On November 10th, San Diego Opera will open As One, an opera by composer Laura Kaminsky and librettists Mark Campbell and Kimberly Reed. It's an extraordinary work that will launch this season's Detour Series. In this podcast Dr. Nic talks about the power of opera in an intimate space, giving special attention to this wonderful opera that tackles a difficult and, as of this writing, especially relevant subject: growing up, understanding and living happily as a transgender person in America.

Gilbert & Sullivan's The Pirates of Penzance had a complicated birth that was something of a scheduling nightmare. In order to acquire copyright for the U.S. (where there was a notorious history of unauthorized performances of their works), they premiered Pirates in New York. But to acquire a British copyright they had to stage a performance there as well, at virtually the same time. And then, of course, there was the "official" premiere at the Savoy in London, the theatre of their producer Richard D'Oyly Carte. Dr. Nic will try to sort it through for you!