The Opera Pod
The Feast Collective
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Top 10 The Opera Pod Episodes
Goodpods has curated a list of the 10 best The Opera Pod episodes, ranked by the number of listens and likes each episode have garnered from our listeners. If you are listening to The Opera Pod for the first time, there's no better place to start than with one of these standout episodes. If you are a fan of the show, vote for your favorite The Opera Pod episode by adding your comments to the episode page.
Ed Gardner OBE – Conductor, Principal Conductor - London Philharmonic Orchestra & the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra
The Opera Pod
04/05/22 • 32 min
From jumping in as a rehearsal pianist at the Salzburg Festival, through taking on ENO at the age of thirty-one, and onto the legacy of the LPO , Ed Gardner gives a refreshingly honest insight into his journey from a young chorister to the multi award-winning conductor that he is today. Nina chats to Ed about nurturing and sustaining his musical - and managerial - relationships, his approach to collaboration, and why cross words in a rehearsal room isn’t always a bad thing
Find out more about the London Philharmonic Orchestra and their upcoming season here and the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra here.
Anna Patalong – Soprano, ISM Ambassador, Founder of Swap’ra & Development Consultant at BYO
The Opera Pod
11/04/21 • 34 min
As a young girl, Anna ensured her playdates were only at houses with pianos, until her parents finally gave in and bought one just for her. Unaware that she could make a career from singing opera, her early path took her via Leeds University and au pairing in Italy, before she found an unexpected route to training at Guildhall in London. Now a multi award-winning soprano who performs all over the world, Anna is praised for her captivating stage presence and extraordinary vocal fluidity.
She has gone on to use her voice in other ways, as an Ambassador for the Incorporated Society of Musicians, as Co-founder of Swap’ra supporting women & parents in Opera & in her role as a Development Consultant at British Youth Opera, who were instrumental in her earliest stage opportunities.
Find out more about Anna on her website here and follow her on Twitter here and Instagram here
Paula Murrihy – Mezzo
The Opera Pod
07/08/21 • 36 min
Paula grew up with traditional Irish Music in County Kerry, but despite immersing herself in music and performance at the National Folk Theatre of Ireland, she didn’t yet think of it as a viable career choice. But one day, looking after her younger sisters while her parents were away, Paula sent off the ‘change of mind’ form, changing her option from Primary School Teaching to Music Performance. Paula went on to train in Dublin, then onto the New England Conservatory in Boston, and onto a whole series of Young Artist and Apprenticeship Programmes from Britten Pears to the Merola Opera Programme among others, building the stamina and experience that would stand her in good stead in the future. When she felt she was probably done with Young Artist programmes, she was noticed by Bernd Loebe at the Neue Stimmen, and was offered a place in the newly-formed Studio at Oper Frankfurt. This led to her being a full time soloist at Oper Frankfurt, where she was able to explore a huge variety of roles, and take risks in a way she hadn’t been able to before. Now, Paula graces some of the world’s most fabulous stages, from her iconic performance in Barry Kosky’s Carmen in Frankfurt to the Bolshoi in Moscow where she is currently singing the title role in Ariodante, to the Salzburg Festival, to the Met and Santa Fe Opera among many brilliant others.
Read more about Paula on her agent’s website here and follow her on Instagram here
Lila Palmer - Librettist & Producer
The Opera Pod
06/30/21 • 35 min
The Ango-American Librettist & Producer Lila Palmer takes us to rural Vermont and to beautifully vivid moments of music in her childhood, like crouching under a grand piano listening to a family friend play, onto her days studying History at Cambridge, where she became aware of overlooked narratives hidden around every corner. Starting down the path as a Mezzo, training at New England Conservatory of Music and English National Opera, she found the stories she was inhabiting didn’t give her enough agency, and it was suggested to her that she might be more comfortable on the other side of the table, writing the roles herself. Since then, Lila trained as a Librettist at both the Guildhall in London and the American Lyric Theatre in New York, and her work has been performed from the Barbican Centre in London to Washington National Opera, to Opera Saratoga, the Edinburgh Fringe and performed by Golda Schutz on her recital tour. Alongside her commissions, Lila is the interim managing director at ALT, and is developing her own research project: The Archetypes. Lila shares her ideas on collaboration, how she started to develop her work early on, and how she approaches the demands of a ‘portfolio career’.
Read more about Lila on her website here and her work with ALT here and follow her on Instagram here
Nadine Benjamin MBE – Lyric Soprano, Mentor, Mind Coach, Certified High Performance & Founder of Everybody Can!
