This Radio Netherland's 1/2-hour special on the lyricist Lorenzo da Ponte does about as much as you can with a basic hosted interview. The author who's interviewed, writer of a recent da Ponte biography, is very knowledgeable and clearly excited about his subject. He speaks in emotional tones, clearly amused, perplexed -- an excellent storyteller. The piece uses voiceovers and music in a very engaging way.

However, the piece still suffers from what ails most extended two-ways -- if you're not inherently interested in opera, Mozart or da Ponte, the piece does little to explain to you why you should be or why da Ponte is important. As for me, not being an opera fan, I never really got caught up in the piece.

This piece would fit great wherever an audience is hungry for well-produced conversation about classical music or opera.