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

Capriccio

November 30, 2024 1:00 pm

Richard Strauss

Strauss's final opera, from 1942, is subtitled "A Conversation Piece for Music." A lighthearted competition between a poet and a composer -- a rivalry of words and music -- for a countess's attention. A recorded performance by the Salzburg Festival, conducted by Christian Thielemann.

  • Carmen

    Carmen

    March 1, 2025 1:00 pm

    Georges Bizet

    The Metropolitan Opera commemorates the 150th anniversary of Georges Bizet's immortal opera, Carmen, the powerful and tragic tale of a passionate women and the men who love her, in this 2010 production featuring Elīna Garanča in the title role.
  • La bohème

    La bohème

    March 8, 2025 1:00 pm

    Giacomo Puccini

    Puccini’s sensitive portrayal of young bohemian artists in 19th century Paris has captured audiences for generations with some of the most memorable and moving music in opera. A live Metropolitan Opera production featuring Kristina Mikhitaryan and Joseph Calleja.
  • Fidelio

    Fidelio

    March 15, 2025 1:00 pm

    Ludwig van Beethoven

    Beethoven’s only opera is a triumphant drama of love and fidelity prevailing over tyranny.
    A live Metropolitan Opera performance with Lise Davidsen as Leonore, led by Susanna Mälkki.
  • L'enfant et les sortilèges

    L'enfant et les sortilèges and Les Mamelles de Tirésias

    March 22, 2025 1:00 pm

    Maurice Ravel and Francis Poulenc

    A French double bill! The Metropolitan Opera commemorates the 100th anniversary of Ravel's fantastical L'enfant et les sortilèges in a 1981 performance, along with Poulenc's fanciful Les Mamelles de Tirésias. Led by Manuel Rosenthal.
  • Moby Dick

    Moby Dick

    March 29, 2025 1:00 pm

    Jake Heggie

    The Metropolitan Opera premiere of Jake Heggie's 2010 adaptation of Herman Melville’s sea-drenched, heaven-storming epic on board the Pequod with the monomaniacal Captain Ahab in pursuit of the white whale. Brandon Jovanovich stars as Ahab.
  • Ainadamar

    Ainadamar

    April 5, 2025 1:00 pm

    Osvaldo Golijov

    A recorded 2024 performance of the Metropolitan Opera premiere of Osvaldo Golijov's work, based on the life of writer Federico Garcia Lorca, who faced political persecution and execution during the Spanish Civil War. With Daniela Mack and Angel Blue.
  • Die Zauberflöte

    Die Zauberflöte (The Magic Flute)

    April 12, 2025 1:00 pm

    Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

    Mozart's delightful and allegorical tale beautifully depicts a rescue from darkness to light and enlightenment -- and the fiery Queen of the Night aria! A live Metropolitan Opera performance with Ben Bliss and Golda Schultz, led by Evan Rogister.