and that puts her life in danger.But perhaps Carmen's greatest irony is that she is both a complex character and a full-blown stereotype of Romani women. In this episode, host Rhiannon Giddens and guests unpack the myth and the magic of Georges Bizet's "Carmen," and Clémentine Margaine brings it home with a performance of “L'amour est un oiseau rebelle” from the Met stage.THE GUESTSFrench mezzo-soprano Clémentine Margaine first performed in “Carmen” as a member of the children's chorus. Shortly after graduating from the Paris Conservatory, she joined the ensemble of the Deutsche Oper Berlin, where she sang her first performances in the title role. Since then, she's performed Carmen at opera houses all over the world. Susan McClary is a pioneer in feminist music criticism. She's a musicologist at Case Western Reserve University whose research focuses on the cultural analysis of music, both the European canon and contemporary popular genres. She's authored 11 books, including "Feminine Endings: Music, Gender, and Sexuality" and the Cambridge Opera Handbook on “Carmen.”Ionida Costache is an assistant professor of ethnomusicology and an affiliate of the Center for Comparative Studies in Race and Ethnicity at Stanford University. She is of Romani-Roma descent, and her work explores the legacies of historical trauma inscribed in Romani music, sound, and art. Her family likes to pass on the story of the time her great-grandfather performed the cimbalom for Theodore Roosevelt at the 1939 New York World's Fair. Rosamaria Kostic Cisneros wears many hats. She is a professional dancer, dance historian and critic, Romani studies scholar, Flamenco historian, as well as a sociologist, curator and peace activist. A research-artist at Coventry University's Centre for Dance Research, she works to bring arts and culture to vulnerable groups. She was introduced to flamenco by her Spanish-Roma mother during their frequent trips to Seville.

When the Voyager spacecraft set off to explore the galaxy in 1977, it carried a recording to represent the best of humanity. The “Golden Record” featured everyone from Bach to Chuck Berry, but there was only one opera aria: the rage-fest and coloratura masterpiece from Mozart's “The Magic Flute.”As Kathryn Lewek reprises her role as Queen of the Night in this season's holiday presentation of “The Magic Flute” at The Metropolitan Opera, we're revisiting this episode. Host Rhiannon Giddens and her guests consider why the Queen of the Night's big moment – “Der Hölle Rache” – is an out-of-this-world achievement, how Mozart created a profound fairy tale for adults and what it takes for a soprano to reach the stratosphere. You'll witness Kathryn Lewek hit all those high notes onstage at the Met Opera and hear from Timothy Ferris, the man who produced NASA's “Golden Record.”The GuestsSoprano Kathryn Lewek describes singing “Der Hölle Rache” as throwing darts with your eyes closed. But after performing the part more than 200 times, she certainly knows how to hit the bullseye.Harvard University professor Carolyn Abbate once took her son to see The Magic Flute and he declared it to be “bad, but not in the way I expected it to be bad.” Her latest book is A History of Opera: The Last Four Hundred Years.Composer and author Jan Swafford was a graduate student when he spent his last $50 to buy a copy of The Magic Flute and immediately regretted it: He hated the opera. To say he's warmed to Mozart over the years would be a wild understatement.Timothy Ferris produced the Golden Record that went up with NASA's Voyager space probes in 1977. It was the only record he ever produced, but he's written many books including Coming of Age in the Milky Way, which was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize.

It's the early 1900s, and the steamship El Dorado makes its way along the Amazon River towards Manaus, a city in the heart of the Brazilian rainforest. Onboard is the world-famous opera singer Florencia Grimaldi. She's got a gig at the opera house in Manaus, but that's just a cover. She's actually hoping for a reunion with her long-lost love, the butterfly catcher Cristóbal.But on the journey, Florencia learns that Cristóbal went missing in the rainforest while in pursuit of a rare butterfly. From the deck of the ship — and now in quarantine due to a cholera outbreak — she delivers her final aria, calling out to him, the river and the rainforest that surround her: “Escúchame.” Hear me, listen to me. “From you my song was born,” she affirms — and in embracing her love for him, she is released and reborn.Daniel Catán's lush and lyrical score has become a staple of contemporary operas, and its staging marks the Metropolitan Opera's first Spanish-language production in nearly 100 years. In this episode, host Rhiannon Giddens and her guests take us on a journey through natural wonder, transcendent love, and self-discovery.THE GUESTS Soprano Ailyn Pérez makes her Metropolitan Opera debut in her native language of Spanish as Florencia Grimaldi. She identifies with Florencia and the sacrifices that are sometimes necessary to pursue an artistic career.Andrea Puente-Catán is a harpist, director of development at Ballet Hispánico, and the widow of “Florencia” composer Daniel Catán. She met Catán when she was 17 years old. Decades later, playing harp in that opera's production at Palacia de Bellas Artes brought them back together.  Author, filmmaker, and fearless traveler Alycin Hayes knows a thing or two about Amazonian adventures. When she was 21, she hitchhiked from her home in Canada to South America, where she met up with other roving internationals to paddle along the Amazon River in a dugout canoe.Paul Rosolie is conservationist, writer, and wildlife filmmaker whose memoir “Mother of God” details his extensive work in the Amazon. He's the founder and field director of Junglekeepers, a conservation outfit based in Peru, and he joins the show via a remote interview taped in the jungle.

Malcolm X led many lives within his 39 years: as a bereaved but precocious child; as an imprisoned convict; as a firebrand spokesperson for the Nation of Islam and Black nationalism; and ultimately as one of the most pivotal figures of the Civil Rights movement. Today, he continues to inspire passion and controversy, his legacy as nuanced as the man himself.Anthony Davis's opera “X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X” seeks to gather Malcolm X's many identities and hold them together in the way only an artistic work can. When the piece was premiered by New York City Opera in 1986, it broke ground not just for its unique melding of jazz and blues idioms with contemporary classical traditions, but also for the choice made by Davis and his cousin, the librettist Thulani Davis, to situate recent history on the operatic stage.It turns out that a life as dramatic and urgent as Malcolm X's is ripe for opera. In the aria “You Want The Story, But You Don't Want To Know,” Anthony and Thulani Davis take the occasion of a police interrogation to let Malcolm X's character reflect on the tragedies and injustices that have shaped his life up to that moment — and, in his refusal to deliver “easier” narratives, to presage the often tumultuous search for truth and righteousness that would direct his life in years to come. Host Rhiannon Giddens and her guests explore the drama and the passion of Malcolm X's life and its inherent musicality upon the Metropolitan Opera's premiere of this modern classic.THE GUESTSIt may have taken nearly forty years for composer Anthony Davis to see the Metropolitan Opera stage “X,” but he's kept himself busy in the interim. This prolific composer, which The New York Times described as “the dean of African-American opera composers,” is also known for “Amistad,” “Wakonda's Dream,” and “The Central Park Five,” the latter of which won him a Pulitzer Prize in 2020. If anyone was born to be a musician, it's Davis: People tell him that the first time he played the piano was as a baby sitting in the lap of jazz pianist Billy Taylor.   Grammy Award-winning baritone Will Liverman was described by The Washington Post as a “voice for this historic moment.” Portraying Malcolm X in the Metropolitan Opera's production of “X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X” is only his most recent artistic triumph. Others include his breakout performance as Charles in Terence Blanchard's “Fire Shut Up In My Bones” and the premiere of “The Factotum,” an opera he both starred in and co-created. His hope for “X” is to help “kill some of the preconceived notions about who Malcolm X was and find the humanity in him.”Zaheer Ali is the executive director of the Hutchins Institute for Social Justice at the Lawrenceville School and something of a Malcolm X expert (a Malcolm X-pert?). He served as the project manager of the Malcolm X Project at Columbia University and his work on the Civil Rights icon has been featured in documentaries like Netflix's “Who Killed Malcolm X?” and CNN's “Witnessed: The Assassination of Malcolm X.” He traces his fascination with Malcolm X back to an assignment given by his eleventh-grade English teacher.

