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Recent Highlights

Explore the A Passion For Opera Program Archive »

Recent Episodes

  • Der Ring des Nibelungen - Part 2 Saturday, 05/26/12 Noon

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

    Listen Saturday at 12pm.

  • Der Ring des Nibelungen - Part 1 Saturday, 05/19/12 Noon

    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 Saturday, 05/12/12 Noon

    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 Saturday, 05/05/12 Noon

    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 Saturday, 04/14/12 Noon

    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 Saturday, 03/31/12 Noon Joseph Haydn, born on March 31, 1732, was a prolific composer of operas, and we'll be sampling some of them.
  • Mozart Saturday, 03/24/12 Noon We repeat an earlier program surveying the operas of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
  • Gigli & Melchior Saturday, 03/17/12 Noon We examine the careers of tenors Beniamino Gigli and Lauritz Melchior - both born on March 20, 1890.
  • Carmen Saturday, 03/03/12 Noon

    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 Saturday, 02/25/12 Noon

    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 Saturday, 02/18/12 Noon

    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 Saturday, 01/28/12 Noon

    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.

About A Passion For Opera

Peter Fox Smith has been sharing his love and knowledge of opera with Vermont Public Radio audiences since VPR went on the air in 1977. 

Peter lends his extensive experience as a teacher, lecturer, and radio announcer to the program to share his love of the human voice in music. Each week A Passion for Opera will feature a hand-selected program of operatic arias and scenes, along with the occasional thoughtfully crafted theme-oriented program focusing on a particular artist, genre, style, or operatic motif.

Peter also creates programs that make an interesting external connection to the world at large, acknowledging important birthdays, holidays, and special events or landmarks in musical history.

The program offers a monthly opera quiz and a rich weekly blend of operatic arias and scenes along with popular traditions such as the annual tribute to the great Swedish tenor, Jussi Björling, and the "American Musical Sampler" showcase of Broadway and show tunes.

A Passion for Opera provides an engaging, educational weekly stage for the greatest voices the world has ever heard - historic and contemporary alike.  The name for the program not only reflects Peter's own devotion to the art, it is also the name of his critically acclaimed comprehensive book on the subject.

Peter Fox Smith Official Website