Opera on WNED Classical

Enjoy complete performances of world famous operas from Verdi, Puccini, Mozart and many more Saturdays at 1pm.

For many years, radio broadcasts from "The Metropolitan Opera" have been a Saturday tradition in many American households. Met Opera broadcasts are usually performed live from Lincoln Center in New York City and can be heard from December through May on WNED Classical.    

The WFMT Radio Network Opera series complements the Metropolitan Opera Broadcasts, filling in the schedule to complete the year. From Milan to New York, Barcelona to Chicago, you'll have  a front-row seat to performances from some of the world’s greatest opera companies and performers.

WNED Classical is proud to share performances by the Metropolitan Opera, based in New York City, on the radio. Join us weekly on Saturdays at 1pm (December through June) for a variety of productions performed by one of the country’s premiere opera companies.

The Metropolitan Opera’s Saturday Matinee broadcasts are the longest-running continuous classical music program in radio history. For more than nine decades, the Metropolitan Opera Radio Broadcasts have brought opera into millions of homes, playing a vital and unparalleled role in the development and appreciation of opera in this country. The broadcasts debuted on Dec. 25, 1931, with Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel, and are now the longest-running classical music series in American broadcast history.

Broadcasts can be heard on WNED Classical at 1pm every Saturday except as noted.

Tune in at 94. FM in Buffalo or anywhere in the world our website's live player or WNED Classical app.

See what’s coming up below:

(Performance from September 27, 2023) 

Yannick Nézet-Séguin takes the podium for three performances of Verdi’s soul-stirring Requiem, a unique and towering masterpiece that stands as one of the repertory’s great showcases of vocal, choral, and orchestral writing. A thrilling quartet of soloists joins the magnificent Met Orchestra and Chorus: soprano Leah Hawkins, mezzo-soprano Karen Cargill, tenor Matthew Polenzani, and bass Dmitry Belosselskiy. 

PROGRAM 

MUSIC 

The score calls for a large chorus, orchestra, and four soloists. The sensational effects found in Verdi’s operas are also in full force here—the thundering drama of the “Dies irae,” repeated at key moments throughout the piece, captures the terror associated with contemplating the end of time. Orchestral commentary on the “action” recalls the sophisticated techniques found in the operas of this mature phase of Verdi’s career—from the loud rumble of the trombones at the end of the “Sanctus” to the pictorial use of the oboe, as the text refers to herding sheep, in the beautiful tenor solo “Ingemisco.” Having the chorus available throughout allows for it to participate in many different ways. They respond to the soloists in quiet moments, such as the wrenching “Lacrimosa,” as well as in the monumental “Libera me” finale. Verdi even gives two of the most unforgettable passages of the score entirely to the chorus: the “Dies irae” and the complex “Sanctus” fugue. But the four soloists bear the greatest share of communicating the ideas at stake in the monumental text. This is nowhere more apparent than in the final “Libera me.” The greatest emotional power here derives from the solo soprano part, which climaxes with a run up to a high C that seems to embody the sum total of human fear and aspiration. 

Composer: Charles Gounod 

Conductor: Yannick Nézet-Séguin 

Venue: The Metropolitan Opera House, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts NYC 

CAST 

Soprano: Leah Hawkins 

Mezzo-Soprano:  Karen Cargill  

Tenor: Matthew Polenzani 

Bass:  Dmitry Belosselskiy  

Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and Chorus 

(Performance from April 6, 1974) 

Few roles captured the artistry of the great Luciano Pavarotti as completely as the loveable, simple farmer Nemorino. This is the first time the tenor starred in a broadcast of L’Elisir from the Met, and it shows just why he, his incomparable voice, and his charm were embraced by the entire world. It’s also no wonder that Adina (a sparkling Judith Blegen) finally admits she returns his love. John Reardon is the dashing Sergeant Belcore who momentarily throws a wrench into things, but with some help from Ezio Flagello (Dr. Dulcamara) everything turns out as it should. 

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MUSIC 

What separates L’Elisir d’Amore from dozens of charming comedies composed around the same time is not only the superiority of its hit numbers but the overall consistency of its music. It represents the best of the bel canto tradition that reigned in Italian opera in the early 19th century—from funny patter songs to rich ensembles to wrenching melody in the solos, most notably the tenor’s show-stopping “Una furtiva lagrima” in Act II. Its variations between major and minor keys in the climaxes are one of opera’s savviest depictions of a character’s dawning consciousness. 

