Opera on BTPM Classical
Experience world-class opera on BTPM Classical every Saturday at 1pm! Enjoy full performances of legendary operas by Verdi, Puccini, Mozart, and more.
The Metropolitan Opera’s radio broadcasts bring the magic of live opera to our listeners. Airing December through the first weekend of June, listeners can experience thrilling performances from today’s most renowned opera stars alongside legendary voices from the past, spanning over nine decades of Metropolitan Opera history, live from the Lincoln Center in New York City.
The WFMT Radio Network Opera Series extends the season beginning in June, offering an incredible lineup of performances to complete the year. From Milan to New York, Barcelona to Chicago, enjoy front-row access to iconic opera productions from the world’s top stages.
March 7 | Les Troyens à Carthage (Les Troyens, PartTwo) | Berlioz
Chosen by Yannick Nézet-Séguin: Rafael Kubelík conducting a performance from March 16, 1974
The Metropolitan Opera's "Artists' Choice" series continues with Part 2 of Hector Berlioz's epic Les Troyen, a tragic love story of Queen Didon of Carthage andÉnée, a hero from the Trojan War. A 1974 production conducted by Rafael Kubelik, featuring Jon Vickers and Christa Ludwig.
MUSIC
The score of Les Troyens is notable for its dramatic originality, the diversity of its forms, its creative use of the orchestra, and its sheer beauty. The grand and the monumental alternate with moments of extreme austerity. Berlioz also developed convincing sounds to illustrate the imaginary: stopped horns and tremulous strings herald the appearance of ghosts; ringing percussion, woodwinds, and harps evoke ritual and quasi-Asiatic antiquity throughout. The extraordinary vocal solos never fail to reveal details of character or situation.
Composer: Hector Berlioz
Conductor: Rafael Kubelík
Venue: The Metropolitan Opera House, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts NYC
CAST:
Didon: Christa Ludwig
Énée: Jon Vickers
Anna: Mignon Dunn
Narbal: John Macurdy
March 14 | Madama Butterfly| Puccini
Cultures collide in Puccini’s poignant tale of a loyal geisha and a callous American naval officer whose fleeting romance leaves only devastation behind. Two of today’s leading artists—Ailyn Pérez and Aleksandra Kurzak—take the stage as Cio-Cio-San, one of opera’s ultimate soprano roles. Tenors SeokJong Baek, Adam Smith—in his Met debut—and Matthew Polenzani co-star as Pinkerton in Anthony Minghella’s production, an “inspired vision” (The New York Times) that has become a classic.
MUSIC
Puccini achieved a new level of sophistication with his use of the orchestra in this score, with subtle colorings and sonorities throughout. But the opera rests squarely on the performer of the title role: On stage for most of the time, Cio-Cio-San is the only character that experiences true (and tragic) development. The singer must convey an astounding array of emotions and characteristics, from ethereal to fleshly to intelligent to dreamy-bordering-on-insane, to resigned in the final scene.
Composer: Carlo Rizzi
Conductor: Giacomo Puccini
Venue: The Metropolitan Opera House, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts NYC
CAST:
Cio-Cio-San: Aleksandra Kurzak
Pinkerton: Adam Smith
Suzuki: Jennifer Johnson Cano
Sharpless: Quinn Kelsey