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.

From Milan to New York, Barcelona to Chicago, WFMT gives you a front-row seat to performances from some of the world’s greatest opera companies and performers. 

The 2024 WFMT Radio Network Opera Series, runs June 12 through November 30, 2024. This first portion of the season spans through September 7, and features thrilling performances from many of the great opera houses and theaters of Vienna, France, London, Italy, and more, with world-renowned artists. 

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

Tune in at 94.5 FM in Buffalo or anywhere in the world our website's live player or WNED Classical app.

See what’s coming up below:

There are few operas, which from the very first bar endure such intense pressure, few in which the temperature swings from ice-cold calculation to overheating in mere seconds. And scarcely any in which private entanglement and personal tragedy are so interwoven with political attitudes in historical accuracy. Giacomo Puccini’s Tosca has electrified audiences since its world premiere. The shock wave emitted by the opera was so strong that decades later many reactions still tend to point to the bewilderment and overpowering of those affected rather than the qualities of the piece itself. We will hear the Bavarian State Orchestra and Chorus conducted by Aziz Shokhakimov. 

The story surrounds a love triangle involving the singer Floria Tosca, played by Eleonora Buratto, the painter Mario Cavaradossi portrayed by Charles Castronovo and the chief of police Baron Scarpia played by Ludovic Tézier. The artistic world of the protagonist couple, Tosca and Cavaradossi, is no coloristic ingredient here, but rather defines the profile of its characters – it justifies Tosca’s eccentricity, just as it does Cavaradossi’s liberality and also explains the singer’s pronounced self-confidence: The heroine of the stage becomes a heroine in real life. 

Composer: Giacomo Puccini  

Libretto: Luigi Illica; Giuseppe Giacosa  

Venue: Das Nationaltheater, München  

Presenting Company: Bavarian State Opera  

CAST:  

Floria Tosca: Eleonora Buratto  

Mario Cavaradossi: Charles Castronovo  

Baron Scarpia: Ludovic Tézier  

Cesare Angelotti: Milan Siljanov  

Sacristan: Martin Snell  

Spoletta: Tansel Akzeybek  

Sciarrone: Christian Rieger  

A Jailer: Paweł Horodyski  

Ensemble: Bavarian State Opera Orchestra and Chorus  

Conductor: Andrea Battistoni 

We hear another performance from this orchestra with a performance of The Queen of Spades on stage at The National Theater of Munich under the direction of Aziz Shokhakimov. This opera navigates the dark and obsessive tale of Hermann, performed by Brandon Jovanovich in a story of desire, gambling, and the supernatural. Asmik Grigorian and Roman Burdenko join in the performance of what some say is Tchaikovsky’s greatest work. 

Discover the secret, crack the code, get the key: What drives us to submit to the unknown, to forget what we originally felt and who we are? With The Queen of Spades, Alexander Pushkin presented a Russian variant of the Gothic novel in 1834. In it, his protagonist Hermann stares unblinkingly at the window, behind which Liza sits. While he tries to elicit the secret of the three cards from the Countess, whose ward Liza is, Liza mistakes his obsession for love. Pyotr I. Tchaikovsky stages the couple’s downfall all the more drastically in his opera, when, as the plot begins he has the possibility of a joyful life appear and allows the two to take the self-chosen path of estrangement and self-destruction into madness and death. 

Composer: Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky  

Libretto: Modest Tchaikovsky  

Venue: Das Nationaltheater München  

Presenting Company: Bavarian State Opera  

CAST:  

Hermann: Brandon Jovanovich  

Count Tomsky: Roman Burdenko  

Prince Yeletsky: Boris Pinkhasovich  

Chekalinsky: Kevin Conners  

Surin: Bálint Szabó  

Chaplitsky: Tansel Akzeybek  

Narumov: Nikita Volkov  

Countess: Violeta Urmana  

Lisa: Asmik Grigorian  

Polina: Victoria Karkacheva  

Governess: Natalie Lewis  

Ensemble: Bavarian State Opera Chorus and Orchestra  

Conductor: Aziz Shokhakimov 

Highway 1, USA 
A Historic LA Premiere, Highway 1, USA by trailblazer William Grant Still, hailed as “the Dean of African-American Composers.” Norman Garrett and Nicole Heaston star as a hardworking Black couple determined to build a better life, whose years of sacrifice turn out to be misguided. Chaz’men Williams-Ali portrays the ne’er-do-well brother who squanders every opportunity granted to him. Conducted by James Conlon, this new staging (only the second-ever professional production of this heartwarming opera) is helmed by visionary director Kaneza Schaal and production designer Christopher Myers, reuniting after their work on our stunning 2022 production of Omar. 

