Poulenc’s masterpiece makes a rare return to the repertory with a fine cast led by Patricia Racette, Felicity Palmer, and Isabel Leonard. Louis Langrée conducts this dramatic work with one of the most haunting final moments in opera. Saturday, May 4, *11:30 am to 3 pm (*note early start time).

Francis Poulenc: Dialogues des Carmelites

Synopsis

Cast:

Conductor: Louis Langrée
Blanche de la Force: Isabel Leonard
Mme Lidoine: Patricia Racette
Constance: Erin Morley
Mère Marie: Elizabeth Bishop
First Prioress: Felicity Palmer
Chevalier de la Force: Paul Appleby

The WRTI Spring Member Drive is over, and we're happy to report that: it ended early, we raised over $350,000, AND we had one of the best drives in the history of the station. How? Because of you, and over 3,000 dedicated members who believe in what we do and care deeply about keeping classical music and jazz on the radio in our community.  If you haven't pledged yet, there's still time. Your support keeps WRTI accessible to SO many people. Pledge Here or call 866-809-9784. Please remember that over 50% of WRTI's funding comes from people just like you - listeners who become members.

On Discoveries from the Fleisher Collection, Saturday, May 4th at 5 pm...

Sergei Prokofiev lived in Paris in 1936 but longed for Russia. He had never relinquished his Soviet citizenship in the years he was abroad; since 1918 he lived in the U.S., Germany, and France. He toured America, Europe, and the USSR often, playing piano in and conducting his growing repertoire of increasingly popular works.

WRTI's Jazz Hot 11 is a weekly countdown of your favorite new jazz releases in rotation.  

This week's Hot 11: 

You're in a for a treat this Sunday, April 28th at 2 pm! That's when our Philadelphia Orchestra in Concert Broadcast will feature a first for the ensemble:  It's the first time in the Orchestra's distinguished history that they performed the complete, uncut St. Matthew Passion, in two parts, with five soloists, the Westminster Symphonic Choir, and American Boychoir, all under the direction of Yannick Nezet-Seguin.  

This exciting, historical first was performed at the end of March, during the Easter period.

It’s different ways to say good night on Now is the Time, Sunday, April 28th at 10 pm. Alex Freeman’s solo piano Night on the Prairies leads to a sextet in Jeremy Beck’s In Flight until Mysterious Night (and do we hear Steely Dan in there?). Yo-Yo Ma’s Silk Road Ensemble then runs with the Night of the Flying Horses of Osvaldo Golijov.

Then, two quartets. Night Blossoms of Mary Jane Leach is a haiku for four singers, and the four string instruments of Kronos play Terry Riley’s long-breathed Cadenza on the Night Plain, out into that good night.

Ignat Solzhenitsyn, The Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia's conductor laureate, is on the podium for this month's broadcast. Maestro Solzhenitsyn has devised a program with a connection to the idea of freedom that he explains as follows:

Show everyone you know that you're a member of WRTI! Pledge today and choose one of our thank-you gifts that feature the WRTI 60th anniversary award-winning design.

We have a variety of limited-edition items to choose from, including a beautiful ceramic mug ($120 pledge), and a stylish T-shirt available in sizes Small to XX-Large ($150 pledge). Get them while you can! Pledge online now or call 1-866-809-9784. Thanks!

It's not often that you hear the words "jazz" and "violin" used in the same sentence.  But over the past few years, violinist Christian Howes has become one of the artists to masterfully bring these words together.