Composer: Gaetano Donizetti 

Libretto: Felice Romani 

Conductor:Max Rudolf 

Venue: The Metropolitan Opera House, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts NYC 

CAST: 

Nemorino: Luciano Pavarotti 

Adina: Judith Blegen 

Belcore: John Reardon 

Dr. Dulcamara: Ezio Flagello

Celebrating the opera’s 150th anniversary with a performance from December 31, 1986 

“A sumptuous fantasy out of some grand hotel of the Belle Epoch”—this was one critic’s comment when this production of the most Viennese of all operettas opened at the Met. Staged by Vienna’s own Otto Schenk (who also does a star turn as the jailer Frosch), with gorgeous sets and costumes by Günther Schneider-Siemssen and Peter J. Hall, it’s the essence of a carefree, slightly naughty take on the myth of the Imperial city by the Danube. Of course it helps to have an all-star cast: from Tatiana Troyanos’s arch, smoldering Prince Orlofsky to Kiri Te Kanawa’s dreamy, elegant Rosalinde to Judith Blegen’s pert Adele. No wonder all the men involved are completely smitten—and everybody is having the time of their lives. 

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Composer: Johann Strauss Jr. 

Libretto: Karl Haffner And Richard Genée 

Conductor: Jeffrey Tate 

Venue: The Metropolitan Opera House, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts NYC 

CAST: 

Eisenstein: Håkan Hagegård 

Prince Orlofsky: Tatiana Troyanos 

Adele: Judith Blegen 

Dr. Falke: Michael Devlin 

Rosalinde: Kiri Te Kanawa 

Alfred: David Rendall 

Puccini’s bittersweet love story makes a rare Met appearance, with soprano Angel Blue starring as the French courtesan Magda, opposite tenor Jonathan Tetelman in his highly anticipated company debut as Ruggero, an idealistic young man who offers her an alternative to her life of excess. Maestro Speranza Scappucci conducts Nicolas Joël’s Art Deco–inspired staging, which transports audiences from the heart of Parisian nightlife to a dreamy vision of the French Riviera. In their Met debuts, soprano Emily Pogorelc and tenor Bekhzod Davronov complete the sterling cast as Lisette and Prunier. 

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The score of La Rondine is sophisticated and economical—and entirely engrossing. It flows with the sort of melody that could only come from Puccini, including the dreamy dance sequences in Act II and the ensemble in the same scene, “Bevo al tuo fresco sorriso,” as well as the opera’s most famous aria, Act I’s “Chi il bel sogno di Doretta.” 

Composer: Giacomo Puccini 

Libretto: Giuseppe Adami 

Conductor: Speranza Scappucci 

Venue: The Metropolitan Opera House, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts NYC 

CAST: 

Magda: Angel Blue 

Ruggero: Jonathan Tetelman 

Lisette: Emily Pogorelc 

Prunier: Bekhzod Davronov

Performance from spring 2024 

Terence Blanchard’s stirring drama returns following its landmark company premiere in 2021, with bass-baritone Ryan Speedo Green starring as Charles, a young man faced with a fateful decision. Soprano Latonia Moore reprises her heartbreaking portrayal as Charles’s mother, Billie, with rising soprano Brittany Renee doing triple duty as Charles’s love interest, Greta, as well as the embodiments of Loneliness and Destiny. James Robinson and Camille A. Brown’s gripping production includes what is surely the only step dance in opera. Evan Rogister conducts Blanchard’s score, which powerfully melds opera and jazz. 

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MUSIC 

Both grounded in the classical idiom and deeply steeped in the form-defying jazz that has been central to Blanchard’s output, Fire Shut Up in My Bones does not fit perfectly into any single category. The vocal writing parallels this path, composed for singers with the power of traditional classical training but also requiring a comfort level with the methods of jazz and gospel singing. Charles’s soliloquys, musicalized internal monologues that give voice to the character’s epic psychological journey to self-acceptance, are prime examples of the score’s demands on the performer’s skills in several diverse genres at once. 

