ANDRZEJ FILOŃCZYK AND SAVA VEMIĆ

·1 hr 52 min·5 clips

Richard Kine says the Don Carlos duel only works because Andres and Sava have turned it into real conversation.

Andres and Sava show up ready, wine included. The host starts loose, fussing with levels, laughing over pronunciation, and turning a day-off recording into something that feels like a table hang. Paris sets the mood. They are in Don Carlos at the Paris Opera, and the production video gives the host an easy reason to tease Andres. The warmth sneaks in through the small stuff: corrected names, little checks, quick laughs, friendship doing the heavy lifting without anyone announcing it. Then the talk drifts into medicine. A pharmacy story becomes a running bit about cannabis, prescriptions, taxes, flavors, and whether opera singers are allowed to say any of this out loud. The joke stays practical. Under it all, they are talking about relaxation, dosage, sleep, and the rituals performers lean on when the job will not let their brains shut off. Wine is basically medicine here, at least for the purposes of the table. That works because the room is loose enough for teasing, quick denials, and very opera-person ideas about moderation. The New York story opens the window wider. A cheap Hell's Kitchen apartment with a wild Manhattan view becomes the host's perfect evening: rooftop talk, a little medicine, philosophy, then tacos. The Met question changes the temperature. After saying everything was canceled, he points to the next season opening and names The Amazing Adventures of Cavalier and Clay. The career note does not get a spotlight, which is part of the charm. It lands between jokes about sleep, food, and turning your head off. The closing music brings in a little ache. The host says his wife finds it sad, then decides sadness may be the point because the talk has to end. They keep riffing anyway. Food, heat, thanks, side comments, and one last burst of affection make the episode feel less wrapped up than eased away from the table.

As heard by us

Backstage opera talk that starts loose, then settles into candid conversation.

The episode follows a Paris backstage conversation around Don Carlos, with two singers and a host who sound at ease enough to joke, correct each other, and wander off into side roads before circling back.

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Why you'd press play

Paris Opera backstage chat with the varnish stripped off.

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