If a loved one were to die, how far would you be willing to go to bring them back? Orpheus, the ancient Greek musician, goes to hell and back to have the love of his life, Eurydice, by his side again. The gods cut a deal with Orpheus: he can bring his love back from hell, but all throughout the journey, she has to follow behind him and he is not allowed to look back at her. Unable to resist, he turns to see her,  and the gods take her for a second time. In a moment of overwhelming grief, Orpheus asks, “What will I do without Eurydice?” Ahead of this season's production of "Orfeo ed Euridice" by the Metropolitan Opera, we're revisiting this episode, in which host Rhiannon Giddens and her guests reflect on Christoph Gluck's operatic adaptation of the Orpheus myth and the all-encompassing nature of both grief and love. At the end of the show, mezzo-soprano Jamie Barton sings “Che farò senza Euridice?” from the Metropolitan Opera stage.The GuestsMezzo-soprano Jamie Barton grew up in a musical family, with days full of bluegrass, classic rock, and music history quizzes about the Beatles. In her role debut as Orfeo, she searches for this hero's vulnerability, dramatically and vocally, and figures out how to embody a version of this character that's modeled on Johnny Cash. Author Ann Patchett stumbled upon her love for opera while writing her book “Bel Canto.” But the Orpheus myth has been part of her life — and has influenced her writing — for a lot longer.  She's fairly certain that she would travel to the depths of hell to save her husband of 29 years. Jim Walter lost his wife to cancer in 2015. He cared for her through some very difficult years, and kept hope alive even when things looked hopeless. He says that nowadays his grief usually isn't as immediate and gut-punching as it once was, but he is still sometimes overcome with sadness at unexpected moments.

“L'Elisir d'Amore” — “The Elixir of Love” — is what's known as an opera buffa, or comic opera. That means that we're in for a happy ending.But Donizetti knows that the payoff is only earned through the suffering of his protagonists. In one pivotal moment, our hero Nemorino glimpses his beloved shedding a single tear — and he concludes (crazily, but correctly) that it can only mean that she loves him back. The aria Nemorino delivers here — one of the most famous in the history of opera — expresses the singular moment when the agony of unrequited love shifts to the certainty of a blissful future.In this episode, host Rhiannon Giddens and her guests unpack the potential for heartbreak that lies within every happy ending and why Donizetti might be one of the most underrated opera composers. Tenor Matthew Polenzani brings it home with a rendition of “Una furtiva lagrima” from the Met stage.THE GUESTSOver the course of a career spanning more than 30 years, tenor Matthew Polenzani has sung the role of Nemorino on opera stages all over the world. He has a family of barbershop quartet singers to thank for his introduction to music.Fred Plotkin is the author of “Opera 101: A Complete Guide to Learning and Loving Opera.” As a proud Donizetti fanboy, he believes that the psychological insight Donizetti brings to his characters is nearly unmatched in the work of other composers.When she's not teaching French at St. Mary's College of Maryland, Laine Doggett is brushing up on her medieval lore. As the author of “Love Cures: Healing and Magic in Old French Romance,” she knows a thing or two about magical elixirs.Judith Fetterley is a former professor, master gardener, and writer. She's got a love story of her own that involves elixirs. You might have read it in the New York Times' “Modern Love” column under the title, Was She Just Another Nicely Packaged Pain Delivery System?

What does redemption mean to a man sentenced to death? Is capital punishment justice or vengeance? Could anyone ever forgive a murderer?These are just some of the questions behind the true story of the nun who became a spiritual adviser to men on death row at the Louisiana State Penitentiary. Dead Man Walking was first a 1993 memoir by the Catholic nun and fervent death penalty abolitionist Sister Helen Prejean; later, it was adapted into an Oscar-winning movie. Sister Helen's story inspired a national conversation around the death penalty — and the opera duo Jake Heggie and Terrence McNally. Their adaptation of Sister Helen's story has become one of the most celebrated operas of the 21st century, and, with the last federal execution taking place as recently as 2021, feels as timely as ever.In her aria “This Journey,” Sister Helen's character reflects on her religious calling as she makes her way to the Angola prison for the first time. In this episode, host Rhiannon Giddens and her guests take us deeper into the true story that inspired the opera and the experiences that continue to inform Sister Helen Prejean's ministry.The GuestsThe Metropolitan Opera's 2023 production of Dead Man Walking marks the fifth time mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato has sung the role of Sister Helen. She describes the role as one that's impossible to emerge from without feeling changed. Having embodied Sister Helen so many times, DiDonato feels “much less comfortable turning a blind eye to things.”American composer Jake Heggie is best known for Dead Man Walking, the most widely performed new opera of the last 20 years. In addition to 10 other full-length operas and numerous one-acts, Heggie has composed more than 300 art songs, as well as concerti, chamber music, choral, and orchestral works. When librettist Terrence McNally proposed adapting Dead Man Walking into an opera, Heggie's “hair stood on end” and he immediately “felt and heard music.”Sister Helen Prejean is a Roman Catholic nun, the author of the memoir Dead Man Walking, and a leading voice in the effort to abolish the death penalty. She's served as a spiritual counselor to numerous convicted inmates on Death Row as well as to families of murder victims and survivors of violent crimes. Despite her wisdom, Sister Helen claims to know “boo-scat” about opera.

At last! After much anticipation, Aria Code returns! We're guiding listeners through highlights from the Metropolitan Opera's 2023-2024 season, pairing beloved classics with investigations into modern masterpieces. So get ready for a night at the opera — from the comfort of your own home. (Or wherever!) Arias from the likes of Jake Heggie's Dead Man Walking and Anthony Davis's X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X will tackle some of the most complex social and ethical questions head-on, while classics like Bizet's Carmen and Gounod's Roméo et Juliette plunge us into the thick of opera's favorite themes of desire, love, and longing. Hosted by Grammy Award-winner, MacArthur “Genius” Fellow, and (most recently) Pulitzer Prize-winning musician Rhiannon Giddens, each episode features a signature combination of music and riveting storytelling, paired with Met Opera performances by world-renowned opera stars, including Joyce DiDonato, Matthew Polenzani, Will Liverman, Clémentine Margaine, Diana Damrau, and Ailyn Pérez.    Aria Code is produced by WQXR in partnership with The Metropolitan Opera. This season, we'll be releasing episodes on a biweekly basis, starting October 4.

