The Metropolitan Opera 2017/2018 Saturday Matinee broadcasts continue on WAMC. The operas will air every Saturday at 1PM until May 5th, 2018.
January 6th, 2018 @1PM-- Hansel and Gretel (Engelbert Humperdinck)
A Met English-language holiday presentation, Richard Jones’s clever production of Humperdinck’s fairy-tale opera is based on the Brothers Grimm story. Donald Runnicles conducts the sweeping score and a delightful cast, including the legendary Dolora Zajick as the wayward siblings’ mother. Tara Erraught and Ingeborg Gillebo share the role of Hansel, and Lisette Oropesa and Maureen McKay share the role of Gretel.
January 13th, 2018 @1PM--Cavalleria Rusticana & Pagliacci (Pietro Mascagni / Ruggero Leoncavallo)
Roberto Alagna takes on the leading tenor roles in both parts of opera’s most popular double bill. In Cavalleria Rusticana, Ekaterina Semenchuk and Eva-Maria Westbroek share the role of the woebegone Santuzza, with Aleksandra Kurzak as the hot-blooded Nedda in Pagliacci. Nicola Luisotti conducts Sir David McVicar’s production, which heightens the melo-dramaticaction of this timeless verismo pairing.
January 20th, 2018 @1PM—Thaïs (Jules Massenet)
Ailyn Pérez is the alluring courtesan and Gerald Finley is the holy man who tries to resist her powers of seduction in Massenet’s tale of sensuality versus spirituality. Emmanuel Villaume conducts.
January 27th, 2018 @1PM—Tosca (Giacomo Puccini)
Sir David McVicar’s ravishing new production offers a splendid backdrop for two extraordinary sopranos sharing the title role of the jealous prima donna: Sonya Yoncheva (pictured above) and Anna Netrebko. Vittorio Grigolo and Marcelo Álvarez alternate in the role of Tosca’s revolutionary artist lover Cavaradossi, with Željko Lu?i? and Michael Volle as the depraved police chief Scarpia. Emmanuel Villaume and Bertrand de Billy share conducting duties.
New Year’s Day Special Programming:
12AM-5AM—The Toast of the Nation
An NPR tradition every New Year's since the 1970s, Toast of the Nation is the perfect audio complement for the occasion. It's festive jazz you can party to. Spirited, improvised, and swinging, each segment stops in a Blue Note venue throughout the country and the world!
9AM— The 2017 Music Memorial Hour
Some of the prominent popular musicians who passed away in 2017 are celebrated in a one-hour special hosted by public radio music historian Paul Ingles. Music included from Chuck Berry, Fats Domino, Chris Cornell, Gregg Allman, Tom Petty, Glen Campbell and more.
10AM-12PM-- New Year's with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra
Ring in the New Year with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and a concert of Strauss waltzes and polkas. Noa Wildschut makes his Heinz Hall debut to play Chausson’s Poeme and Ravel’s Tzigane. Manfred Honeck then conducts a program of musical gems from the waltz and polka tradition.
2PM--Capitol Steps: Politics Takes a Holiday New Year's Edition 2017/2018
Put down those indictments, Robert Mueller – if you’re hoping Paul Manafort will sing like a canary, all you have to do is tune in to the Capitol Steps year-end edition of “Politics Takes a Holiday.” You might even pick up some classified secrets as he joins the Donald to sing “I’m So Indicted.”
Also featured in the Capitol Steps’ show will be the year’s biggest stars – Mike Pence, Rex Tillerson, Hillary Clinton, Vladimir Putin, Bernie Sanders, and those who were gone too soon – Sean Spicer, Tom Price, and, of course, the Mooch.
Now is your chance to finally enjoy the headlines you were too scared to read. After all, the Capitol Steps won’t tell you what to think, but they will tell you what rhymes with Papadopoulos.