A Passion For Opera

Der Ring des Nibelungen - Part 2

Sat, 26 May 2012 12:00:00 -0400

Peter Fox Smith presents part 2 of his analysis of Wagner's Ring cycle.

Listen Saturday at 12pm.

Der Ring des Nibelungen - Part 1

Sat, 19 May 2012 12:00:00 -0400

Peter Fox Smith presents the first of two programs on Wagner's epic tetrology The Ring of the Nibelung.

Listen Saturday at 12pm.

Jules Massenet

Sat, 12 May 2012 12:00:00 -0400

We sample well-known and little-known music by Jules Massenet (born on May 12, 1842) performed by well-known and little-known artists.

Listen Saturday at 12pm.

The Cunning Little Vixen

Sat, 05 May 2012 12:00:00 -0400

On an abbreviated "A Passion for Opera" we hear a performance by Patricia Neway, an excerpt from Janáček's The Cunning Little Vixen, and a Mystery Voice Quiz.

Listen Saturday at 12:00am

Lakmé

Sat, 14 Apr 2012 12:00:00 -0400

We hear some of the beautiful music from the opera Lakmé by Léo Delibes, first performed on April 14, 1833.

Listen Saturday at 12:00p.m.

Joseph Haydn

Sat, 31 Mar 2012 12:00:00 -0400

Joseph Haydn, born on March 31, 1732, was a prolific composer of operas, and we'll be sampling some of them.

Mozart

Sat, 24 Mar 2012 12:00:00 -0400

We repeat an earlier program surveying the operas of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.

Gigli & Melchior

Sat, 17 Mar 2012 12:00:00 -0400

We examine the careers of tenors Beniamino Gigli and Lauritz Melchior - both born on March 20, 1890.

Carmen

Sat, 03 Mar 2012 12:00:00 -0500

We sample wonderful music from Bizet's Carmen, possibly the most popular opera in the world, which premiered on this date in 1875 - and was not well received.

Listen Saturday at 12:00pm.

Patricia Neway Remembered

Sat, 25 Feb 2012 12:00:00 -0500

We remember dramatic soprano Patricia Neway, who died at her home in East Corinth on January 24.

Listen Saturday at 12:00pm.

Love and Fund-raising

Sat, 18 Feb 2012 12:00:00 -0500

In the wake of Valentine's Day, Peter Fox Smith and Betty Smith play love duets and raise money for Vermont Public Radio.

Listen Saturday at 12:00pm.

Bastien und Bastienne

Sat, 28 Jan 2012 12:00:00 -0500

We celebrate Mozart's January 27 Birthday with music from his Singspiel Bastien und Bastienne, written when he was 12 years old.

Listen Saturday at 12:00pm.

Overtures II

Sat, 21 Jan 2012 12:00:00 -0500

We continue our exploration of operatic overtures and preludes - and it's time for January's Mystery Voice quiz.

Tosca

Sat, 14 Jan 2012 12:00:00 -0500

Peter Fox Smith offers a consideration of Puccini's Tosca, which received its premiere performance in Rome on January 14, 1900.

Listen Saturday at 12:00pm.

Overtures

Sat, 07 Jan 2012 12:00:00 -0500

We explore the development of operatic overtures.

Listen Saturday at 12:00pm.

The Pirates of Penzance

Sat, 31 Dec 2011 12:00:00 -0500

The Pirates of Penzance had its world premiere on New Year's Eve 1879 in New York City; we celebrate by hearing music from vintage recordings of this irresistible Gilbert & Sullivan opera.

Listen Saturday at 12:00pm.

Madama Butterfly & Dylan Thomas

Sat, 17 Dec 2011 12:00:00 -0500

Peter's thoughts on Puccini's Madama Butterfly are followed by his reading of A Child's Christmas in Wales by Dylan Thomas.

Listen Saturday at 12:00pm.

La fanciulla del West

Sat, 10 Dec 2011 12:00:00 -0500

La fanciulla del West - The Girl of the Golden West - received its world premiere in New York on December 10, 1910. We present an examination of this unusual Puccini opera.

Listen Saturday at 12:00pm.

From the Met Archives

Sat, 03 Dec 2011 12:00:00 -0500

We celebrate the start of the 2011-2012 Metropolitan Opera broadcast season with a program of performances from the Met Archives, including the voices of Bidú Sayão, Roberta Peters, and Marian Anderson.

Listen Saturday at 12:00pm.

Iolanthe & Martha

Sat, 26 Nov 2011 12:00:00 -0500

Flotow's Martha was first performed on November 25, 1847; Gilbert & Sullivan's Iolanthe had its premiere on November 25, 1882. We hear excerpts from these two delightful works.

Listen Saturday at 12:00pm.

Choruses II

Sat, 19 Nov 2011 12:00:00 -0500

We explore the use of choruses in opera from the 17th through the 20th century.

Listen Saturday at 12:00pm.

Choruses I

Sat, 12 Nov 2011 12:00:00 -0500

In the first of two programs on operatic choruses, we simply listen to an hours' worth of mostly famous ones.

Hans Sachs

Sat, 05 Nov 2011 12:00:00 -0400

Hans Sachs, the cobbler in Wagner's Die Meistersinger was based on an actual historic figure who was born in Nuremberg on November 5, 1494.