I've long been fascinated by automatons – wind up mechanical beings that create the illusion of life. People have been making automatons for centuries, but how many automatons get to sing opera? This week's episode comes from the podcast Aria Code from WQXR, WNYC Studios and The Metropolitan Opera. The show breaks down famous arias and looks at the meaning behind them. Host Rhiannon Giddens, along with Soprano Erin Morley, conductor Johannes Debus, machine learning researcher Caroline Sinders, and psychologist Robert Epstein explore Jacques Offenbach's 1881 opera The Tales of Hoffmann and how its automated character Olympia echoes current day concerns about A.I. technology. This episode is sponsored by Nord VPN. Exclusive deal -- grab the NordVPN deal at https://nordvpn.com/imaginaryworlds. Try it risk-free now with a 30-day money-back guarantee! Our ad partner is Multitude. If you're interested in advertising on Imaginary Worlds, you can contact them here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Why are truffles (not the chocolate kind) such a delicacy? Maybe it's because they remind us of ourselves. We'll let one of our longtime favourite podcasts, Planet Money, explain. They followed the king of the New York truffle-selling scene on his routine quest to sell $20,000 worth of truffles in a day. The stakes are high: run out of time, and the truffles start to lose their value. This episode we turn to Planet Money and more of our old reliable faves for some enlightening stories. No doubt you've seen some of your favourite books become movies. But what about the best-sellers that started out on the screen? Meet the authors who built careers writing movie novelizations. Then, it can be hard to balance cultural and family expectations with your own needs. Code Switch helps a listener learn to set boundaries with their immigrant parents. Those and more great stories this week on the show. Featuring: Planet Money, On The Media, Code Switch, Aria Code, True Dating Stories For more information on the podcasts on today's show, visit http://cbc.ca/podcastplaylist.

Rhiannon Giddens, virtuoso banjo player, singer-songwriter, Grammy winner, MacArthur "Genius" Grant recipient and keeper of the flame of African-American roots music, will be among the featured performers at this year's Ojai Music Festival, coming Sept. 16-19, under the musical direction of John Adams. We talked with Giddens from her home in Dublin, where she and her partner, Francesco Turrissi, now live. It will be her first trip to Ojai, though she's inadvertently hit on an Ojai theme with her popular "Aria Code" podcast, in which she contrasts an aria from Stravinsky's "Rake's Progress" with Vivian Liberto Cash's imagined lament at the absence of her husband, Johnny Cash, while she holds down the fort in Casitas Springs. Giddens will perform a mix of her own music, as well as modernist masterpieces by Adams and Mozart. Giddens, who will be featured on the cover of the Fall 2021 issue of Ojai Quarterly, first came to prominence with the Carolina Chocolate Drops, reviving the once-ubiquitous and now nearly forgotten Black string band, as well as for her acting chops on "Nashville." She holds an important place in the folk music scene as a chronicler and interpreter of the vital tradition of roots music. For more information, check out the 2021 Ojai Music Festival program or read the fascinating article by John Jeremiah Sullivan in the May 13, 2019 issue of the New Yorker. https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2019/05/20/rhiannon-giddens-and-what-folk-music-means https://www.ojaifestival.org/2021-festival-schedule/

