It’s opera season!

Posted on May 29, 2019

The curtain rises on a new season of opera!

The 2019 WFMT RADIO NETWORK OPERA SERIES (Sat 1900) begins a stellar array of recent productions from London’s Royal Opera House. Presented in partnership with the European Broadcasting Union and the BBC, the line-up from Covent Garden includes parts one to three from Wagner’s RingDas Rheingold, Die Walküre and Siegfried—performed under the baton of Sir Antonio Pappano in October 2018. Two powerhouse voices make their Royal Opera debuts—Swedish bass-baritone John Lundgren singing Wotan/Wanderer and Australian tenor Stuart Skelton as Siegmund. Plus, 2018 Birgit Nilsson Prize-winner soprano Nina Stemme sings Brünnhilde.

Also part of the series is Covent Garden’s first production of Britten’s Billy Budd in almost two decades, directed by Deborah Warner; and Giordano’s French Revolution-set opera, Andrea Chénier, featuring American soprano Sondra Radvanovsky as Maddalena de Coigny and acclaimed tenor and Covent Garden regular, Roberto Alagna in the title role.

The Opera Series continues through the summer with productions presented in partnership with Rai, Italy and the European Broadcasting Union, taking listeners to the Rossini Opera Festival, Teatro dell’Opera (Rome), and La Scala (Milan). From the Rossini Opera Festival, comes one of the less performed works of Rossini, Adina. This broadcast features New Orleans-native, soprano Lisette Oropesa, in the title role and her festival debut in Pesaro. Also rarely heard is Verdi’s Attila—presented in a broadcast from the opening night of La Scala’s 2018-19 season with conductor Riccardo Chailly at the podium, and sought-after Russian bass, Ildar Abdrazakov, in the title role opposite Spanish soprano Saioa Hernández in her La Scala debut as Odabella.

Lyric Opera of Chicago brings to life favorite works of the operatic repertoire, including Bellini’s Norma, Mozart’s The Magic Flute, Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor, and Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin.  The LA Opera’s 2018-19 season yields productions of Verdi’s Don Carlo and Mozart’s The Clemency of Titus.

OperaDelaware’s exciting line-up includes Puccini’s Il trittico — his trilogy of three one-act operas. The pairing of Puccini’s first two acts, Il Tabarro and Suor Angelica is followed by a pairing of Gianni Schicchi with a comic sequel, Michael Ching’s Buoso’s Ghost, in which we follow the Schicchi characters in a continuing story packed with drama and laughs. OperaDelaware’s broadcasts conclude with Anthony Barrese’s widely-celebrated 21st century recreation of Franco Faccio’s Amleto.

The WFMT OPERA SERIES also features a semi-staged version of Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro from Edo de Waart and the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, and a much-awaited performance of Giovanni Bottesini’s little known comic work, Alì Babà, from Opera Southwest.

Spend Saturday nights at the opera up until the cusp of the Advent and Christmas season, right here on DZFE.