Listen Saturday at 12:00pm.

Don Giovanni

Sat, 29 Oct 2011 12:00:00 -0400

We celebrate the October 29, 1787 premiere of Mozart's Don Giovanni.

Listen Saturday at 12:00pm.

Albert Lortzing

Sat, 22 Oct 2011 12:00:00 -0400

We celebrate the October 23, 1801 birthday of the German composer of light opera Albert Lortzing.

Listen Saturday at 12:00pm.

Music That Moves Us

Sat, 15 Oct 2011 12:00:00 -0400

Peter Fox Smith and Betty Smith share ravishingly beautiful opera excerpts, perennial favorites, and the extraordinary voice of Jackie Evancho -- to inspire you to support "A Passion for Opera" and VPR Classical.

Listen Saturday at 12:00pm

Water Music II

Sat, 08 Oct 2011 12:00:00 -0400

We sample more water music in opera, including music from The Flying Dutchman, Idomeneo, Lakme, and Les Indes galantes.

Listen Saturday at 12:00pm.

Water Music

Sat, 01 Oct 2011 12:00:00 -0400

Saturday afternoon we hear opera excerpts that depict oceans and rivers: music from The Flying Dutchman, Idomeneo, A Village Romeo and Juliet, and H.M.S. Pinafore.

Listen Saturday at 12:00pm.

La Donna del Lago

Sat, 24 Sep 2011 12:00:00 -0400

Rossini's La donna del lago was premiered on September 24, 1819.

Listen to excerpts Saturday at 12:00pm.

20th Century Opera: Part II

Sat, 17 Sep 2011 12:00:00 -0400

Part II of our exploration of 20th century opera concentrates on music by Debussy, Bartók and Janáček.

Jussi Bjoerling In Memoriam

Sat, 10 Sep 2011 12:00:00 -0400

The celebrated Swedish tenor Jussi Bjoerling is remembered in a special 2-hour A Passion for Opera.

Puccini and Richard Strauss

Sat, 03 Sep 2011 12:00:00 -0400

This afternoon we consider Giacomo Puccini and Richard Strauss - Verdi's and Wagner's successors.

Listen Saturday at 12:00pm.

Umberto Giordano

Sat, 27 Aug 2011 12:00:00 -0400

We celebrate the 1867 birthday of Umberto Giordano with excerpts from his two best-known operas, Andrea Chénier and Fedora.

Listen Saturday at 12:00pm.

Before Night Falls

Sat, 20 Aug 2011 12:00:00 -0400

In the spotlight this afternoon is Before Night Falls by Vermont composer Jorge Martín. Listen Saturday at 12:00pm.

Verismo

Sat, 13 Aug 2011 12:00:00 -0400

We begin an exploration of Verismo opera with examples from two of the most popular operas in the repertory: Mascagni's Cavalleria rusticana and Leoncavallo's Pagliacci. Listen Saturday at 12:00pm.

Russian Opera

Sat, 06 Aug 2011 12:00:00 -0400

A brief survey of 19th century Russian opera includes music by Glinka, Tchaikovsky and Mussorgsky. Listen Saturday at 12:00pm.

Opera North

Sat, 30 Jul 2011 12:00:00 -0400

We preview the forthcoming Opera North productions of Le nozze di Figaro and La Cenerentola.

Verdi & Wagner II

Sat, 23 Jul 2011 12:00:00 -0400

We continue our exploration of Verdi and Wagner, both born in 1813. And we present this month's Mystery Voice Quiz. Listen Saturday at 12:00pm.

French Opera

Sat, 16 Jul 2011 12:00:00 -0400

We examine six extraordinary 19th century French operas by Berlioz, Gounod, Bizet, Saint-Saens, Offenbach, and Massenet Saturday at 12:00pm.

Kirsten Flagstad

Sat, 09 Jul 2011 12:00:00 -0400

We celebrate the July 12, 1895 birthday of the renowned dramatic soprano Kirsten Flagstad.

Verdi & Wagner

Sat, 02 Jul 2011 12:00:00 -0400

Have you wondered what Verdi was doing while Wagner was writing The Flying Dutchman? This afternoon we examine the early careers of Verdi and Wagner -- both born in 1813.

German Opera in the Early 19th Century

Sat, 25 Jun 2011 12:00:00 -0400

We explore German opera in the first half of the 19th century (including music by Beethoven, Schubert, Marschner, and Weber) -- and we have June's Mystery Voice contest.

Bel Canto

Sat, 18 Jun 2011 12:00:00 -0400

This afternoon we explore the bel canto style by listening to music by Rossini, Donizetti, and Bellini.

The History of Opera: Mozart

Sat, 11 Jun 2011 12:00:00 -0400

Our exploration of the history of opera continues with a consideration of the operas of Mozart.

Opera Seria vs. Ballad Opera

Sat, 04 Jun 2011 12:00:00 -0400

We continue our journey through the history of opera with a consideration of opera seria, as exemplified by the operas of Handel, and The Beggar's Opera of John Gay.

Orfeo Through The Ages

Sat, 21 May 2011 12:00:00 -0400

We explore the various operatic versions of the myth of Orpheus and Euridice, from Jacopo Peri to Philip Glass.