Saturday Matinee

Boris Godunov

Sat, 26 May 2012 13:00:00 -0400

Ferruccio Furlanetto plays the title role in Mussorgsky's Boris Godunov in this performance from Lyric Opera of Chicago.

Listen Saturday at 1pm.

Lucia di Lammermoor

Sat, 19 May 2012 13:00:00 -0400

The Lyric Opera of Chicago presents Donizetti's dramatic bel canto favorite Lucia di Lammermoor.

Listen Saturday at 1pm.

Les contes d'Hoffmann

Sat, 12 May 2012 13:00:00 -0400

Offenbach's masterpiece, The Tales of Hoffmann, is the first in our series of broadcasts from Lyric Opera of Chicago.

Listen Saturday at 1pm.

Photo: Dan Rest

The Makropulos Case

Sat, 05 May 2012 12:30:00 -0400

The final opera of this Metropolitan Opera broadcast season is The Makropulos Case by Leoš Janáček, featuring soprano Karita Mattila.

Listen Saturday at 12:30.

Photo: Cory Weaver/Metropolitan Opera

Die Walküre

Sat, 28 Apr 2012 12:00:00 -0400

The Metropolitan Opera broadcast of Wagner's Die Walküre features a cast that includes Katarina Dalayman, Bryn Terfel, Frank van Aken, Eva-Maria Westbroek, Stephanie Blythe, and Hans-Peter König.

Listen Saturday at 12:00pm

Photo: Ken Howard/Metropolitan Opera

Siegfried

Sat, 21 Apr 2012 12:00:00 -0400

Jay Hunter Morris is Siegfried, Deborah Voigt is Brünnhilde, and Bryn Terfel is Wotan in this Metropolitan Opera broadcast of Wagner's Siegfried.

Listen Saturday at 12:00p.m.

Photo: Ken Howard/Metropolitan Opera

La traviata

Sat, 14 Apr 2012 13:00:00 -0400

Natalie Dessay sings the title role in this week's Metropolitan Opera broadcast of Verdi's masterpiece, La traviata.

Listen Saturday at 1:00p.m.

Photo: Marty Sohl/Metropolitan Opera

Manon

Sat, 07 Apr 2012 12:00:00 -0400

Anna Netrebko is the title character and Piotr Beczala is des Grieux in the Metropolitan Opera's radio broadcast of Massenet's "Manon".

Listen Saturday at 12:00p.m.

Photo: Ken Howard/Metropolitan Opera

L'elisir d'amore

Sat, 31 Mar 2012 13:00:00 -0400

Juan Diego Flórez, Diana Damrau, Mariusz Kwiecien, and Alessandro Corbelli are the featured artists in this Metropolitan Opera broadcast of Donizetti's L'elisir d'amore.

Photo: Cory Weaver/Metropolitan Opera

Macbeth

Sat, 24 Mar 2012 13:00:00 -0400

Baritone Thomas Hampson sings the title role in Verdi's Macbeth, live from the Metropolitan Opera.

Listen Saturday at 1:00p.m.

Photo: Marty Sohl/Metropolitan Opera

Khovanshchina

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

The celebrated Russian mezzo-soprano Olga Borodina is featured in this Metropolitan Opera broadcast of Mussorgsky's Khovanshchina.

Listen Saturday at 12:00p.m.

Photo: Ken Howard/Metropolitan Opera

Don Giovanni

Sat, 10 Mar 2012 12:00:00 -0500

In Saturday's Metropolitan Opera broadcast performance of Mozart's Don Giovanni, Bryn Terfel portrays Leporello.

Listen Saturday at 12:00p.m.

Photo: Marty Sohl/Met Opera

Aida

Sat, 03 Mar 2012 13:00:00 -0500

The Metropolitan Opera presents the grandest of all grand operas, Verdi's Aida.

Listen Saturday at 1:00pm.

Photo: Marty Sohl/Metropolitan Opera

Ernani

Sat, 25 Feb 2012 13:00:00 -0500

Angela Meade, Marcello Giordani, Dmitri Hvorostovsky, and Ferruccio Furlanetto are featured in Ernani, the finest of Verdi's early operas, live from the Met.

Listen Saturday at 1:00pm.

Photo: Marty Sohl/Metropolitan Opera

Il barbiere di Siviglia

Sat, 18 Feb 2012 13:00:00 -0500

Rossini's supremely popular opera The Barber of Seville is this week's Metropolitan Opera broadcast.