Composer: Terence Blanchard 

Libretto: Kasi Lemmons 

Conductor: Evan Rogister 

Venue: The Metropolitan Opera House, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts NYC 

CAST: 

Charles: Ryan Speedo Green 

Billie: Latonia Moore 

Destiny/Loneliness/Greta: Brittany Renee 

Eminent American composer John Adams returns to the Met after a decade-long hiatus for the company premiere of his acclaimed opera-oratorio, which incorporates sacred and secular texts in English, Spanish, and Latin, from biblical times to the present day, in an extraordinarily dramatic retelling of the Nativity. El Niño brings together three of contemporary opera’s fiercest champions, all of whom make highly anticipated company debuts: Marin Alsop, one of the great conductors of our time, who has led more than 200 new-music premieres; soprano Julia Bullock, a leading voice on and off stage; and pathbreaking bass-baritone Davóne Tines. Radiant mezzo-sopranos J’Nai Bridges and Daniela Mack take turns completing the principal trio. The moving, fully-staged new production also marks the Met debut of Lileana Blain-Cruz, resident director at Lincoln Center Theater, who received universal acclaim for her Tony-nominated 2022 production of The Skin of Our Teeth. 

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Composer: John Adams 

Conductor: Marin Alsop 

Venue: The Metropolitan Opera House, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts NYC 

CAST: 

Soprano: Julia Bullock 

Mezzo-Soprano: Daniela Mack 

Bass-Baritone: Davóne Tines 

Countertenor: Key’mon W. Murrah 

Countertenor: Siman Chung 

Countertenor: Eric Jurenas 

Extraordinary soprano, Aleksandra Kurzak tackles the demanding role of Cio-Cio-San, the loyal geisha at the heart of Puccini’s devastating tragedy. Tenor Jonathan Tetelman stars as the callous American naval officer Pinkerton, whose betrayal destroys her. Mezzo-soprano Elizabeth DeShong take on the role of the steadfast maid Suzuki, and baritone Lucas Meachem are the American consul Sharpless. Acclaimed maestro Xian Zhang makes her Met debut conducting Anthony Minghella’s vivid production. 

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MUSIC 

Puccini achieved a new level of sophistication with his use of the orchestra in this score, with subtle colorings and sonorities throughout. But the opera rests squarely on the performer of the title role: On stage for most of the time, Cio-Cio-San is the only character that experiences true (and tragic) development. The singer must convey an astounding array of emotions and characteristics, from ethereal to fleshly to intelligent to dreamy-bordering-on-insane, to resigned in the final scene. 

Composer: Giacomo Puccini 

Libretto: Giuseppe Giacosa & Luigi Illica 

Conductor: Xian Zhang 

Venue: The Metropolitan Opera House, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts NYC 

CAST: 

Cio-Cio-San: Asmik Grigorian 

Pinkerton: Jonathan Tetelman 

Suzuki: Elizabeth DeShong 

Sharpless: Lucas Meachem

Pulitzer Prize–winning composer Kevin Puts’s hit new opera, which played to sold-out audiences during its world-premiere production last season, triumphantly returns. The original trio of legendary divas—sopranos Renée Fleming and Kelli O’Hara and mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato—reprise their celebrated portrayals of three women from different eras whose lives are connected through Virginia Woolf’s novel Mrs. Dalloway. Bass-baritone Kyle Ketelsen also returns as the dying author Richard, and Kensho Watanabe conducts Phelim McDermott’s gripping staging of this heart-wrenching drama, adapted from Michael Cunningham’s acclaimed novel and the Oscar-winning film it inspired.   

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MUSIC 

In adapting The Hours for the operatic stage, Puts sought to follow the shifting perspectives between the heroines while maintaining their separate dimensions. The music for and around each of the heroines has a distinct style: a stripped-down quality for Woolf, with harmonic shifts mirroring her fraught mental instability; an appropriately light-pop sensibility for the oppressive suburban conformity surrounding Laura Brown; and a rich, colorful soundscape for Clarissa that evokes the vibrancy of New York City. Initially, these worlds exist as separate musical entities, but over the opera, they transcend the boundaries of time and space and increasingly overlap. 

