The auditorium of the Metropolitan Opera House in New York City | Photo by Jonathan Tichler/Metropolitan Opera
Launched in 1931, the Met’s Saturday matinee broadcasts are the longest-running continuous classical radio series in American broadcast history. Tune in to Classical KDFC each Saturday morning at 10am for another wonderful Metropolitan Opera Broadcast.
See what’s coming up below:
April 4, 2020
Orfeo ed Euridice by Christoph Willibald Gluck
Mark Morris’s spirited take on the ancient Orpheus myth stars mezzo-soprano Jamie Barton as Orfeo, the grieving lover on a quest through the underworld. Soprano Hei-Kyung Hong sings the plaintive Euridice. Mark Wigglesworth conducts Gluck’s elegant score, a pinnacle of the Baroque repertoire.
April 11, 2020
Tosca by Giacomo Puccini
Soprano Anna Netrebko, whom the New York Times hailed as “magnificent” when she made her role debut as Tosca in 2018, returns as Puccini’s explosive diva, back by popular demand. Tenor Brian Jagde stars as the idealistic painter Cavaradossi and baritone Michael Volle completes the opera’s fatal love triangle as the sinister Scarpia. Bertrand de Billy conducts Sir David McVicar’s stunning production.
April 18, 2020
Simon Boccanegra by Giuseppe Verdi
Audience favorite Ailyn Pérez takes on the touching role of Amelia Grimaldi, with legendary baritone Carlos Álvarez returning to the Met for the first time in more than a decade in the title role. Elegant tenor Joseph Calleja is her lover, Gabriele Adorno, and magisterial bass Dmitry Belosselskiy completes the principal cast as Amelia’s grandfather, Jacopo Fiesco. Carlo Rizzi takes the podium for Verdi’s timeless tale of political and family intrigue.
April 25, 2020
Turandot by Giacomo Puccini
One of opera’s most thrilling dramatic sopranos, Nina Stemme, reprises her fierce portrayals of the title princess. Carlo Rizzi takes the podium to conduct Franco Zeffirelli’s dazzling production of Puccini’s final masterpiece.
May 2, 2020
Káťa Kabanová by Leoš Janáček
Janáček’s gripping domestic drama makes a rare appearance on the Met stage, its first since 2005. The soaring soprano Susanna Phillips sings the title role, a young woman forced by fate to choose between true love and family honor, with beloved mezzo-soprano Dolora Zajick as her unyielding mother-in-law. Tenor Pavel Černoch is the young object of Káťa’s love, and legendary bass Sir John Tomlinson is his rich but cruel uncle. Lothar Koenigs conducts one of the defining operatic scores of the 20th century.
May 9, 2020
Maria Stuarda by Gaetano Donizetti
Soprano Diana Damrau, following her triumph as Violetta in last season’s new production of Verdi’s La Traviata, stars as the martyred Mary, Queen of Scots, in Donizetti’s bel canto showcase. Star mezzo-soprano Jamie Barton is her imperious rival Queen Elizabeth I, and the silken-voiced tenor Stephen Costello is the noble Earl of Leicester. Maurizio Benini conducts Sir David McVicar’s handsome production.
Launched in 1931, the Met’s Saturday matinee broadcasts are the longest-running continuous classical radio series in American broadcast history. Tune in to Classical KDFC each Saturday morning at 10am for another wonderful Metropolitan Opera Broadcast.
See what’s coming up below:
April 4, 2020
Orfeo ed Euridice by Christoph Willibald Gluck
Mark Morris’s spirited take on the ancient Orpheus myth stars mezzo-soprano Jamie Barton as Orfeo, the grieving lover on a quest through the underworld. Soprano Hei-Kyung Hong sings the plaintive Euridice. Mark Wigglesworth conducts Gluck’s elegant score, a pinnacle of the Baroque repertoire.
April 11, 2020
Tosca by Giacomo Puccini
Soprano Anna Netrebko, whom the New York Times hailed as “magnificent” when she made her role debut as Tosca in 2018, returns as Puccini’s explosive diva, back by popular demand. Tenor Brian Jagde stars as the idealistic painter Cavaradossi and baritone Michael Volle completes the opera’s fatal love triangle as the sinister Scarpia. Bertrand de Billy conducts Sir David McVicar’s stunning production.
April 18, 2020
Simon Boccanegra by Giuseppe Verdi
Audience favorite Ailyn Pérez takes on the touching role of Amelia Grimaldi, with legendary baritone Carlos Álvarez returning to the Met for the first time in more than a decade in the title role. Elegant tenor Joseph Calleja is her lover, Gabriele Adorno, and magisterial bass Dmitry Belosselskiy completes the principal cast as Amelia’s grandfather, Jacopo Fiesco. Carlo Rizzi takes the podium for Verdi’s timeless tale of political and family intrigue.
April 25, 2020
Turandot by Giacomo Puccini
One of opera’s most thrilling dramatic sopranos, Nina Stemme, reprises her fierce portrayals of the title princess. Carlo Rizzi takes the podium to conduct Franco Zeffirelli’s dazzling production of Puccini’s final masterpiece.
May 2, 2020
Káťa Kabanová by Leoš Janáček
Janáček’s gripping domestic drama makes a rare appearance on the Met stage, its first since 2005. The soaring soprano Susanna Phillips sings the title role, a young woman forced by fate to choose between true love and family honor, with beloved mezzo-soprano Dolora Zajick as her unyielding mother-in-law. Tenor Pavel Černoch is the young object of Káťa’s love, and legendary bass Sir John Tomlinson is his rich but cruel uncle. Lothar Koenigs conducts one of the defining operatic scores of the 20th century.
May 9, 2020
Maria Stuarda by Gaetano Donizetti
Soprano Diana Damrau, following her triumph as Violetta in last season’s new production of Verdi’s La Traviata, stars as the martyred Mary, Queen of Scots, in Donizetti’s bel canto showcase. Star mezzo-soprano Jamie Barton is her imperious rival Queen Elizabeth I, and the silken-voiced tenor Stephen Costello is the noble Earl of Leicester. Maurizio Benini conducts Sir David McVicar’s handsome production.