Listen Saturday at 1:00pm

Photo: Cory Weaver/Metropolitan Opera

Götterdämmerung

Sat, 11 Feb 2012 12:00:00 -0500

Deborah Voigt is Brünnhilde in this Metropolitan Opera broadcast of Wagner's Götterdämmerung, the final opera in the Ring cycle.

Listen Saturday at 12:00pm.

Photo: Ken Howard/Metropolitan Opera

Anna Bolena

Sat, 04 Feb 2012 12:00:00 -0500

Anna Netrebko sings the title role in Donizetti's Anna Bolena live from the stage of the Metropolitan Opera House.

Listen Saturday at 12:00pm.

Photo: Ken Howard/Metropolitan Opera

Tosca

Sat, 28 Jan 2012 13:00:00 -0500

New Hampshire native Patricia Racette sings the title role in Tosca, live from the Metropolitan Opera.

Listen Saturday at 1:00pm.

Photo: Ken Howard Metropolitan Opera

The Enchanted Island

Sat, 21 Jan 2012 13:00:00 -0500

The broadcast premiere of The Enchanted Island, a new opera with music by baroque composers, features soloists Joyce DiDonato, David Daniels, and Plácido Domingo.

Join us for the "Enchanted Island" Sunday at the VPR Opera Brunch.

Norma

Sat, 14 Jan 2012 13:00:00 -0500

From the Metropolitan Opera Archives, we hear a performance of Bellini's Norma that was originally broadcast on April 4, 1970. In the cast: Joan Sutherland, Marilyn Horne, Carlo Bergonzi, and Cesare Siepi.

Listen Saturday at 1:00pm

Photo: Louis Mélançon/Metropolitan Opera Archives

Hansel and Gretel

Sat, 07 Jan 2012 13:00:00 -0500

Hansel and Gretel by Engelbert Humperdinck is heard live from the stage of the Metropolitan Opera House in New York City.

Photo: Marty Sohl/Metropolitan Opera

Die Fledermaus

Sat, 31 Dec 2011 13:00:00 -0500

We celebrate New Year's Eve with a Metropolitan Opera broadcast of Die Fledermaus by Johann Strauss II - a performance of January 20, 1951 - with Patrice Munsel, Rise Stevens, and Richard Tucker - conducted by Eugene Ormandy.

Listen Saturday at 1:00pm.

La fille du régiment

Sat, 24 Dec 2011 12:00:00 -0500

Donizetti's carefree, sparkling La fille du régiment is heard live from the stage of the Metropolitan Opera House in New York.

Listen Saturday at 12:00pm

Photo: Marty Sohl/Metropolitan Opera

Madama Butterfly

Sat, 17 Dec 2011 13:00:00 -0500

The Chinese soprano Liping Zhang sings the title role in Puccini's Madama Butterfly, live from the Metropolitan Opera.

Listen Saturday at 1:00pm.

Photo: Marty Sohl/Met Opera

Faust

Sat, 10 Dec 2011 13:00:00 -0500

We hear one of the most popular operas in the repertoire, Gounod's Faust, live from the Metropolitan Opera House in New York, with Jonas Kaufmann in the title role.

Listen Saturday at 1:00pm.

The Met Returns With "Rodelinda"

Sat, 03 Dec 2011 12:30:00 -0500

The 2011-2012 Metropolitan Opera Broadcast season begins with a live broadcast of Handel's Rodelinda, with Renée Fleming in the title role.

Listen Saturday at 12:30pm.

Photo: Ken Howard/Metropolitan Opera

Peter Grimes

Sat, 26 Nov 2011 13:00:00 -0500

The final presentation by the Houston Grand Opera this season is Benjamin Britten's masterpiece Peter Grimes.

Listen Saturday at 1:00pm.

Lucia di Lammermoor

Sat, 19 Nov 2011 13:00:00 -0500

Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor is performed by the Houston Grand Opera.

Listen Saturday at 1:00pm.

Dead Man Walking

Sat, 12 Nov 2011 13:00:00 -0500

The Houston Grand Opera presents Dead Man Walking - based on the book by Sister Helen Prejean - by the contemporary American composer Jake Heggie.

Madama Butterfly

Sat, 05 Nov 2011 13:00:00 -0400

From the 2010-2011 season of the Houston Grand Opera, we hear the hugely popular Madama Butterfly by Giacomo Puccini.

Listen Saturday at 1:00pm.