The Opera Pod
03/24/22 • 34 min
What happens when the career you have is not the one that you really want? Do you stay and climb the ladder, or do you take a risk and step into your story? Nadine Benjamin found herself thriving in the world of Finance, but always remembered her teacher Mrs. Lake who introduced her to the Queen of the Night’s music at school, telling her that she too could sing like that one day. Taking three months out to try to make singing into her career, Nadine’s talent alongside her bravery and tenacity took her from constantly asking for auditions, to writing up her business plan and asking people to support her, on to finding her own unique path to training her voice. Needless to say, she didn’t look back. Now, alongside her thriving career - from ENO to the Royal Opera House & Glyndebourne and beyond - she works as a mentor, Mind Coach, certified High Performance Coach, & founder of her own mentorship programme Everybody Can! where she coaches and champions others to step into their own stories.
If you need to reach out for help – The Samaritans can be found here https://www.samaritans.org/ and called on 116 123 for free (UK).
You can find Nadine on Twitter & on Instagram, via her website and through Everybody Can!.
03/31/22 • 33 min
How can we find balance when our schedules can be so punishing? How can we find meaning in our work in a world that celebrates immediate success? And how can we tackle that unrelenting desire for perfectionism? Returning guest Lou Platt explores these questions and more, and gives ideas and insight into what we can do to better take care of our mental health and wellbeing.
You can find Lou on her website or at Artist Wellbeing, on Twitter here, & on Instagram here.
Lucia Ronchetti - composer and artistic director
The Opera Pod
01/21/21 • 36 min
Multi award winning Composer and Artistic Director of the Biennale Musica in Venice, Lucia Ronchetti chats with Nina about experiencing music for the first time among the faded manuscripts and broken instruments at her neighbours’ apartment. This was something, along with art and books, that was lacking from her childhood home. Lucia dives into the touching reason for her insatiable curiosity, her number one enemy, and the challenges she has faced on her journey to becoming truly an icon of her generation.
Tim Claydon - choreographer and movement director
The Opera Pod
11/19/20 • 28 min
Tim Claydon chats with Nina Brazier about the series of happy accidents that have forged his career, from his early start as a classical dancer, to flying above 20,000 people as an aerialist at the opening of the Millennium Dome, through his current – and completely unexpected - lockdown career. Tim confesses to saying yes to absolutely everything and putting his work on the forefront while bringing up a young family, and reveals his awkward role stuck between two warring factions on the show that went wrong.
01/06/22 • 27 min
Allyson was surrounded by music in Ottawa as she grew up - from jazz to classical and calypso - and playing the piano was an intrinsic part of her childhood, where she gathered happily with friends at festivals and competitions. She initially planned to become a paediatrician after her music degree, but music persuaded her to continue her studies - from the Conservatoire de Musique in Quebec to Oberlin Ohio and onto the Royal Academy of Music in London. As doors opened for Allyson and one opportunity led to another, she developed a career carefully balancing her work as a Music Director with accompanying, coaching, teaching, composing, as a recitalist performing around the world and as Artistic Director of Nitrovox, an a cappella group that tells stories about the African diaspora through spoken word and song. Allyson shares her unique experience of becoming a fully-rounded artist, and reveals her thoughts on the relentless quest for perfection in the opera industry.
Director Christopher Alden
The Opera Pod
10/29/20 • 28 min
Multi award-winning opera director Christopher Alden chats with Nina Brazier about his early obsession with Broadway musicals through the seminal teenage moment when he and his identical twin brother David Alden unanimously decided to become opera directors. From creating atmosphere in the rehearsal room, to his ongoing desire to challenge and provoke his audiences, Christopher talks candidly through the highs and lows of his extraordinary career.
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FAQ
How many episodes does The Opera Pod have?
The Opera Pod currently has 60 episodes available.
What topics does The Opera Pod cover?
The podcast is about Interview, Music, Opera, Podcasts, Arts, Music Interviews and Performing Arts.
What is the most popular episode on The Opera Pod?
The episode title 'Anna-Marie Sullivan – Actor' is the most popular.
What is the average episode length on The Opera Pod?
The average episode length on The Opera Pod is 31 minutes.
How often are episodes of The Opera Pod released?
Episodes of The Opera Pod are typically released every 7 days.
When was the first episode of The Opera Pod?
The first episode of The Opera Pod was released on Sep 21, 2020.
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