Composer: Kevin Puts 

Libretto: Greg Pierce 

Conductor: Kensho Watanabe 

Venue: The Metropolitan Opera House, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts NYC 

CAST: 

Clarissa Vaughan: Renée Fleming 

Virginia Woolf: Joyce DiDonato 

Laura Brown: Kelli O’Hara 

Richard: Kyle Ketelsen 

Leonard Woolf: Sean Panikkar 

Dan Brown: Brandon Cedel 

Louis: William Burden

(Performance from October 27, 2018) 

The first of two Puccini creations to have its world premiere at the Metropolitan Opera, La Fanciulla del West is a sweeping romance set during the California Gold Rush. In this transmission from the Met’s 2018–19 Live in HD season, soprano Eva-Maria Westbroek gives a fearless performance as Minnie, the opera’s gun-toting heroine, who runs a saloon for a camp of rambunctious miners. Opposite Westbroek, tenor Jonas Kaufmann returned to the Met stage for the first time in nearly five years to sing Dick Johnson, the mysterious outlaw who wins Minnie’s heart despite his unsavory past. Baritone Željko Lučić rounds out the principal trio as the vindictive sheriff Jack Rance, and Marco Armiliato conducts a vividly cinematic staging by Giancarlo del Monaco. 

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Composer: Giacomo Puccini 

Libretto: Guelfo Civinni and Carlo Zangarini 

Conductor: Marco Armiliato 

Venue: The Metropolitan Opera House, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts NYC 

CAST: 

Minnie: Eva-Maria Westbroek 

Dick Johnson: Jonas Kaufmann 

Jack Rance: Željko Lučić 

Nick: Carlo Bosi 

Sonora: Michael Todd Simpson 

Ashby: Matthew Rose 

Jake Wallace: Oren Gradus

(Performance from January 1, 2022) 

Laurent Pelly’s storybook staging of Massenet’s Cendrillon, a hit of the 2017–18 season, is presented with an all-new English translation in an abridged 90-minute adaptation, with mezzo-soprano Isabel Leonard as its rags-to-riches princess. Maestro Emmanuel Villaume leads a delightful cast, which includes mezzo-soprano Emily D’Angelo as Cinderella’s Prince Charming, soprano Jessica Pratt as her Fairy Godmother, and mezzo-soprano Stephanie Blythe and bass-baritone Laurent Naouri as her feuding guardians. This live cinema transmission is part of the Met’s award-winning Live in HD series, bringing opera to movie theaters across the globe. 

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MUSIC

Massenet’s score features a preponderance of the lower female voices—including a mezzo-soprano as the object of Cinderella’s affection—that were so favored by French composers in the 19th century. The result is an otherworldly yet sensual tonal palette that serves as a rich background for this familiar tale. Against all the fairy-tale wonder of the score, the title character and her prince are recognizably human. Their love duet is a masterful moment emblematic of Massenet’s elegant style: The prince is lyrically effusive, while all of Cinderella’s gushing emotion is expressed in refined yet poignant phrases. 

Composer: Jules Massenet 

Libretto: Henri Cain 

Conductor: Emmanuel Villaume 

Venue: The Metropolitan Opera House, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts NYC 

CAST: 

Cinderella: Isabel Leonard 

Prince Charming: Emily D'Angelo 

Madame de la Haltière: Stephanie Blythe 

Pandolfe: Laurent Naouri 

Fairy Godmother: Jessica Pratt

Last seen at the Met in the title role of Philip Glass’s Akhnaten, countertenor Anthony Roth Costanzo stars as the mythic hero who ventures into the underworld to rescue his beloved Euridice. Soprano Ying Fang is his ill-fated bride, with soprano Elena Villalón in her company debut as Amore, the god of love who sets Orfeo on his quest. Christian Curnyn makes his Met debut conducting Gluck’s sublime setting of the ancient tale, enlivened by exuberant choreography from the legendary Mark Morris and featuring members of his renowned dance group. 

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MUSIC 

Gluck consciously avoided the sheer vocal fireworks that he felt had compromised the drama of opera during the era of the castrati—male singers who had been surgically altered before puberty to preserve their high voices. He did not originally dispense with castrati, but the castrato role of Orfeo (today sung by mezzo-sopranos and countertenors) was given an opportunity to impress through musical and dramatic refinement rather than vocal pyrotechnics. 

Composer: Christoph Willibald Gluck 

Libretto: Ranieri de' Calzabigi  

Conductor: Christian Curnyn 

Venue: The Metropolitan Opera House, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts NYC 

CAST: 

Orfeo: Anthony Roth Costanzo 

Euridice: Ying Fang 

Amore: Elena Villalón