Opera on WRTI

Saturday, 1 to 5 pm

Join us every Saturday throughout the year for opera broadcasts from some of the most well-known and beloved opera companies in America. The list includes live broadcasts of The Metropolitan Opera's entire Saturday Matinee season, and recorded performances — distributed by WFMT in Chicago — from recent seasons of Lyric Opera of Chicago, LA Opera, and the San Francisco Opera. You'll also hear recorded opera broadcasts of the Academy of Vocal Arts (AVA) on selected Sundays, and some other surprises throughout the year!

Coming up...

Lyric Opera of Chicago
May 20 Das Rheingold / Wagner
May 27 Lucia di Lammermoor / Donizetti
June 3 Les Troyens / Berlioz
June 10 Don Quichotte / Massenet
June 17 The Magic Flute / Mozart
June 24 Norma / Bellini
July 1 Carmen / Bizet
July 8 Eugene Onegin / Tchaikovsky
July 15 Don Giovanni / Mozart
July 22 Tannhäuser / Wagner

LA Opera
July 29 Macbeth / Verdi
August 5 The Tales of Hoffman / Offenbach
August 12 The Barber of Seville / Rossini
August 19 The Marriage of Figaro / Mozart
August 26 The Ghosts of Versailles / Corigliano

San Francisco Opera
September 2 La Gioconda / Ponchielli
September 9 Aida / Verdi
September 16 Madama Butterfly / Puccini
September 23 Andrea Chénier / Giordano
September 30 Dream of the Red Chamber / Bright Sheng
October 7 Don Pasquale / Donizetti
October 14 Arabella / Strauss

Additional Operas
October 21 Falstaff / Verdi / Chicago Symphony Orchestra
October 28 Lucrezia Borgia / Donizetti / Caramoor
November 4 Il Pirata / Bellini / Caramoor
November 11 Tancredi / Rossini / Opera Southwest
November 18 Amleto / Faccio / Opera Southwest
November 25 Riders of the Purple Sage / Craig Bohmler / Arizona Opera
 

Stay tuned for the next season of The Metropolitan Opera!

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Contribute here to support opera on WRTI throughout the year!

Ways to Connect

Lyric Opera of Chicago's 2017 Season Continues on WRTI

By WRTI Staff • Jun 23, 2017

If you’re drawn to vocal acrobatics, the fifth broadcast from Lyric Opera of Chicago's radio series—Vincenzo Bellini's NORMA—will thrill and astonish you. You'll hear it this Saturday, June 24th at 1 pm!

The Enchantment of "Some Enchanted Evening"

By • Jun 5, 2017

The song “Some Enchanted Evening” is a sublime moment in the post-war production South Pacific that continues to inspire. Louis Armstrong, Billy Eckstine, Placido Domingo, The Temptations, Barbra Streisand, José Carreras, Bob Dylan, Jane Oliver and lots of other artists have recorded it.

Which Comes First in Creating an Opera? Words or Music?

By • May 29, 2017
Credit: Opera Philadelphia

WRTI’s Meridee Duddleston considers a question of operatic proportion, with notable librettist Mark Campbell.

Yannick at the Met: Leading and Learning

By • Apr 26, 2017
Credit: Jonathan Tichler/Metropolitan Opera, 2017

Yannick Nézet-Séguin has been entering the Metropolitan Opera through the backstage artists' entrance for years, though now it’s different: He’s now among those who run the place. The Philadelphia Inquirer’s David Patrick Stearns met him there prior to his April to May run of Wagner’s Flying Dutchman.

AVA's Annual Sacred Music Concert on WRTI: Jubilate! April 16th at 3 PM

By • Apr 10, 2017

Join us on Easter Sunday as Philadelphia’s Academy of Vocal Arts (AVA) presents its annual concert of sacred choral music, Jubilate!, on April 16th from 3 to 5:30 pm on WRTI.

Hold Up! Renée Fleming Is Not Retiring From Opera

By • Apr 6, 2017

The opera firmament was shaken yesterday when a New York Times article, headlined "The Diva Departs: Renée Fleming's Farewell to Opera," landed online.

Lancaster Listeners: This Is For You!

By WRTI Staff • Apr 4, 2017
Credit: DiscoverLancaster.com/Terry Ross

Good news for all of our listeners in the Lancaster area. You can now enjoy classical music and jazz on WRTI at a new frequency in your region! It’s 106.3 FM on the radio dial. The emails have already been pouring in from folks throughout the area who are so pleased with this signal that's much clearer and more reliable. Happy listening!

Charlie Parker’s YARDBIRD Is Not Your Father’s Opera

By • Apr 3, 2017

Opera Philadelphia's production of Charlie Parker's YARDBIRD tells the compelling story of a legendary jazz icon in a way that's meant to broaden and diversify opera’s audience. The role of saxophonist Charlie Parker was composed by Daniel Schnyder with tenor Lawrence Brownlee in mind.

'The Tinder Opera' Creators Hope You Swipe Right On Online Opera

By editor • Mar 28, 2017

The first opera hit the stage over 400 years ago. More recently, the art form has been adapted to modern media: In the 1920s and '30s, operas were written to be performed on the radio, and in 1951, NBC commissioned Gian Carlo Menotti to compose Amahl And The Night Visitors for television.

The Simple Provocation of Doctor Atomic

By • Feb 27, 2017

Few inventions were as complicated as the atomic bomb. But the Philadelphia Inquirer’s David Patrick Stearns discovered that Curtis Opera Theatre’s production of the John Adams opera Doctor Atomic couldn't be simpler—or more provocative.

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