Ariadne auf Naxos

Sat, 29 Oct 2011 13:00:00 -0400

The Houston Grand Opera presents Ariadne auf Naxos by Richard Strauss.

Listen Saturday at 1:00pm.

Götterdämmerung

Sat, 22 Oct 2011 13:00:00 -0400

Götterdämmerung, the final opera in Richard Wagner's "Ring" cycle, is performed by the San Francisco Opera.

Listen Saturday at 1:00pm

Photo: Corey Weaver

Siegfried

Sat, 15 Oct 2011 13:00:00 -0400

Siegfried, the third opera in Wagner's "Ring" cycle, is heard in a performance from the 2010-11 season of the San Francisco Opera.

Listen Saturday at 1:00pm

Die Walküre

Sat, 08 Oct 2011 13:00:00 -0400

The San Francisco Opera presents Die Walküre, the second of Wagner's "Ring" operas.

Listen Saturday at 1:00pm.

Das Rheingold

Sat, 01 Oct 2011 13:00:00 -0400

The San Francisco Opera presents the first opera in their "Ring" cycle, Das Rheingold.

Listen Saturday at 1:00pm.

Werther

Sat, 24 Sep 2011 13:00:00 -0400

The San Francisco Opera's production of Massenet's Werther features Ramon Vargas in the title role.

Listen Saturday at 1:00pm.

Porgy and Bess Adapted For Modern Times

Sat, 17 Sep 2011 13:00:00 -0400

Two versions of Porgy and Bess reinterpret Gershwin's classic score in different ways. Hear the review from NPR's Fresh Air.

Cyrano de Bergerac

Sat, 03 Sep 2011 13:00:00 -0400

From the 2010 season of the San Francisco Opera, we hear Placido Domingo in the title role of Cyrano de Bergerac by Franco Alfano, who is best known for completing Puccini's final opera Turandot.

Aïda

Sat, 27 Aug 2011 13:00:00 -0400

Verdi's Aïda is the first in a series of operas produced last season by the San Francisco Opera.

Listen Saturday at 1:00pm

The Turn of the Screw

Sat, 20 Aug 2011 13:00:00 -0400

Benjamin Britten's disturbing opera, The Turn on the Screw, based on the Henry James short novel, is the final offering from the 2010 Los Angeles Opera season. Listen Saturday at 1:00pm.

Il Turco in Italia

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

The Los Angeles Opera season continues with Il Turco in Italia by Rossini. Listen Saturday at 1:00pm.

Rigoletto

Sat, 06 Aug 2011 13:00:00 -0400

The Los Angeles Opera presents Verdi's masterpiece Rigoletto conducted by James Conlon. Listen Saturday at 1:00pm.

Le Nozze Di Figaro

Sat, 30 Jul 2011 13:00:00 -0400

Placido Domingo conducts Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro in a performance last season at the Los Angeles Opera, part of "The Saturday Matinee", Saturdays at 1pm on VPR Classical.

Il Postino

Sat, 23 Jul 2011 13:00:00 -0400

Il Postino by Daniel Catán is the first in a series of broadcasts from the L.A. Opera. Listen Saturday at 1:00pm.

Hercules

Sat, 16 Jul 2011 13:00:00 -0400

The final Lyric Opera of Chicago production of the season is Handel's Hercules. Listen Saturday at 1:00pm

Lohengrin

Sat, 09 Jul 2011 13:00:00 -0400

Sir Andrew Davis conducts, and Johan Botha sings the title role, in this Lyric Opera of Chicago production of Wagner's Lohengrin.

The Girl of the Golden West

Sat, 02 Jul 2011 13:00:00 -0400

Deborah Voigt stars in the title role of the Lyric Opera of Chicago's production of La fanciulla del West by Giacomo Puccini Saturday at 1:00pm.

The Mikado

Sat, 25 Jun 2011 13:00:00 -0400

James Morris and Stephanie Blythe are featured in Gilbert & Sullivan's The Mikado, from the Lyric Opera of Chicago. Listen to the Saturday Matinee, Saturday at 1pm on VPR Classical.

Un ballo in maschera

Sat, 18 Jun 2011 13:00:00 -0400

The Lyric Opera of Chicago presents Verdi's Un ballo in maschera, recorded during their 2010 season.

Britten's A Midsummer Night's Dream

Sat, 11 Jun 2011 13:00:00 -0400

Benjamin Britten's A Midsummer Night's Dream from Lyric Opera of Chicago features the celebrated countertenor David Daniels as Overon.