Man up the music around the house with the Irish & Celtic Music Podcast. Subscribe to get 34 Celtic MP3s for Free! Brad Reid, Flook, ÚLLA, John Mcgaha, Emma Langford, The Gothard Sisters, Old Man Flanagan's Ghost, The Darkeyed Musician & Grimwater, Duncan McLauchlan and Glaucia Carvalho, No Murder No Moustache, Count Beetle, Camin de Fierro Pipe Band, Tuatha de Danann, The Badpiper I hope you enjoyed this week's show. If you did, please share the show on social or with a friend. The Irish & Celtic Music Podcast is here to build our diverse Celtic community and help the incredible artists who so generously share their music with you. If you hear music you love, buy the albums, shirts, and songbooks, follow the artists on streaming, see their shows, and drop them an email to let them know you heard them on the Irish and Celtic Music Podcast. Every week, you can get Celtic music news in your inbox. The Celtic Music Magazine is a quick and easy way to plug yourself into more great Celtic culture. Subscribe and get 34 Celtic MP3s for Free. VOTE IN THE CELTIC TOP 20 This is our way of finding the best songs and artists each year. Just list the show number, and the name of as many bands in the episode as you like. Your vote helps me create next year's Best Celtic music of 2021 episode.  Vote Now! VOTE IN THE PEOPLE'S CHOICE PODCAST AWARDS The 16th Annual People's Choice Podcast Awards are now accepting nominations! You can nominate the Irish & Celtic Music Podcast by voting online, from now until July 31, 2021 at PodcastAwards.com for both the music category, and the overall people's choice category. THIS WEEK IN CELTIC MUSIC 0:04 - Brad Reid "Trip to Peggy's Cove" from New Scotland 3:24 - WELCOME 4:10 - Flook "Flutopia" from Flatfish 12:07 - ÚLLA "Peggy Gordon" from Ulla 16:34 - John Mcgaha "Man of the House / The Silver Spear / The Blue Idol" from Origins 21:24 - Emma Langford "The Seduction of Eve" from Quiet Giant 27:25 - FEEDBACK 31:02 - The Gothard Sisters "Wise One" from Dragonfly 35:12 - Old Man Flanagan's Ghost "Fisher's Hornpipe" from LIVE 38:39 - The Darkeyed Musician & Grimwater "The Faerie Ring" from Illumina 42:19 - Duncan McLauchlan and Glaucia Carvalho "The bog down in the valley" from McLauchlan's Celtic Brew 45:47 - THANKS 48:29 - Count Beetle "The Rising of the Moon" from Night Blue 51:37 - No Murder No Moustache "Sing! Fight! Run! Survive!" from The Odds Are Stacked Against 54:05 - Camin de Fierro Pipe Band "Enredando" from Rock & Fierro 58:56 - Tuatha de Danann "The Wind That Shakes The Barley" from In Nomine Éireann 1:02:26 - CLOSING 1:04:05 - The Badpiper "Pipe 'n' Slippers" from Tradical The Irish & Celtic Music Podcast was edited by Mitchell Petersen with Graphics by Miranda Nelson Designs. The show was produced by Marc Gunn, The Celtfather. Subscribe through your favorite podcatcher or on our website where you can become a Patron of the Podcast for as little as $1 per episode. Promote Celtic culture through music at http://celticmusicpodcast.com/. WELCOME TO CELTIC MUSIC * Helping you celebrate Celtic culture through music. I am Marc Gunn. I am a Celtic musician and podcaster. This show is dedicated to the indie Celtic musicians. Please support these artists. Share the show with your friends. And find more episodes at celticmusicpodcast.com. You can also support this podcast on Patreon. ATTN Celtic Musicians. I'm looking for some good stories to share. You see, I also host the Pub Songs Podcast. I started sharing stories from musicians about their songs. I'd like to do more of those. So if you have a story that you'd like to share about a song, from a gig, or maybe even just a piece of Celtic history that you love. Drop me an email at marc@marcgunn.com. Put “Pub Story” in the show subject. Tell me about your story. Maybe I'll ask you to record your story for the show. THANK YOU PATRONS OF THE PODCAST! It is because of you that I release this show almost every week. But I want to let you know about a big change this coming to the Song Hengers on Patreon. I started Song Henge in 2006. It was a way to support the podcast when amazing services like Patreon were not available. I sent Song Hengers an album per month of free MP3s from some of the artists on the show. I released 168 of those albums over the past 15 years thanks to the generosity of the musicians on this show. When I started the Patreon page, I continued that feature for everyone who pledged $5 or more per episode. There are over 60 albums currently available for Patrons. However, the world seems to be moving away from MP3s. So I decided to discontinue that service at the end of this year. It's time for a change. I still want something special for Song Hengers. That has finally come. Starting in August, Song Hengers will get a talk-free episode, much like the Sleepytime episode that was released in May. I'll introduce the show, you can listen to the music straight through for about an hour, then I'll remind listeners to look up the artists. Each episode will also include complete shownotes and chapters so you can easily skip around to the artists you enjoy, just like regular episodes. Because I DO want you to keep visiting these artists. But it'll be much more music focused. You can become a generous Patron of the Podcast on Patreon at SongHenge.com. A super special thanks to our newest patrons: Thomas B, Chris S, Jennifer W, Emilia L, Solis TRAVEL WITH CELTIC INVASION VACATIONS Every year, I take a small group of Celtic music fans on the relaxing adventure of a lifetime. We don't see everything. Instead, we stay in one area. We get to know the region through its culture, history, and legends. You can join us with an auditory and visual adventure through podcasts and videos. Learn more about the invasion at http://celticinvasion.com/ #celticmusic #irishmusic #celticpodcast I WANT YOUR FEEDBACK What are you doing today while listening to the podcast? You can send a written comment along with a picture of what you're doing while listening. Email a voicemail message to celticpodcast@gmail.com Peter Bengtson emailed: "Hi Marc, Thanks for the personal message welcoming me to the magazine & Podcast.  I only bumped into the Irish & Celtic Music Podcast a couple of weeks ago.  I'm retired and listen to music quite a lot. I started out listening to folk & bluegrass music.  Sometime in the 90s I sort of switched to classical music and opera. The Covid restrictions have pushed me into taking long walks every day.  I live in Tucson AZ, so these days I have to start walking at sunrise (5:30) these days.  I usually walk for about 2 hours.  Yesterday I listened to your Celtic Women #503 on the first half of the walk.  The second half to Aria Code (opera).  On the drive home I listened to Symphony Hall on SeriusXM.  I enjoyed all three. I really don't like "recurring donations"  If you are a tax deductible organization with a Tax identification number, I can make a donation from my charitable account.  If you are not a tax deductible organization, I can send you a check. I'm looking forward to reading the Celtic Music Magazine and listening to your podcast." He emailed a photo: "Guard Chickens during this morning's hike listening and enjoying episode 510" Make a donation. Juan Manuel Herrera emailed: "¡Hola, Marc! I'm listening to the #509 while trying to organize the rest of my year activities, in a cold night here in Tandil, Argentina. I always loved celtic sounds. When I listened to your podcast for the first time last year I immediately liked it. It's wonderful! Thank you! ¡Muchas gracias! ¡Saludos!" Shel O'Toole emailed: "I thoroughly enjoyed today's show. From the opening tune to the beautiful song that you left us with. As I soaked up the sun through my front window the sounds of my culture brought my soul alive and my whole being smiles. Thank you. Warmly, Shel"

Not an opera fan? No fear! Aria Code is a podcast that tries to fix that. In each episode, host Rhiannon Giddens dissects a famous piece of operatic music (an aria) with the help of opera singers, scholarly experts and opera fanatics. Do they do a good job of convincing us opera is the coolest new thing? Listen to this episode to see what we thought! (Plus: Saga takes a stab at singing Mozart's Queen of the Night). Aria Code is produced by WQXR and WNYC Studios in partnership with the Metropolitan Opera and is hosted by Rhiannon Giddens. The soundbites for this episode were used with permission from WQXR and WNYC Studios. You can find more here: www.wnycstudios.org Listen to the original podcast and form your own opinions! https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/aria-code Join the discussion and let us know what YOU thought on our Twitter: https://twitter.com/pauseplayrpod Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pauseplayrepeatpodcast/ Or shoot us a message at: pauseplayrepeatpodcast@gmail.com To find more official-ish stuff we're up to, find Anya and Saga here: linktr.ee/pauseplayrepeatpodcast The music in our podcast is "You Can't Judge a Book" performed by Mac Wiseman and written by Claude Boone. It's a Dot Records Production.

If you're craving travel this month, you're in luck. Well, kind of. This month's new podcast picks will take you on a journey all across time and space, from the banks of the Nile to Malibu. You'll hear powerful audio fiction and even life advice from Dolly Parton. Plus, there's a lot on the internet these days. Ever feel like you just don't get the latest meme, TikTok trend or online celeb feud? The podcast ICYMI (In Case You Missed It) is here to save you hours of scrolling. Hosts Rachelle Hampton and Madison Malone Kircher join our host Elamin Abdelmahmoud to talk all things internet culture and growing up online. Podcasts featured this week: ICYMI: "Hosts Rachelle Hampton and Madison Malone Kircher recap the recent drama around Kylie Jenner's call for her followers to donate to a makeup artist's GoFundMe—and explain how it connects to a whole year of influencers failing to read the room during the pandemic." By The Book: "Kristen and Jolenta are back with season 8, this time exploring celebrity self-help books! To kick things off, they're living by Dream More: Celebrate the Dreamer in You by singer, songwriter, and superstar Dolly Parton." Lost Hills: "On June 22, 2018, Tristan Beaudette is brutally murdered in front of his two young daughters while camping in idyllic Malibu Creek State Park. The killing stuns the tight-knit, privileged community of Malibu. More stunning? The fact that the cops anticipated the attack, but didn't move to stop it. And the culprit they identify insists he's being framed." Aria Code: "They say you can't go home again, and Giuseppe Verdi's Aida knows it all too well. Captured from her homeland of Ethiopia and enslaved in Egypt, she falls in love with an Egyptian warrior. Aida is torn between her love for this man and her love for her home and, because it's opera, she ultimately chooses the tenor. In 'O Patria Mia,' Aida stands on the banks of the Nile and says goodbye to Ethiopia. In this episode, host Rhiannon Giddens and her guests explore what home means, and what it means to leave it behind." Play Me: "By Jordi Mand. Marion, a middle-aged working mother, arrives at her son Alex's private elementary school — ostensibly for the school's parent/teacher night. Teresa, Alex's twenty-something teacher, wasn't expecting her but reluctantly agrees to a brief meeting about Alex's academic progress. The two share a tense exchange about school policy and Teresa's teaching style until Marion reveals the real reason for her unannounced visit." Ear Hustle: "Visiting a loved one in prison is both emotionally intense and constrained by countless rules — from how much PDA is too much PDA, to what kind of candy you can eat inside. One year after California prison authorities suspended in-person visits due to COVID-19, we bring you stories from and about visiting rooms, and hear how families are adjusting to video 'visits.'" What podcasts take you on a journey? Tell us! Email, tweet us @PodcastPlaylist, or find us on Facebook. For more great podcasts, check out CBC's podcast portal, subscribe in Apple Podcasts.

