Ep. 140 Moby Dick by Jake Heggie

Ep. 140 Moby Dick by Jake Heggie

Author: Opera for Everyone March 9, 2026 Duration: 1:58:06

All hands on deck! This episode of Opera for Everyone dives headlong into a leviathan of 21st-century opera: Jake Heggie’s Moby-Dick (2010). Adapted from Melville’s classic American novel, this seafaring drama is a gripping operatic meditation on obsession, authority, and the power of friendship. With Gene Scheer’s cinematic libretto and Heggie’s muscular score, the opera captures both the immensity of the sea and the intensity of life aboard the Pequod.

Joining Pat on this voyage is guest Candice M. Kelsey, educator, poet, and Melville enthusiast, who brings a literary lens to the opera’s adaptation. Batten down the hatches and sail with us into operatic waters where the whale is white, the questions are vast, and the music is epic.

For more on Candice Kelsey visit candicemkelseypoet.com

 


There’s a particular kind of magic that happens when the curtain rises, but you don’t need a ticket to experience it. Opera For Everyone is a conversation that pulls back the velvet rope, hosted by Pat Wright. It grew from her lively talks with Keely Herron after seeing performances together, sparking a mission to make this grand art form feel like a shared discovery rather than a distant spectacle. Each episode invites a guest co-host into the mix, where the focus is on connection-breaking down stories, history, and the sheer power of the human voice without relying on jargon or pretense. You’ll hear the music itself, of course, those moments where everything soars, but you’ll also find plenty of epiphanies and genuine hilarity along the way. It’s a reminder that opera is about raw emotion and dramatic storytelling, elements that resonate with anyone. Originally broadcast on 89.1 KHOL in Jackson, Wyoming, this radio show found its second life as a podcast, allowing these accessible and enjoyable discussions to reach listeners anywhere, anytime. Tune in and you might just find yourself swept up in a world you thought was meant for someone else.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 139

Opera For Everyone
Podcast Episodes
Ep. 36 Rigoletto By Verdi [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:58:35
Rigoletto is a three-act opera by Guiseppe Verdi, first performed in 1851 in Venice. In this episode we follow the story of Duke of Mantua's jester, Rigoletto. He gleefully mocks members of the court for the amusement of…
Ep. 35 Il Trovatore, by Verdi [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:58:07
il Trovatore is a powerful and tuneful opera in four acts by the great master, Giuseppe Verdi. Il Trovatore, "The Troubadour," premiered in Rome in January 1853. Set in 1409, during a period of civil war in Spain, Il Tro…
Ep. 34 Ariadne auf Naxos, by Richard Strauss [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:58:17
Ariadne auf Naxos, an opera in German, is the creation of composer Richard Strauss and librettist Hugo von Hofmannsthal. The original version of the opera premiered in 1912, following the enormous success that Strauss an…
Ep. 33 Cosi Fan Tutte by Mozart [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:58:23
On this episode of Opera for Everyone we listen to Cosi Fan Tutte, the third collaboration between composer Wolfgang Amedeus Mozart and Italian librettist Lorenzo Da Ponte. Cosi Fan Tutte overflows with lush Mozart tunes…
Ep. 32 Idomeneo By Mozart [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:58:07
On this episode of Opera for Everyone we listen to Idomeneo, an opera seria in three acts by Mozart with an Italian libretto by Giambattista Varesco. The work was commissioned by Karl Theodor, Elector of Bavaria and prem…
Ep. 31 Semiramide by Rossini [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:54:23
On this episode of Opera for Everyone we listen to Semiramide by Gioachino Rossini which is based on Voltaire's tragedy Semiramis, which in turn was based on the legend of Semiramis of Assyria. This is an opera in two ac…
Ep. 30 Tamerlano by Handel [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:58:20
On today's episode of Opera for Everyone, we review Handel's opera Tamerlano. The story takes place in 1402 in Prusa. The defeated Ottoman Emperor Bajazet is brought in chains to the court of Tamerlano. He has ordered An…
Ep. 29 LaBoheme by Puccini [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:58:05
On this episode of Opera for Everyone we review the much beloved opera classic LaBoheme by Giacomo Puccini.
Ep. 27 L'Elisir D'Amore by Donizetti [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:58:05
This episode of Opera for Everyone features Luciano Pavarotti as Nemorino and Kathleen Battle as Adina in a 1990 Metropolitan Opera production of Gaetano Donizetti's L'Elisir D'Amore conducted by James Levine. This "Oper…
Ep. 26 Tosca By Puccini [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:01:33
On this episode of Opera for Everyone we listen to the opera Tosca by Giacomo Puccini. Tosca is an opera in three acts with an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. It premiered in 1900 in Rome, Italy at…