Isaac Selya has extensive experience as a musician, entrepreneur, scholar, and educator. He is the Music Director of the Columbus Indiana Philharmonic, and founder and Artistic Director of Queen City Opera, where he has led acclaimed performances that combine high-caliber classical performances with contemporary relevance.

This episode focuses on disability in opera from the perspective of an able-bodied collaborator and discusses Tchaikovsky’s Iolanta (a character who is congenitally blind).

Because of the content of this episode it was quite fitting that the conversation was between Isaac and Cristina- all the same Please excuse Molly's absence in this episode due to the combination of tech issues and a sick toddler.

Praised for his “darkly sonorous” voice, internationally acclaimed operatic bass, voice actor, and advocate David Salsbery Fry joins us on this epic special edition episode to discuss his experience as an artist with hemophilia and autism.

“The pressures of concealing [my disability] were weighing upon me in ways that I could not have understood until I chose to set that burden down.”

– David Salsbery Fry

This moving episode features a bold, vulnerable, and inspiring conversation with an artist who’s taking up space unapologetically.

Join us for our delightful conversation with this month's guest, Marleena Barber. Marleena is the executive Director of Orange County Arts and Disability. She is an arts and disability consultant for the Orange County Department of Education and is also a cabaret singer.

Marleena was once told she would never be successful as a stage performer because of her disability and the way she looks as a woman with albinism. We divas question whether those who made those comments were projecting their lack of success onto this particular queen who absolutely slays!www.marleenabarber.comfacebook.com/marleenabarber

YouTube: @marbopperIG: @MarleenaBarber