The fine folks at WNYC's fabulous opera podcast Aria Code recently reached out about doing a cross-promotion with Strong Songs, and now here we are, running an episode of their show in the Strong Songs feed.If you enjoy it, you should definitely go check out the show - Aria Code is very easy to find on all major podcast platforms.ORIGINAL SHOW NOTES (via Aria Code)Aired: March 10, 2021Sometimes, the only thing that gets us through the darkest moments is knowing that the sun will rise again on a new day. Puccini's final opera, Turandot, is about courage in the face of adversity, and love triumphing over fear. In other words, it is exactly what the world needs right now. The aria “Nessun dorma” is Prince Calaf’s declaration of love and resounding victory cry. In this episode, host Rhiannon Giddens and three guests explore what makes this aria so popular even beyond the opera house, and how it became an anthem of resilience and hope during the COVID-19 pandemic. This episode features Italian tenor Franco Corelli in a Metropolitan Opera performance from the Before Times (a.k.a. 1966).The Guests:Conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin is the Music Director of the Metropolitan Opera, Philadelphia Orchestra, and the Orchestre Métropolitain in Montreal.  He loves conducting Puccini’s biggest, most majestic opera, but his favorite moments are the intimate arias like “Nessun dorma.”Writer Anne Midgette is the former classical music critic for The Washington Post. She first heard the aria on a Book of the Month Club cassette tape in college, and thinks the secret sauce for “Nessun Dorma” is in its climactic underdog declaration of “Vincerò” -- “I will win.”Dr. Michael Cho is a pulmonary and critical care physician at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, and has been on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic. He’s also a violist, and has been playing with the Longwood Symphony Orchestra for more than 15 years. Recently, he joined the National Virtual Medical Orchestra, a group that formed during COVID to give people in the medical field a chance to play together. Watch their performance of "Nessun Dorma" here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FOKW42q7HWE&feature=emb_logoIn April of 2020, 700 children across Europe sang a virtual performance of "Nessun dorma" as a message of hope and solidarity, from Europa InCanto. You can meet two of the stars in this episode, and watch their performance here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MZWmikiJVIQ&feature=emb_logo 

The fine folks at WNYC's fabulous opera podcast Aria Code recently reached out about doing a cross-promotion with Strong Songs, and now here we are, running an episode of their show in the Strong Songs feed. If you enjoy it, you should definitely go check out the show - Aria Code is very easy to find on all major podcast platforms. ORIGINAL SHOW NOTES (via Aria Code) Aired: March 10, 2021 Sometimes, the only thing that gets us through the darkest moments is knowing that the sun will rise again on a new day. Puccini's final opera, Turandot, is about courage in the face of adversity, and love triumphing over fear. In other words, it is exactly what the world needs right now.  The aria “Nessun dorma” is Prince Calaf’s declaration of love and resounding victory cry. In this episode, host Rhiannon Giddens and three guests explore what makes this aria so popular even beyond the opera house, and how it became an anthem of resilience and hope during the COVID-19 pandemic. This episode features Italian tenor Franco Corelli in a Metropolitan Opera performance from the Before Times (a.k.a. 1966). The Guests: Conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin is the Music Director of the Metropolitan Opera, Philadelphia Orchestra, and the Orchestre Métropolitain in Montreal.  He loves conducting Puccini’s biggest, most majestic opera, but his favorite moments are the intimate arias like “Nessun dorma.” Writer Anne Midgette is the former classical music critic for The Washington Post. She first heard the aria on a Book of the Month Club cassette tape in college, and thinks the secret sauce for “Nessun Dorma” is in its climactic underdog declaration of “Vincerò” -- “I will win.” Dr. Michael Cho is a pulmonary and critical care physician at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, and has been on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic. He’s also a violist, and has been playing with the Longwood Symphony Orchestra for more than 15 years. Recently, he joined the National Virtual Medical Orchestra, a group that formed during COVID to give people in the medical field a chance to play together. Watch their performance of "Nessun Dorma" here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FOKW42q7HWE&feature=emb_logo In April of 2020, 700 children across Europe sang a virtual performance of "Nessun dorma" as a message of hope and solidarity, from Europa InCanto. You can meet two of the stars in this episode, and watch their performance here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MZWmikiJVIQ&feature=emb_logo  

Sometimes we get so caught up with sharing the latest releases, we don't get to play some of our old favourites. So this episode, just like your favourite dad rock band, we're breaking out the Greatest Hits. These new episodes come from chart topping podcasts that have been around for a while. And like classic tunes, these gems will stick with you. Podcasts featured: Aria Code: "Gioachino Rossini's operatic version of the Cinderella story may not have any enchanted mice or pumpkins, but there's plenty of magic in the music." Mortified: "Celebrate the majesty and musicality of self-proclaimed band geeks." The Feast: "Almost sixty years ago to the day, President John F Kennedy and his wife Jacqueline hosted the largest state dinner of the Kennedy Administration. Invited to the White House for a special 'brains dinner' in April 1962 were 49 Nobel laureates, along with Pulitzer Prize winners, noted actors, and Poet Laureates. What happened the night Robert Frost dined with J. Robert Oppenheimer? How did James Baldwin get on with Mary Welsh Hemingway? On this episode, we speak with Joseph A. Esposito, author of 'Dinner in Camelot: The Night America's Greatest Scientists, Writers, and Scholars Partied at the Kennedy White Hous'" to discuss the dinner and its impressive guest list." The Truth: "When two actors on different coasts show up to a mysterious voiceover audition, a sadistic director keeps making things weirder."

