Operavores, this is for you! WRTI's annual Opera Day is coming up on Saturday, November 13th from 6 AM to 6 PM with a special theme: The Greatest Moments in Opera. It will be a celebration of the tremendous passion, drama, humor, humanity, and richness that opera has to offer.
We'll journey through the most unforgettable moments in opera, featuring your favorite arias, choruses, overtures, and ballet music, from Purcell to Puccini and back, with your hosts Mike Bolton, John T.K. Scherch, Melinda Whiting, and Mark Pinto.
And at 1 PM, be sure to tune in for a complete performance of Bizet's Carmen, presented by the Vienna State Opera and starring soprano Anita Rachvelishvili in the title role.
Support opera on WRTI and we'll thank you with Michael Spyres' new album, BariTenor—encompassing three centuries of opera sung in Italian, French, and German. Spyres is a baritone turned tenor, and describes himself as a "Baritenor" because now he sings both voice parts. Watch the video below to hear him explain more! We'll be previewing this album, which features 18 arias by 15 composers on Opera Day, and it's yours for a pledge of $10/month or $120. Just call 1-866-809-9784 or contribute here.
And, of course, we have a fabulous Opera Day contest!
Every contribution between now and 6 PM on Opera Day,November 13th, will be entered to win tickets to The Metropolitan Opera in NYC! It's a March 10, 2022 performance of Verdi's DON CARLOS conducted by Yannick Nézet-Séguin. Plus, a meet and greet with Debra Lew Harder who is now the radio host for The Met.
Opera Day celebrates the great variety of opera that WRTI brings to you every Saturday afternoon and beyond, including live and archival broadcasts of The Metropolitan Opera's entire Saturday matinee season, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Royal Opera, and other great opera companies from around the world, including home-grown performances from Opera Philadelphia, AVA, and Opera Delaware.
The preservation of opera on the radio, and community access to opera, is part of WRTI's mission as a public media resource serving Philadelphia, the Delaware Valley and beyond. We're here to make sure that anyone who wants to hear opera on the radio can always do that. That's what public media is about.
There's no better time to celebrate your passion for opera, and the service that brings it to you and the entire community, than on Opera Day on WRTI 90.1. Call 1-866-809-9784 or contribute here to help us reach our goal of raising $35,000 in support of opera on WRTI.
Let's get warmed up, shall we?
WRTI Classical Host John T.K. Scherch shares a fun fact about the famous "Habanera" from Bizet's Carmen:
Here's diva Maria Callas singing the aria at the 2-minute mark. It's from 1962.
John T.K. Scherch shares a fun fact about another Great Moment in Opera —the aria "Largo al factotum" from Rossini's The Barber of Seville:
Don't miss an Opera Day for the ages!