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

Der Rosenkavalier

December 13, 2025

Richard Strauss

Elisabeth Schwarzkopf [Die Feldmarschallin] ** Otto Edelmann [Der Baron Ochs auf Lerchenau] ** Christa Ludwig [Octavian] ** Eberhard Wächter [Herr von Faninal] ** Teresa Stich-Randall [Sophie] ** Ljuba Welitsch [Marianne] ** Paul Kuen [Valzacchi] ** Kerstin Meyer [Annina] ** Nicolai Gedda [Ein Sänger] ** Philharmonia Chorus ** Loughton High School for Girls & Bancroft's School ** Philharmonia Orchestra ** Herbert von Karajan (conductor)

  • Otello

    Episode

    Giuseppe Verdi

    Plácido Domingo [Otello] ** Cheryl Studer [Desdemona] ** Sergei Leiferkus [Jago] ** Denyce Graves [Emilia] ** Ramon Vargas [Cassio] ** Michael Schade [Roderigo] ** Ildebrando D'Arcangelo [Lodovico] ** Giacomo Prestia [Montano] ** Philippe Duminy [Un Araldo] ** Chœur de l'Opéra-Bastille [Soldiers & sailors of the Republic of Venice, Venetian nobles, Cypriots, Greek, Dalmatian & Albanian soldiers, children of the island] ** Orchestre de l'Opéra-Bastille ** Myung-Whun Chung (conductor)

  • Tiefland

    Episode

    Eugen d'Albert

    Paul Schöffler [Sebastino] ** Oskar Czerwenka [Tommaso] ** Gré Brouwenstijn [Marta] ** Judith Hellwig [Pepa] ** Ruth Nixa [Antonia] ** Kerttu Metsälä [Rosalia] ** Dodi Protero [Nuri] ** Eberhard Wächter [Moruccio] ** Hans Hopf [Pedro] ** Waldemar Kmentt [Nando] ** Vienna State Opera Chorus ** Vienna Symphony Orchestra ** Rudolf Moralt (conductor)

  • Hippolyte et Aricie

    Episode

    Jean-Philippe Rameau

    Véronique Gens [Aricie] ** Jean-Paul Fouchécourt [Hippolyte] ** Bernarda Fink (alto) [Phèdre] ** Russell Smythe [Thésée] ** Thérèse Feighan [Diane] ** Annick Massis [L'Amour] ** Laurent Naouri [Pluton/Neptune/Jupiter] ** Florence Katz [Onone] ** Jean-Lous Georgel [Mercure/Arcas] ** Luc Coadou [Tisiphone] ** Jean-Louis Meunier [Parque] ** Jacques-François Loiseleur des Longchamps [Parque] ** Jérôme Varnier [Parque] ** Monique Simon [La Grande-Prêtresse] ** Stephan Van Dyck [Un Suivant de l'Amour] ** Kiyoko Okada [Une Prêtresse] ** Meredith Hall [Une Chasseresse] ** Ensemble Vocal Sagittarius [Nymphes de Diane, habitants de la forêt, suivants de l'Amour, prêtresses de Diane, divinités infernales, Trézéniens, matelots, chasseurs et chasseresses, bergers et bergères] ** Les musiciens du Louvre ** Marc Minkowski (conductor)

  • Orphée et Euridice

    Episode

    Christoph Willibald Gluck

    Jean-Paul Fouchécourt [Orphée] ** Catherine Dubosc (soprano) [Euridice] ** Suzie LeBlanc [Amour] ** Opera Lafayette Orchestra and Chorus ** Ryan Brown (conductor)

  • Idomeneo

    Episode

    Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

    Anthony Rolfe Johnson (tenor) [Idomeneo] ** Anne Sofie von Otter (mezzo-soprano) [Idamante] ** Sylvia McNair [Ilia] ** Hillevi Martinpelto [Elettra] ** Nigel Robson [Arbace] ** Glenn Winslade [Gran Sacerdote di Nettuno] ** Cornelius Hauptmann (bass) [La Voce] ** Angela Kazimierczuk [Cretesa 1] ** Jonathan Peter Kenny [Cretesa 2] ** Philip Salmon [Troiane 1] ** Stephen Charlesworth [Troiane 2] ** The Monteverdi Choir ** The English Baroque Soloists ** John Eliot Gardiner (conductor)

  • Un Ballo in Maschera

    Episode

    Giuseppe Verdi

    Luciano Pavarotti (tenor) [Riccardo] ** Renato Bruson [Renato] ** Margaret Price [Amelia] ** Christa Ludwig [Ulrica] ** Kathleen Battle [Oscar] ** Peter Weber [Silvano] ** Robert Lloyd [Samuel] ** Malcolm King [Tom] ** Alexander Oliver [Un Giudice] ** Peter Hall [Un Servo d'Amelia] ** London Opera Chorus [Deputies, officers, sailors, guards, men and women of the people, gentlemen, followers of Samuel and Tom, servants, maskers and dancing couples] ** Royal College of Music Junior Department Chorus ** National Philharmonic Orchestra ** Sir Georg Solti (conductor)