Opera on WRTI

Saturday, 1 to 5 pm
  • Belle Sandella

Join us every Saturday throughout the year for opera broadcasts from some of the most well-known and beloved opera companies. The list includes live broadcasts of The Metropolitan Opera's entire Saturday Matinee season, and recorded performances — distributed by WFMT in Chicago — from recent seasons of Lyric Opera of Chicago, LA Opera, Royal Opera, and the San Francisco Opera. You'll also hear recorded opera broadcasts of the Academy of Vocal Arts (AVA) and some other surprises throughout the year!

Coming up:

Operas from RAI, Italy

July 20: Adina / Rossini Opera Festival (Pesaro)

Cast: Califo: Vito Priante, Baritone; Adina: Lisette Oropesa, Soprano; Selimo: Levy Sekgapane, Tenor; Ali: Matteo Macchioni, Tenor; Mustafà: Davide Giangregorio, Bass-Baritone

 

July 27: Orfeo et Euridice / Gluck / Teatro dell’Opera (Rome)

August 3: Attila / Verdi / La Scala (Milan)

Lyric Opera of Chicago:

August 10: Norma / Bellini

August 17: The Magic Flute / Mozart

August 24: Lucia di Lammermoor / Donizetti

August 31: Don Quichotte / Massenet

September 7: Eugene Onegin / Tchaikovsky

September 14: Les Troyens / Berlioz

 

Contribute here to support opera on WRTI throughout the year!

Ways to Connect

Lyric Opera of Chicago: LES CONTES D'HOFFMANN on May 12 at 1 pm

By WRTI Staff • May 11, 2012

It's time for the Lyric Opera of Chicago series on WRTI! We begin with Jacques Offenbach's The Tales of Hoffman, sung in French, with a fabulous cast. Join us on Saturday, May 12th from 1 to 5 pm.

Janacek's THE MAKROPULOS CASE: May 5th at 12:30 pm

By WRTI Staff • May 5, 2012

Join us at 12:30 pm (early start time) on Saturday, May 5th for The Met Opera's The Makropulos Case. Count on a tour-de-force performance from Karita Mattila in Leos Janácek’s absorbing drama of a diva’s supernatural fight against her destiny. Czech expert Jirí Behlolávek conducts.

Synopsis Here

CAST:

Wagner's DIE WALKURE: April 28th at 11 am

By WRTI Staff • Apr 23, 2012

Join us from 11 am (early start time) to 4:30 pm on Saturday, April 28th for The Met Opera's Die Walkure. A wounded deity comes to realize the limits of his power in the heartbreaking second installment of Wagner's "Ring" cycle. Wotan, king of the gods, strives to undo the curse of the ring by fathering a pure-of-heart hero by a mortal woman. But he finds himself torn as events spin out of control and his offspring defy his will.
 

Wagner's SIEGFRIED on Saturday, April 21 at 11 am

By WRTI Staff • Apr 15, 2012

Be sure to join us on Saturday, April 21st, *11 am to 5 pm (note early start time) for Richard Wagner's SIEGFRIED.

In part three of the Ring cycle, Wagner’s cosmic vision focuses on his hero’s early conquests. Jay Hunter Morris sings the title role and Deborah Voigt’s Brünnhilde is his prize. Bryn Terfel is the Wanderer. Fabio Luisi conducts.

Synopsis and videos

Giuseppe Verdi: LA TRAVIATA on April 14th

By WRTI Staff • Apr 9, 2012

Be sure to join us on Saturday, April 14th, from 1 to 4 pm, for Giuseppe Verdi's eternally popular opera La Traviata - the tale of a conflicted courtesan, her devoted lover, and his disapproving father.

Jules Massenet: MANON on April 7th

By WRTI Staff • Apr 9, 2012

Join us on Saturday, April 7th from **12 noon to 4 pm (note early start time) when soprano Anna Netrebko sings the title role in Massenet's MANON. Netrebko's dazzling portrayal of the tragic heroine in Laurent Pelly's new production travels to the Met from the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. Piotr Beczala and Paulo Szot also star, with the Met's Principal Conductor Fabio Luisi on the podium. Sung in French.

Synopsis

Gaetano Donizetti: L'ELISIR D'AMORE on March 31st

By WRTI Staff • Mar 25, 2012

Join us this Saturday, March 31st at 1 pm for the Metropolitan Opera's production of L'Elisir d'Amore. Donizetti’s melodic classic is well served by a quartet of bel canto stars: Juan Diego Flórez and Diana Damrau are the unlikely lovers, Mariusz Kwiecien the vainglorious sergeant, and Alessandro Corbelli the dispenser of the elixir.

Read the synopsis here.

Cast:

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