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.

Next Episode

The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay

January 3, 2026 1:00 pm

Mason Bates

Based on Michael Chabon’s Pulitzer Prize-winning book, The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay is a heartwarming tale of hope, idealism and youthful exuberance, in which two cousins invent an anti-fascist superhero and launch their own comic-book superhero series with a goal to recruit 1930s America in the fight against Nazism. From the Metropolitan Opera's Fall season.

  • I Puritani

    I Puritani

    January 10, 2026 1:00 pm

    Vincenzo Bellini

    Bellini's final and virtuosic opera, with spellbinding arias, is an intense love triangle set during the 17th century English Civil War between Puritans and Royalists. A live performance from the Metropolitan Opera, led by Marco Armiliato.
  • Carmen

    Carmen

    January 17, 2026 12:30 pm

    Georges Bizet

    A long-held favorite, full of passion, power and drama, and remarkable in its innovation, Carmen is a volatile love story tale of volatile love between a fiery seductress, a vulnerable soldier, and a charismatic bullfighter.
  • Porgy and Bess

    Porgy and Bess

    January 24, 2026 1:00 pm

    George and Ira Gershwin

    The Gershwins' supreme operatic achievement, Porgy and Bess, portrays Americana through its distinct music and an American story about the delights and struggles of life in a Black neighborhood in early 20th century Charleston, South Carolina. Live from the Metropolitan Opera.
  • Arabella

    Arabella

    January 31, 2026 1:00 pm

    Richard Strauss

    Elements of sharp comedy are blended with a sense of elegance in this lighthearted opera of a woman and her family as they negotiate love and their lives’ journeys. A recorded performance from the Metropolitan Opera.
  • Werther

    Werther

    February 7, 2026 1:00 pm

    Jules Massenet

    An "Artists' Choice" broadcast from the Met! Tenor Lawrence Brownlee chose a 1979 performance of Massenet's sorrowful tale of a young poet and dreamer who despairs at lost love. Featuring tenor Alfredo Krauss in the title role. Conducted by Richard Bonynge.
  • Idomeneo

    Idomeneo

    February 14, 2026 1:00 pm

    Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

    The Metropolitan Opera’s “Artists’ Choice” series continues a 1986 performance of Mozart’s Idomeneo, based on the ancient legend of the King of Crete, who makes a fateful deal with the god Neptune to save him and his crew during a treacherous sea voyage. Featuring Frederica von Stade.
  • Manon Lescaut

    Manon Lescaut

    February 21, 2026 1:00 pm

    Giacomo Puccini

    The Metropolitan Opera's “Artists’ Choice” series continues with a 1990 performance of Puccini's sensitive and dramatic Manon Lescaut, based on the tragic love story of a young, ambitious woman and a devoted knight. Featuring Mirella Freni in the title role.
  • Les Troyens -- Part 1

    Les Troyens (Part 1) La Prise de Troie

    February 28, 2026 1:00 pm

    Hector Berlioz

    The Metropolitan Opera's "Artists' Choice" broadcast continues with a 1974 production of Part 1 of Hector Berlioz's epic, Les Troyens, a story of the aftermath of the Trojan War, featuring conductor Rafael Kubelick and singers Jon Vickers and Shirley Verrett.
  • Les Troyens (Part 2)

    Les Troyens (Part 2) Les Troyens à Carthage

    March 7, 2026 1:00 pm

    Hector Berlioz

    The Metropolitan Opera's "Artists' Choice" series continues with Part 2 of Hector Berlioz's epic Les Troyen, a tragic love story of Queen Didon of Carthage and Énée, a hero from the Trojan War. A 1974 production conducted by Rafael Kubelik, featuring Jon Vickers and Christa Ludwig.
  • A scene from Act I of Puccini's "Madama Butterfly." Photo: Richard Termine / Met Opera

    Madama Butterfly

    March 14, 2026 1:00 pm

    Giacomo Puccini

    Puccini's sensitive and heart wrenching tragedy of a young Japanese geisha who clings to the belief that her marriage to an American naval officer is permanent, and that he will return after abandonment. One of the most moving roles in opera. This live production from the Metropolitan Opera features Sonya Yoncheva in the title role.
  • Tristan und Isolde

    Tristan und Isolde

    March 21, 2026 12:00 pm

    Richard Wagner

    Wagner's innovative opera with seamless music weaves the story of forbidden love between Isolde, an Irish princess, and Tristan, a servant of King Marke of Cornwall, and the power of their love strengthened by death. A live production from the Metropolitan Opera with Lise Davidsen and Michael Spyres.
  • La Traviata

    La Traviata

    March 28, 2026 1:00 pm

    Giuseppe Verdi

    Based on play by Alexandre Dumas, fils, the story of life-changing love and sacrifice between a free-spirited courtesan Violetta, and the impetuous Alfredo, torn by his love for Violetta and family duty. This live production from the Metropolitan Opera features Lisette Oropessa in the title role.