Opera Matinee

WETA Classical is Washington's home for opera year round. From December through early June, experience the power and passion of the Metropolitan Opera's Saturday Matinee Broadcasts. The rest of the year features performances from leading opera houses around the world.

  • Les fêtes d'Hébé

    Les fêtes d'Hébé

    July 19, 2025 1:00 pm

    Jean-Philippe Rameau

    Les fêtes d'Hébé, Rameau's Baroque opera is a set of vignettes about love, poetry, music and dance surrounding Hébé, goddess of youth, who descends to sample earthly pleasures. A production of Les Arts Florissants and Opera Comique in Paris.
  • Manon Lescaut

    Manon Lescaut

    July 26, 2025 1:00 pm

    Daniel Auber

    In 18th century Paris, an ill-fated love affair between Manon, who yearns for the finer things in life, and the besotted Chevalier des Grieux. This recorded performance from Teatro Regio in Turin features soprano Rocío Pérez in the title role.
  • Manon

    Manon

    August 2, 2025 1:00 pm

    Jules Massenet

    Massenet’s most popular and enduring operas, Manon, depicts the ill-fated love affair between actress Manon and the knight Le Chevalier des Grieux that ends in disrepute and failed love. A recorded performance from Teatro Regio in Turin with Ekaterina Bakanova in the title role.
  • Manon Lescaut

    Manon Lescaut

    August 9, 2025 1:00 pm

    Giacomo Puccini

    Puccini's take on the story of Manon Lescaut sensitively portrays a doomed love affair between actress Manon and the knight Le Chevalier des Grieux. This recorded performance from Teatro Regio in Turin features Erika Grimaldi in the title role, led by Renato Palumbo.
  • Trouble in Tahiti and A Quiet Place

    Trouble in Tahiti and A Quiet Place

    August 16, 2025 1:00 pm

    Leonard Bernstein

    A double bill of Leonard Bernstein: Trouble in Tahiti (1952) and its sequel, A Quiet Place (1983), dramas of a troubled marriage and family. A recorded performance from the Royal Ballet and Opera in London.
  • The Fairy Queen

    Turandot

    August 23, 2025 1:00 pm

    Giacomo Puccini

    Puccini's final work, Turandot has riveted audiences for generations with the tale of a cold princess who consents to marry a stranger only if he can solve three riddles, and his certain death if he fails – and the determined prince who wins her love. A recorded performance from Royal Ballet and Opera.
  • Listener's Choice

    Die Walküre

    August 30, 2025 1:00 pm

    Richard Wagner

    The second in the four-part Ring cycle of Richard Wagner, Die Walküre, is a myth-based drama of family relationships, betrayal, morality and sacrifice between gods and mortals. A recorded performance from the Royal Ballet and Opera.