Hey, y'all - Joel here. Goshdangit I'm losing my goshdang hair. It's not horrible yet but if I don't do something now it's gonna be irreversible. I want to go on finasteride but I'm worried my SHBG is too high and I'll get gynecomastia. I had my bloodwork done a few months ago and it was within the normal range but on the higher end. This has absolutely nothing to do with the podcast but it's all I can think about right now. Anyways, hope you enjoy this entry.BEST CONSUMED THROUGH HEADPHONESFollow @3rdPersonPodwww.Patreon.com/3rdPersonPodwww.3rdPersonPod.com

Hey, y'all - Joel here. I'm running behind so I'll be writing these notes when I get home from church. If you see this before then, lucky you.Edit: I know that these next few entries may not be for everyone, but if you're someone who cares about craftsmanship and attention to detail, we might have something for you. I put a fair amount of thought into these notes. However, I do sometimes find myself staring at a blank screen, at a loss for what to say. Not because I have nothing to say, but because I care so much about how I say it. These notes are hardly perfect, but I believe in putting care into every part of one's art. Whether it be what I write, what I play, or what tools I play with.BEST CONSUMED THROUGH HEADPHONESFollow @3rdPersonPodwww.Patreon.com/3rdPersonPodwww.3rdPersonPod.com

Hey, y'all - Joel here. I've mentioned before that this podcast is in-part about finding the narrative in everyday experiences. Discovering the natural arcs that exist in both the mundanities and the eccentricities of our lives is fascinating to me. However, what I find even more interesting is that recording our experiences allows for actual literary devices to occur.In Entry 17 there's a moment where the listener will experience dramatic foreshadowing. If you listen closely during the segment in the restaurant, you can hear someone in the background mention the word "Coronavirus." This was in early February. Neither John nor I would hear of COVID-19 for several weeks. However, unbeknownst to us, the virus had already begun to wreak havoc on the world.I don't want to speak for everyone, but I find myself inclined to understand the world only as I experience it. I may consciously understand that there is great hardship happening throughout the world, but until I have some sort of personal involvement, it is difficult to internalize as a part of my understanding on a visceral level. Empathy is hard enough when presented with a direct emotional stimulus. Without one, it is near impossible.What I found interesting about the scene in the Korean grill, is that it's proof that the forces that I consider removed from my life are often just a few feet away. While it's unlikely that those people had been directly affected by the Coronavirus at that point in time, their personal involvement with it as an idea started much sooner than for me. We talk all the time in the podcast about the stories found in our own lives, but what about the stories of others that we never hear?Not only did all of those people in the restaurant go on and have their own story as it involves coronavirus, but they all have their own lives that will occur entirely separate from mine. Sure, we all have people whose lives we've chosen to intertwine with ours, but there are even more who just dip into our lives for a moment before they slip away.BEST CONSUMED THROUGH HEADPHONESFollow @3rdPersonPodwww.Patreon.com/3rdPersonPodwww.3rdPersonPod.com

[@ 3 min] Soprano Mireille Asselin goes ‘Inside the Huddle’ with Oliver Camacho, as they nerd out on baroque opera, ornamentation, and gesture, as well as dive into Mireille’s upcoming show for Tapestry Opera that's 50% recital, 50% story-telling, and 100% Canadian... [@ 37 min] In the ‘Two Minute Drill’... What’s giving Ashlee nightmares this week? It’s not the imminent success of Season 3 of OBS rival podcast Aria Code... or is it...?! operaboxscore.com dallasopera.org/tdo_network_show/opera-box-score facebook.com/obschi1 @operaboxscore IG operaboxscore

The podcast ‘Aria Code’ aims to pull back the curtain on some of operas most well-known moments. Each episode “decodes” one aria, with academics and opera singers diving in to the music. But there are also a variety of unexpected guests, such as a marriage therapist talking relationships in Carmen or a former sex worker giving perspective on La Traviata. Host Rhiannon Giddens explains what’s coming up in the third series of the podcast. The 2020 film The Legend of Fire Saga told the story of Husavik - a plucky little village in Iceland - that wanted to send a local group to compete at The Eurovision Song Contest. They have a song ready to sing in English but decide at the last moment to swap to one which features their native tongue, even though they’ve been warned that it’ll mean they won’t win. It starred Will Ferrel and Rachel McAdams and the song’s real life composer was Atli Örvarsson (who’s also written for Maroon 5, Ariana Grande, Ellie Goulding and many others). Now it’s Oscar nominations time and the citizens of Husavik want the ballad to their town to be nominated in the Best Original Song category shortlist. For our Friday Review, critics Lanre Bakare and Anna Smith give their verdict on whether Sky’s The Flight Attendant takes off. Starring Kaley Cuoco of The Big Bang Theory, it tells the story of a flight attendant whose wild night out in Bangkok lands her in a very sticky situation. Michelle Gomez and Rosie Perez also star. And we’ll be asking Lanre and Anna to give their suggestions for something cultural to enjoy this weekend. The author Yaa Gyasi’s debut novel Homegoing was a breakthrough success with its account of the impact of slavery on generations of a family. Her second, Transcendent Kingdom, has just been longlisted for the Women’s Prize for Fiction. It’s about opioid addiction, religion and the line between belief and science, with its story of Gifty, a scientist who is looking for ways to understand what has happened to her and her family. Presenter: John Wilson Producer: Julian May

The third season of the critically-acclaimed podcast is more expansive than the previous two, with a total of 18 new episodes released bi-weekly, starting March 10, 2021. Just like a full season at the opera house, the podcast season will cover a staggering range of music, artists, and voices -- from early works by Handel all the way to the contemporary work of American composer and jazz trumpeter Terence Blanchard. We'll cover fan favorites by Verdi and Puccini, as well as lesser-known gems by Stravinsky and Mussorgsky.  Hosted by MacArthur Fellow and Grammy award-winning musician Rhiannon Giddens, and featuring master artists and other guests representing diverse voices and perspectives, the podcast connects opera to the experiences at the center of our humanity and the issues at the center of our lives. NBD. Aria Code is produced by WQXR in partnership with The Metropolitan Opera.

Hey, y'all - Joel and John here. Entry 11 is a journey. This entry has the most characters, the most locations, and the most diverse set of experiences of any entry to date. As the 3rd Person, you will hear live music, you will dance with friends, and you will meet new people.BEST CONSUMED THROUGH HEADPHONESFollow @3rdPersonPodwww.Patreon.com/3rdPersonPodwww.3rdPersonPod.com

Hey, y'all - just Joel here. I first met Lukas back in 2013 at an ice cream social during "Welcome Week" at Western Michigan University. I was an incoming freshman and Lukas was a sophomore. We both were music composition students so naturally, I chose to make him my friend. We spent the first year of our friendship finding out all the ways that we are similar. We spent the following seven years finding out all the ways that we are different. Follow @3rdPersonPodwww.Patreon.com/3rdPersonPodwww.3rdPersonPod.com

Hey, y'all - Joel and John here. Those who know us well know that we are passionate about two things. We are passionate about our art, and we are passionate about the people with whom we share our lives. The 3rd Person's seventh entry is a return to form from Entry 01 because it represents the more intimate side of these passions. Entry 07 dives further into the dear friendship and artistic partnership that was the catalyst for the podcast's creation.Follow @3rdPersonPodwww.Patreon.com/3rdPersonPodwww.3rdPersonPod.com

Hey, y'all - Joel and John here. The two of us had very different family experiences growing up. Most of the reasons for variation between our two experiences can be attributed to one thing: family size. John's immediate family consists of more than ten people, whereas Joel's consists of four. When a family is as large as John's, certain social dynamics develop that simply aren't possible in a smaller family. Ideas like hierarchy and gossip don't make a lot of sense when there are only three other people involved.Follow @3rdPersonPodwww.Patreon.com/3rdPersonPodwww.3rdPersonPod.com

