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

Die Walküre

The Metropolitan Opera

Saturday, March 30, 2019 - 12:00pm

Composer:

RICHARD WAGNER

Conductor:

Philippe Jordan

The second opera in Wagner’s monumental Ring cycle, Die Walküre has long stood on its own as an evening of extraordinarily powerful theater. Part of this appeal lies in its focus on some of the Ring’s most interesting characters at decisive moments of their lives: Wotan, the leader of the gods; his wife, Fricka; his twin offspring, Siegmund and Sieglinde; and, above all, Wotan’s warrior daughter Brünnhilde. These characters and others follow their destinies to some of Wagner’s most remarkable music.

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Tosca

The Metropolitan Opera

Saturday, April 6, 2019 - 1:00pm

Composer:

GIACOMO PUCCINI

Conductor:

Carlo Rizzi

Puccini’s melodrama about a volatile diva, a sadistic police chief, and an idealistic artist has offended and thrilled audiences for more than a century. Critics, for their part, have often had problems with Tosca’s rather grungy subject matter, the directness and intensity of its score, and the crowd-pleasing dramatic opportunities it provides for its lead roles. But these same aspects have made Tosca one of a handful of iconic works that seem to represent opera in the public imagination. Tosca’s popularity is further secured by a superb and exhilarating dramatic sweep, a driving score of abundant melody and theatrical shrewdness, and a career-defining title role.

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Siegfried

The Metropolitan Opera

Saturday, April 13, 2019 - 11:30am

Composer:

RICHARD WAGNER

Conductor:

Philippe Jordan

The third opera in Wagner’s four-part Der Ring des Nibelungen, Siegfried is the coming-of-age story of the ultimate hero and his role in the struggle for supreme power, which is embodied by the magic ring introduced in Das Rheingold. While characters from earlier parts of the saga return in Siegfried, the emphasis is clearly on the impetuous title hero who knows no fear and, eventually, on fallen warrior-goddess Brünnhilde in her mortal incarnation.

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Previous broadcasts

Samson Et Dalila

The Metropolitan Opera

Saturday, March 23, 2019 - 1:00pm

Composer:

CAMILLE SAINT-SAËNS

Conductor:

Sir Mark Elder

The source of this popular opera is a single chapter in the biblical Book of Judges, and the brevity of the tale did nothing to prevent it from becoming one of the world’s great stories of love (or at least passion)—as well as the archetypal depiction of a man betrayed by an immoral woman. Saint-Saëns’s opera, along with other artistic renderings across multiple genres, has had an important role in the popularization of this tale. Despite tepid success early on, Samson et Dalila eventually conquered the operatic world and has proven itself a magnificent evening of theater.

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Falstaff

The Metropolitan Opera

Saturday, March 16, 2019 - 1:00pm

Composer:

GIUSEPPE VERDI

Conductor:

Richard Farnes

A deeply human comedy full of humor and genuine emotion, Verdi’s last opera is a splendid finale to an unparalleled career in the theater. The story is an amalgamation of scenes from Shakespeare, primarily drawn from the comedy The Merry Wives of Windsor. It centers on the remarkable personality of Sir John Falstaff, one of literature’s most compelling characters. With a supremely well-crafted score, which has long commanded the respect even of Verdi’s critics, it is an astounding work and among the greatest operatic comedies of all time.

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