Friday, July 24, 2020

Podcast recommendation: Aria code

One of the podcasts, I have subscribed to is shared by the Boston Globe and I am happy to concur with their recommendation. An opera aria is given insights from a few perspectives in each episode and then you can listen to it, truly appreciating it for what it is. Wonderfully done!

"With anything resembling normal concert life off the table for the foreseeable future, classical fans have been increasingly exploring various digital options. And while there is no shortage of archival performances now available for streaming, it’s hard to pretend they offer anything near the experience of the live event. Podcasts, on the other hand, are conceived and designed for digital consumption — and after a fairly slow start, the classical world is starting to get better at making them. Here, in no particular order, are five programs worth a listen for your summer (and fall?) without live music.

Aria Code

Since its arrival in the fall of 2018, Aria Code has broken through the noise and emerged as a destination opera podcast for both listeners just beginning to explore the genre, and those who already have their bearings in it. Its combination of substance and zip goes down smooth, as each episode opens up a single aria, typically from a well-known opera, and interweaves reflections on it from Met singers, writers, scholars, directors, and others to form a kind of guided micro-tour.
There’s also typically one guest with life experience connected to the theme the aria explores, underlining the unsubtle but still effective message that this centuries-old art form also connects to the here and now. Rhiannon Giddens, a MacArthur-winning banjo and fiddle player who was trained as an opera singer, makes for a lively host, but the music is the star — and it’s remarkable just how wide a vista a single well-chosen aria can open up. After the featured guests have concluded the guided tour, you get to hear the aria performed, at full length and inevitably with more resonance given the episode’s journey. www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/aria-code"

Continue reading the article online (subscription may be required)
https://www.bostonglobe.com/2020/07/22/arts/5-classical-podcasts-summer-without-live-music/

Rhiannon Giddens performed during the Boston Pops Fireworks Spectacular at the Hatch Shell on the Esplanade on July 4, 2018.Craig F. Walker/Globe Staff
Rhiannon Giddens performed during the Boston Pops Fireworks Spectacular at the Hatch Shell on the Esplanade on July 4, 2018.Craig F. Walker/Globe Staff

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