Hey, y'all - Joel and John here. It is our privilege to share with you the very first entry of the 3rd Person podcast. Over the past year, we have shared many adventures with the 3rd Person. We've traveled far, eaten well, and even welcomed new life to the world. But the greatest of adventures have the humblest of beginnings. This one starts with two friends and a late-night drive home.Follow @3rdPersonPodwww.Patreon.com/3rdPersonPodwww.3rdPersonPod.com

Travel back in time to relive the adventures of Joel and John in the form of an immersive stereo experience. As you hear us develop as individuals, friends, and collaborators, you may find yourself growing right alongside us. This is our most vulnerable project to date, and we hope you take this opportunity to adventure and travel with a couple fellas who may just become your new best friends.Follow @3rdPersonPodwww.Patreon.com/3rdPersonPodwww.3rdPersonPod.com

This week, Aria Code producer Merrin Lazyan talks to soprano Angel Blue, who recently performed the role of Bess at the Met's production of Porgy and Bess to stellar reviews and is now, like most of us, hunkered down at home. Blue gives insights into how she approaches her roles and talks about the upside of not being able to perform during the current crisis, as well as her Faithful Friday sessions.    Merrin Lazyan, HostRosa Gollan, ProducerGeorge Wellington, Technical ProducerLukas Krohn-Grimberghe, Executive Producer

In Emerging Form’s ongoing series, Creativity and COVID-19, we interview creatives about how they’re channeling their creativity to cope with coronavirus. In this episode, we talk with Helena de Groot, a Belgian radio producer based in New York. She is the host and producer of Poetry Off The Shelf, an interview podcast for the Poetry Foundation. She also produces and sound designs The Paris Review Podcast, and edits the opera podcast Aria Code, produced in collaboration with WQXR, the Metropolitan Opera, and WNYC Studios, hosted by Rhiannon Giddens. We’ll talk about the importance of baths, the healing power of Russian art films, how she and her husband have handled their small apartment and working from home, and the joys of exploring our art forms with no agenda. Rosemerry’s Live Poems on FacebookHelena de GrootPoetry Off the Shelf podcastNostalghia This is a public episode. Get access to private episodes at emergingform.substack.com/subscribe

Settle in and get comfortable for a podcast binge. Here are a few must-listen episodes from some of our favourite podcasts. Podcasts featured this week: Criminal – "When 18-year-old Ruth Cruger disappeared in 1917, newspapers reported that she probably ran off with a boyfriend. New York police said that there were no clues to go on. But an investigator named Grace Humiston decided that she would do whatever it took to find her. She became known as 'Mrs. Sherlock Holmes.'" The Moth Radio Hour – "A man reluctantly inherits a 40 pound statue." Aria Code – "Pull back the curtain on a famous aria so we can see what's behind the scenes. The aria "Un bel di vedremo" captures Butterfly's unwavering faith in their reunion and her unflagging desire for a better life. In this episode, Rhiannon Giddens and her guests explore the power of hope in Puccini's tragedy, as well as in a real-world Butterfly story. In this new season, each aria will explore one facet of desire. It could be love, money or in this case – ambition." Reality Check – "Cristina looks into the naming convention for IKEA products. Is KOLBJÖRN just Swedish for where's the Allen key?" Snap Judgement – "Stephanie Foo had a love-hate relationship with that old computer game the Sims. But when she steps foot into the latest version of the game, the AI is so good, her new Sim acts more like Stephanie than Stephanie does." Do you have a new favourite podcast we should listen to? Email, tweet us @PodcastPlaylist, or find us on Facebook. For more great podcasts, check out CBC's podcast portal, subscribe in Apple Podcasts.

When your spouse cheats, your mind starts racing with a million questions. For the Countess Almaviva, one of them is: What happened to the spark we had and how can we get it back? The Countess lives inside Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro (Le Nozze di Figaro in Italian) and her philandering husband, the Count Almaviva, is due for a major comeuppance from his wife and her servant. But the Countess isn’t fixed on vengeance; she’s wondering how she can recapture the romance in her marriage. In this episode, host Rhiannon Giddens and her guests offer relationship advice to the heartsick Countess Almaviva. They focus on her aria “Dove sono,” a quiet moment of reflection when the Countess asks, “Where are the lovely moments?” You’ll hear how Mozart musically brings you inside the Countess’s thoughts, how hard it is to sing that music and why rekindling a romance is something many of us will face. Plus, you’ll hear Susanna Phillips sing the aria onstage at the Metropolitan Opera. The Guests Susanna Phillips has sung the role of the Countess more than any other in her career. She isn’t sure whether the Countess will ever be able to forgive her husband’s dalliances, but she may find out this season when she reprises the role at the Met. Cori Ellison is a dramaturg and a repeat guest on Aria Code. She believes that Mozart had a special gift both for understanding the human condition and sharing those insights through opera. Dan Savage is a sex and relationship advice columnist and podcaster. Like Mozart, he believes that infidelity is a real part of the human condition. He’s less optimistic about the Count’s ability to be faithful when the curtain closes. If you’re interested in going a little deeper on cheating and infidelity, our friends at the podcast Death, Sex, and Money have a whole episode about it! You’ll hear from men and women who’ve cheated and been cheated on, and how it made some of them more honest in their relationships. Subscribe to Death, Sex, and Money wherever you get your podcasts. 

On this Studio 360 extra, we’re sharing a podcast called “Aria Code.” Produced by WQXR and the Metropolitan Opera, it features singers and opera observers revealing the magic of a single song from an opera, followed by the aria uninterrupted. In this episode, host Rhiannon Giddens and her guests explore the power of hope in Puccini's tragic “Madama Butterfly,” as well as in a real-world Butterfly story. Then, you'll hear Ana María Martínez sing the complete “Un bel dì vedremo” aria onstage at the Metropolitan Opera. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this Studio 360 extra, we’re sharing a podcast called “Aria Code.” Produced by WQXR and the Metropolitan Opera, it features singers and opera observers revealing the magic of a single song from an opera, followed by the aria uninterrupted. In this episode, host Rhiannon Giddens and her guests explore the power of hope in Puccini's tragic “Madama Butterfly,” as well as in a real-world Butterfly story. Then, you'll hear Ana María Martínez sing the complete “Un bel dì vedremo” aria onstage at the Metropolitan Opera. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Wash some dishes to Brahms, and for one brief shining moment, you’ll feel like your life is being directed by Paul Thomas Anderson. This week, three stories from the orchestra pit, the rehearsal hall and the studio.

