Opera Talks
Puccini’s La bohème
To kick of the 8th season of the Ghost Light Podcast, co-hosts Carol Anderson and Jeff Counts take you behind the music and production of the upcoming Utah Opera presentation of Puccini’s La bohème.
Discover the historical origins of the famed opera and why it’s among the most performed operas world-wide. Jeff and Carol also give you some insider details of this production, and discuss La bohème’s contribution to pop culture.
Mason Bates & Mark Campbell’s The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs
A modern opera about Steve Jobs?
Ghost Light Podcast hosts Jeff Counts and Carol Anderson take you behind the scenes of the next Utah Opera production: The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs.
From electric guitar and techno sound patches combined with a full orchestra, complicated characters, and big voices get the inside scoop behind this Grammy Award winning opera.
Learn why this production shows the future of what opera can and WILL be!
Verdi’s Rigoletto
Revenge and tragedy strike onstage with Verdi’s Rigoletto. Dark and brooding, this opera classic brings dramatic storytelling front and center at the Janet Quinney Lawson Capitol Theatre.
Guided by the seasoned vision of Director Stephanie Havey (who has previously directed 10 productions of this very opera), this performance brings together remarkable talent and new vision for the popular tragedy. Scott Hendricks returns to the role of Rigoletto (having received praise from Opera News for his “rich baritone and energetic stage presence”), Jasmine Habersham reprises the role of Gilda (having made her company debut with Opera North as Gilda during the 2021-22 season), and Kevin Thompson will again take up the mantle of Sparafucile (having performed this role with the Shreveport Opera). Matthew White (praised by New York Classical Review for his “dark and powerful lyric sound”) will also return to play the flirtatious Duke of Mantua, and Hannah Ludwig (commended by The New York Times for her “large, yet focused tone and agility”) will once again portray the sultry Maddalena.
Donizetti’s Daughter of the Regiment
A sparkling comedy is a certain cure for the wintertime blues. Utah Opera’s upcoming production of Donizetti’s The Daughter of the Regiment is just that.
A stellar cast of Utah Opera favorites including Matthew Burns who recently performed Dr Bartolo in The Barber of Seville, Madison Leonard who recently performed as Mabel in Pirates of Penzance, along with rising star Jack Swanson making his Utah Opera debut, local theater legend Anne Cullimore Decker, and director Michael Shell who recently directed The Barber of Seville bring the story of an orphan girl raised by a French military regiment to life.
Wagner’s The Flying Dutchman
Season seven of the Ghost Light Podcast begins with hosts Jeff Counts and Carol Anderson previewing Utah Opera’s upcoming production of Wagner’s “The Flying Dutchman.”
In a behind-the-scenes look into Wagner’s masterpiece, they discuss insights into the life and times of Richard Wagner, his compositional style, how this work came to life, and what to expect from THIS production of “The Flying Dutchman.”
Gilbert & Sullivan’s The Pirates of Penzance
A Pirate King and “Modern Major-General” are just the beginning of the farcical fun in Gilbert and Sullivan’s The Pirates of Penzance. From patter songs to anecdotes about Savoy operas and the premiere of this cult classic, the Ghost Light Podcasts co-hosts Carol Anderson and Jeff Counts give you what you need to know about the upcoming Utah Opera production.
Puccini’s Tosca
Utah Opera invites you to witness one of opera’s most intense dramas.
She’s a singer, he’s a painter and they’re both trying to avoid the cops.
Fiery young diva Floria Tosca is forced to play a role she never imagined when she becomes trapped between her freedom-fighting lover and a corrupt police chief whose lust for her dominates his faith.
The story’s heart-stopping conclusion lands tragically under the Roman skyline. The leap is LEGEND.
The Ghost Light Podcast co-hosts Jeff Counts and Carol Anderson give you a behind the scenes look into Utah Opera’s production of Puccini’s “Tosca.”
Jonathan Dove & April De Angelis’ Flight
Co-hosts Carol Anderson and Jeff Counts discuss the comedy, energy, music, and emotion of a colorful cast living out an unexpected overnight delay.
John Holiday from season 19 of NBC’s The Voice makes his Utah Opera debut in his signature role in the opera that has entertained audiences around the world and speaks to us of the realities of our shared humanity – Jonathan Dove and April de Angelis’ critically acclaimed opera, Flight.