Opera at Eight

In addition to the opera excerpts presented throughout the day, WETA VivaLaVoce features a complete opera at 8 pm each day: Opera at 8. These opera performances are taken from the extensive WETA Classical library, ranging from classic recordings to the most recent releases.

Current Episode

Anna Bolena

November 21, 2024

Gaetano Donizetti

Joan Sutherland (soprano) [Anna Bolena] ** Samuel Ramey (bass) [Enrico VIII] ** Jerry Hadley (tenor) [Lord Riccardo Percy] ** Susanne Mentzer [Giovanna Seymour] ** Bernadette Manca di Nissa [Smeton] ** Giorgio Surian [Lord Rochefort] ** Ernesto Gavazzi [Sir Hervey] ** Chorus of the Welsh National Opera [Cortigiani, dame, paggi, scudieri, cacciatori, sceriffi, guardie] ** Orchestra of the Welsh National Opera ** Richard Bonynge (conductor)

  • L'isola disabitata

    Episode

    Joseph Haydn

    Susanne Mentzer [Costanza] ** Ying Huang [Silvia] ** John Aler [Gernando] ** Christopher Schaldenbrand [Enrico] ** Padova Chamber Orchestra ** David Golub (conductor)

  • Ariodante

    Episode

    George Frideric Handel

    Joyce DiDonato [Ariodante] ** Matthew Brook [King of Scotland] ** Karina Gauvin [Ginevra] ** Topi Lehtipuu [Lurcanio] ** Marie-Nicole Lemieux [Polinesso] ** Sabina Puértolas [Dalinda] ** Anicio Zorzi Giustiniani [Odoardo] ** Il Complesso Barocco ** Alan Curtis (conductor)

  • Aida

    Episode

    Giuseppe Verdi

    Ruggero Raimondi (baritone) [King of Egypt] ** Elena Obraztsova (mezzo-soprano) [Amneris] ** Katia Ricciarelli (soprano) [Aida] ** Plácido Domingo (tenor) [Radamès] ** Nicolai Ghiaurov (bass) [Ramfis] ** Leo Nucci (baritone) [Amonasro] ** Piero de Palma (tenor) [Messenger] ** Coro e Orchestra del Teatro alla Scala ** Claudio Abbado (conductor)

  • Pénélope

    Episode

    Gabriel Fauré

    Jessye Norman (soprano) [Pénélope] ** Jocelyne Taillon [Euryclée] ** Colette Alliot-Lugaz [Alkandre] ** Christine Barbaux (soprano) [Phylo] ** Danielle Borst [Lydie] ** Michelle Command [Mélantho] ** Norma Lerer [Cléone] ** Alain Vanzo [Ulysse] ** Jean Dupouy [Antinoüs] ** Paul Guigue [Ctésippe] ** Gérard Friedmann [Léodès] ** Philippe Huttenlocher [Eurymaque] ** José van Dam (baritone) [Eumée] ** François Le Roux [Pisandre] ** Ensemble Vocal Jean LaForge ** Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo ** Charles Dutoit (conductor)

  • Ottone in villa

    Episode

    Antonio Vivaldi

    Sonia Prina [Ottone] ** Julia Lezhneva [Caio Silio] ** Verónica Cangemi [Cleonilla] ** Roberta Invernizzi [Tullia] ** Topi Lehtipuu [Decio] ** Il Giardino Armonico ** Giovanni Antonini (conductor)

  • Les Huguenots

    Episode

    Giacomo Meyerbeer

    Ghylaine Raphanel [Marguerite de Valois] ** Françoise Pollet [Valentine] ** Danielle Borst [Urbain] ** Richard Leech (tenor) [Raoul de Nangis] ** Gilles Cachemaille (bass) [Le Comte de Nevers] ** Boris Martinovic [Le Comte de Saint-Bris] ** Nicola Ghiuselev [Marcel] ** Jean-Luc Maurette [De Tavannes] ** Christian Jean [De Cossé/Bois Roé/Un Moine] ** Marc Barrard (baritone) [De Thoré] ** Antoine Garcin [De Retz] ** Herve Martin [De Meru/Un Moine/Un Archer] ** Christian Boulay [Maurevert/Un Moine] ** Chours de l'Opéra de Montpellier ** Orchestre Philharmonique de Montpellier ** Cyril Diederich (conductor)

  • Il re pastore

    Episode

    Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

    Reri Grist [Aminta] ** Lucia Popp [Elisa] ** Arlene Saunders [Tamiri] ** Nicola Monti [Agenore] ** Luigi Alva [Alessandro] ** Orchestra of Naples ** Denis Vaughan (conductor)

  • Il turco in Italia

    Episode

    Gioachino Rossini

    Michele Pertusi [Selim] ** Cecilia Bartoli (mezzo-soprano) [Donna Fiorilla] ** Alessandro Corbelli [Don Geronio] ** Ramon Vargas [Don Narciso] ** Roberto de Candia (baritone) [Poeta] ** Laura Polverelli [Zaida] ** Francesco Piccoli [Albazar] ** Coro e Orchestra del Teatro alla Scala ** Riccardo Chailly (conductor)

  • Carmen

    Episode

    Georges Bizet

    Victoria de los Angeles [Carmen] ** Nicolai Gedda [Don José] ** Janine Micheau [Micaëla] ** Ernest Blanc [Escamillo] ** Denise Monteil [Frasquita] ** Marcelle Croisier [Mercédès] ** Monique Linval [Mercédès] ** Jean-Christophe Benoit [Le Dancaïr] ** Michel Hamel [Le Remendado] ** Bernard Plantey [Moralès] ** Xavier Depraz [Zuniga] ** Chours de la Radiodiffusion Française ** Orchestre National de la Radiodiffusion Française ** Petits Chanteurs de Versailles ** Sir Thomas Beecham (conductor)