Classical WETA Opera House

Saturdays on Classical WETA 90.9 FM

Classical WETA is Washington's home for opera year round.

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

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Upcoming broadcasts

Billy Budd

Royal Opera House, Covent Garden

Saturday, August 24, 2019 - 1:00pm

Composer:

BENJAMIN BRITTEN

Conductor:

Ivor Bolton

Based on Hermann Melville’s novella and employing stark and moving musical language, Billy Budd is the heartbreaking tale of a naïve and innocent sailor who, though a series of misunderstandings, is sentenced to death, and the captain who reflects on that somber decision. This production of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, features Jacques Imbrailo in the title role, conducted by Ivor Bolton.

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Andrea Chénier

Royal Opera House, Covent Garden

Saturday, August 31, 2019 - 1:00pm

Composer:

UMBERTO GIORDANO

Conductor:

Daniel Oren

With a backdrop of the French Revolution, Andrea Chénier is loosely based on the life and tragic death of French poet André Chenier, who was executed as a revolutionary. This verismo opera offers a glimpse of Parisian life during the French Revolution. Tenor Roberto Alagna stars in the title role, along with Sondra Radvanovsky and Rosalind Plowright. This production from Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, is conducted Daniel Oren.

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Previous broadcasts

La Forza Del Destino

Royal Opera House, Covent Garden

Saturday, August 17, 2019 - 1:00pm

Composer:

GIUSEPPE VERDI

Conductor:

Sir Antonio Pappano

One of Verdi’s most driving works, with magnificent choral segments, La Forza del Destino portrays a man’s quest to avenge his father’s death in a twist of fate that involved his own sister. Anna Netrebko and Jonas Kaufmann star in this production from the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, conducted by Sir Antonio Pappano.

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Queen of Spades (C) Royal Opera House 2018. Photo by Catherine Ashmore

The Queen of Spades

Royal Opera House, Covent Garden

Saturday, August 10, 2019 - 1:00pm

Composer:

PIOTR ILYICH TCHAIKOVSKY

Conductor:

Sir Antonio Pappano

Based loosely on Pushkin’s play of the same name, The Queen of Spades paints a grim picture of a soldier, whose chance for true love is thwarted by his obsession for a card game that results in his, and his lover’s, ultimate downfall. This production from the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, sung in Russian, is conducted by Sir Antonio Papanno and features Alexandrs Antonenko and Dame Felicity Palmer.

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