How can a human voice fill a large opera house without amplification? What makes a beautiful voice a reliable instrument? And what does it take to arrive fully prepared for an opera production? Vocal teacher Sherman Lowe discusses the development of vocal technique, the individuality of each voice, choosing the right repertoire and the importance of becoming technically independent. James Vaughan, principal coach at Teatro alla Scala in Milan, turns to the musical side of preparation: understanding the score, working with language and style, listening to colleagues and remaining open to artistic discovery.

In this episode of Opera Road Trip, host Sebastian F. Schwarz travels to Lithuania, tracing an operatic history that reaches back to the court of the Grand Dukes in seventeenth-century Vilnius. Three voices bring the story into the present. Ana Ablamonova of OperaManija discusses new work, changing audiences and the boundaries of what we call opera; Laima Vilimienė, General Director of the Lithuanian National Opera and Ballet Theatre, reflects on the responsibilities of a national institution, Lithuanian repertoire and the future of the country’s operatic life; and internationally acclaimed soprano Vida Miknevičiūtė looks back on her musical beginnings in Kaunas, the experience of building a career abroad and the opportunities and challenges facing a new generation of Lithuanian singers.

Spain gave opera many of its most familiar settings (most famously Seville), yet its own relationship with the form is more complicated than the stage suggests. This new episode of the Opera Road Trip traces four centuries of opera and zarzuela (no brackets) with Joan Matabosch, artistic director of the Teatro Real in Madrid and formerly of Barcelona's Liceu on opera's place in Spanish life, its institutions and where it goes next.

Drawing on decades of experience behind the scenes at some of Europe's leading opera houses, Sebastian Schwarz answers some of the questions he is asked most often and reflects on what opera can still teach us about listening, collaboration, craftsmanship, storytelling and community.

What makes a country of ten million one of Europe's great operatic landscapes? This new episode explores four centuries of the form with Jiří Heřman of the National Theatre Brno and the Janáček Brno Festival and stage director Barbora Horáková Joly — on repertoire, identity, funding and what comes next.

Revolution, independence and a legendary opera house: this episode explores how Belgium built one of Europe's most distinctive operatic cultures. General and artistic director Christina Scheppelmann and composer Iain Bell join Sebastian F. Schwarz to discuss La Monnaie today, the world premiere of Medusa and the challenges of creating new opera in the 21st century.