Aria Code returns for Season 2 with 10 stunning arias and one big theme: desire. Opera singers and experts talk about the things we want the most – love, power and freedom. In its first season, Aria Code became a low-key hit for both longtime opera fans and folks discovering it for the first time. Each episode opens a window into one aria – a feature for a single singer – and explores how and why these brief musical moments have imprinted themselves in our collective consciousness and what it takes to stand onstage and sing them. Starting Nov. 13, 2019, the second season will explore the many facets of desire, from pining for an absent lover to killing for power. World-renowned opera stars — Anna Netrebko, Jamie Barton, Eric Owens and many more — offer insight into the motivations of their characters and, in turn, our own. Hosted by Grammy Award-winner and MacArthur “Genius” Fellow Rhiannon Giddens, Aria Code is produced by WQXR in partnership with The Metropolitan Opera.

When the great American composer Carlisle Floyd wrote his first full-length opera, Susannah, back in the 1950s, he had no way of knowing how the Biblical themes of shame, blame and lust would still resonate today. In this special episode of Aria Code, host Rhiannon Giddens joins soprano Renée Fleming, writer and stage director Thomas Holliday, and feminist writer Leora Tanenbaum to consider the haunting folk aria “The Trees on the Mountains,” and the devastating loss of innocence at the heart of the story. You’ll hear Fleming’s performance from the Metropolitan Opera’s 1999 production of Susannah, as well as Rhiannon Giddens’ version from her new album, there is no Other. The Guests One of the most celebrated singers of our time, soprano Renée Fleming has used her voice to break down the barriers between different genres of music. From opera to Broadway to jazz, and even the movie soundtrack of The Lord of the Rings, this fourteen-time Grammy nominated artist has sung it all.   Stage director and writer Thomas Holliday practically became a member of the Floyd family when he embarked on five years of research and interviews for the comprehensive biography Falling Up: The Days and Nights of Carlisle Floyd. Feminist writer Leora Tanenbaum has been writing books and articles about slut-shaming and the sexual double standard for over 20 years. When she’s not fighting the good fight for gender equality, Leora can be found at Columbia University, where she is Director of Communications. Special thanks to the Metropolitan Opera, Boosey & Hawkes, and Nonesuch Records for the music in this episode. 

On this Studio 360 extra, we’re sharing a great new podcast called Aria Code. Produced by WQXR and the Metropolitan Opera, it features singers and other thinkers decoding the magic of a single piece from an opera, followed by the music uninterrupted. In this episode, host Rhiannon Giddens and her guests reflect on the Biblical story of Samson and Delilah, the trope of the femme fatale, and how composer Camille Saint-Saëns created this unforgettable moment that sounds as if Dalila’s slowly removing her clothing, one note at a time. Plus, you'll hear mezzo-soprano Elīna Garanča sing the complete aria from the Metropolitan Opera stage. This podcast was produced by The Metropolitan Opera and WQXR. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this Studio 360 extra, we’re sharing a great new podcast called Aria Code. Produced by WQXR and the Metropolitan Opera, it features singers and other thinkers decoding the magic of a single piece from an opera, followed by the music uninterrupted. In this episode, host Rhiannon Giddens and her guests reflect on the Biblical story of Samson and Delilah, the trope of the femme fatale, and how composer Camille Saint-Saëns created this unforgettable moment that sounds as if Dalila’s slowly removing her clothing, one note at a time. Plus, you'll hear mezzo-soprano Elīna Garanča sing the complete aria from the Metropolitan Opera stage. This podcast was produced by The Metropolitan Opera and WQXR. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A soap opera in the string quartet. The #MeToo moment at the conservatory. And opera appreciation for the rest of us. This week, three tales both classical and modern.

Dan does Dusseldorf. Killepitsch for everyone!  Evelyn Berezin and the Word Processor.  Melvin Dummar, friend of Howard (Hughes). Art and Basketball.  Running the football.  Baseball Hall of Fame.  Dan has opinions.  Aria Code: your new favorite Opera Podcast.  Louis and Velma.  A Classic. Credits: Talent:  Tamsen Granger and Dan Abuhoff Engineer:  Ellie Suttmeier Art:  Zeke Abuhoff 

Love at first sight is not just a cliché of romantic comedies: more than half of all Americans say they’ve experienced it. Can this explain the timeless appeal of Puccini’s La Bohème? In this episode, host Rhiannon Giddens and her guests consider what love at first sight is really all about, sharing perspectives on the music, the history and, yes, the brain science. Plus, you'll hear tenor Vittorio Grigolo sing the complete aria "Che gelida manina" from the Metropolitan Opera stage. The Guests Vittorio Grigolo started singing as a young boy, when the Italian press gave him the nickname Il Pavarottino (“The Little Pavarotti”). Today, he is one of the world’s leading tenors. He debuted as Rodolfo in La Bohème at the Met in 2010. James Kuslan is a lecturer and writer on opera and culture. His writing has appeared everywhere from the pages of Opera News to the liner notes of Deutsche Gramophon records. Dr. Helen Fisher is a biological anthropologist who studies the brain systems that affect human social behavior. She holds positions at Rutgers University and the Kinsey Institute. She is also the Chief Scientific Advisor to Match.com. The Team Aria Code is produced by WQXR in partnership with the Metropolitan Opera. Our team includes Merrin Lazyan, Brendan Francis Newnam, Matt Boynton, Ricardo Quiñones, Ania Grzesik, Khrista Rypl and Matt Abramovitz. Original music by Hannis Brown.

Verdi’s La Traviata revolves around the high-class courtesan Violetta, the quintessential "tart with a heart" who falls for Mr. Right but can’t decide whether she really wants to settle down. (Spoiler alert: it’s an opera, so she never gets the chance.) In this episode, host Rhiannon Giddens and her guests reflect on Violetta’s spectacular Act I finale and its deep inner conflicts around love and freedom. Plus, you'll hear the complete aria sung from the Met Opera stage. The Guests Diana Damrau is one of the leading sopranos of our time. She has performed at all the world's major opera companies, specializing in lyric and coloratura roles. She's currently singing the role of Violetta at the Metropolitan Opera. Cori Ellison is the company dramaturg for Santa Fe Opera and has also worked with the Glynebourne Festival Opera, New York City Opera and the Juilliard School. She's our go-to opera guru for traditional and contemporary repertoire. Brooke Magnanti is a writer who earned her doctorate in forensic pathology, but you might know her as Belle de Jour. Her book, The Intimate Adventures of a London Call Girl, documented her year working as an escort and inspired a TV series and several follow-up books. The Team Aria Code is produced by WQXR in partnership with the Metropolitan Opera. Our team includes Merrin Lazyan, Brendan Francis Newnam, Matt Boynton, Ricardo Quiñones, Ania Grzesik, Khrista Rypl and Matt Abramovitz. Original music by Hannis Brown.

Aria Code is a new podcast that pulls back the curtain on some of the most famous arias in opera history, with insight from the biggest voices of our time, including Plácido Domingo, Diana Damrau, Sondra Radvanovsky, and many others. Hosted by Grammy Award-winner and MacArthur “Genius” Fellow Rhiannon Giddens, Aria Code is produced by WQXR in partnership with The Metropolitan Opera.Each episode dives into one aria — a feature for a single singer — and explores how and why these brief musical moments have imprinted themselves in our collective consciousness and what it takes to stand on the Met stage and sing them. Our first episode drops December 4, 2018!