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: 50

Opera For Everyone
Podcast Episodes
Ep. 124 Giulietta e Romeo by Nicola Vaccai [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:01:43
A great story is one that we are never done with, and there are few stories in human history with as many retellings and reimaginings as the epic tale of Romeo and Juliet. Nicola Vaccai wrote this 1825 opera based not on…
Ep. 123 Mozart's Idomeneo [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:58:37
Trying desperately to return home alive from the Trojan War, King Idomeneo makes a terrible promise to the sea god from the deck of his storm-ravaged ship. The consequence of his promise is worse than he could imagine, a…
Ep. 122 Zoroastre by Jean-Philippe Rameau [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:58:28
It’s a battle for the fate of the universe as the Dark Side plots, schemes, and fights to gain dominance over the Light Side. Though this opera predates Mozart’s The Magic Flute by several decades, you may find echoes he…
Ep. 121 Mozart's Die Zauberflöte [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:02:14
Die Zauberflöte (“The Magic Flute”) is, by any measure, one of the most popular, successful, and well-known operas ever written, delighting adults and children alike. Yet experiencing Mozart’s The Magic Flute has left co…
Ep. 120 Gounod's Roméo et Juliette [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:58:30
Of all the love stories ever told, none quite compare to the enduring power of Romeo and Juliet. Over four centuries ago, English playwright William Shakespeare crafted a timeless story harnessing both the powers of prof…
Ep. 119 Zoraida di Granata by Donizetti [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:58:35
An unscrupulous king pressures a woman to marry him. She resists, knowing her heart belongs to the man who truly loves her, the chief general in the king’s army. Into this love-triangle, toss in a scheming underling of t…
OFE Presents a Brief Conversation with KHOL's Executive Director [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 5:52
KHOL in Jackson WY is Opera for Everyone’s home radio station, and Wyoming’s only community radio station. If you have ever wanted to support Opera for Everyone, please consider supporting KHOL at 891KHOL.org/donate. Jun…
Ep. 118 A Midsummer Night's Dream by Benjamin Britten [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:58:33
“The course of true love never did run smooth.” Shakespeare’s iconic "A Midsummer Night’s Dream" gives us some of the Bard’s most memorable (and ridiculous) characters and situations. Benjamin Britten, together with his…
Ep. 117 The Fairy Queen by Henry Purcell [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:58:38
Was it only a dream? Baroque composer Henry Purcell was on his way to establishing a national operatic tradition based on the dramatic and musical traditions of the English, when, alas, his life was cut short after just…