The Dwarf 
An Impossible Romance, a gothic tale of one-sided love in a decadent Spanish court. Oscar Wilde’s fable is brought to life through a lush and romantic score conducted by James Conlon. Tenor Rodrick Dixon stars in the title role opposite audience favorites Erica Petrocelli and Kristinn Sigmundsson as we present Alexander Zemlinsky’s The Dwarf. Last staged at LA Opera in 2008 to critical acclaim, Tony-winning director Darko Tresnjak conjures a royally opulent production, with costumes from fellow Tony Award winner Linda Cho. 
In just over three decades of existence, LA Opera has become one of America’s most exciting and ambitious opera companies. Under the leadership of James Conlon (Richard Seaver Music Director) and Christopher Koelsch (Sebastian Paul and Marybelle Musco President and CEO), the company is dedicated to staging imaginative new productions, world premiere commissions and inventive presentations of the classics that preserve the foundational works while making them feel fresh and compelling. 

Composer: William Grant Still & Alexander Zemlinsky  

Venue: Dorothy Chandler Pavilion 

Presenting Company: LA Opera 

CAST:  

Highway 1 

Mary: Nicole Heaston 

Bob: Norman Garrett 

Nate: Chaz’men Williams-Ali 

Aunt Lou: Deborah Nansteel 

Sheriff: Alan Williams 

The Dwarf 

The Dwarf: Rodrick Dixon 

Donna Clara: Erica Petrocelli 

Don Estoban: Kristinn Sigmundsson 

Ghita: Emily Magee 

Ensemble: LA Opera Orchestra and Chorus 

Conductor: James Conlon 

Hiding out in enemy territory, a prince on the run encounters a captivating beauty who scorns love. With nothing to lose, he enters an all-but-impossible contest, risking his life to win her hand. But after claiming his victory, he faces an even greater challenge: melting Turandot’s icy heart. The sensational Angela Meade takes on the iconic title role, with Russell Thomas as her fearless suitor and Guanqun Yu as the woman who shows everyone the true meaning of ultimate devotion. Music Director James Conlon conducts Puccini’s thrilling final masterpiece, one that has had audiences leaping to their feet for a century. 

Composer: Giacomo Puccini 

Libretto: Giuseppe Adami / Renato Simoni 

Venue: Dorothy Chandler Pavilion 

Presenting Company: LA Opera  

CAST:  

Turandot: Angela Meade 

Calaf: Russell Thomas 

Liù: Guanqun Yu 

Timur: Morris Robinson 

Ping: Ryan Wolfe 

PAng: Terrence Chin-Loy 

Pong: Julius Ahn 

A Mandarin: Alan Williams 

Emperor Altoum: Ashley Faatoalia 

Ensemble: LA Opera Orchestra and Chorus 

Conductor: James Conlon 

FIRST ACT 
On the foredeck of Tristan’s ship, Isolde waits with her confidante Brangäne in terrible inner tension for the moment when her fateful bond with Tristan can be brought to redeeming atonement. The carefree song of a young sailor (“Westwards glances the gaze”) seems like mockery to her. Agitated, she tells Brangäne about her fateful encounters with Tristan after his companion Kurwenal responded to her request for a conversation with coarse mockery (“Who Cornwall’s crown” – “Woe, alas woe! To endure this!”). Isolde decides to prepare a death potion for herself and Tristan, which her mother had given her. She asks Tristan to come to her and, with bitterly ironic words, demands atonement for Morold’s death. Defiantly, Tristan offers her his sword to kill him. But she insists on sharing the atonement potion with him. Brangäne has prepared the chalice, which Tristan hastily takes. Isolde snatches the vessel from him, intending to die with him. But in her fear for her beloved mistress, Brangäne has replaced the death potion with a love elixir. As Tristan and Isolde gaze into each other’s eyes, expecting death, they are seized by great passion. Forgetting their surroundings, they fall into each other’s arms. They barely notice the ship’s landing. In the realization of the tragedy of their love (“O bliss full of treachery”), Tristan leads the almost senseless Isolde to his king. 

SECOND ACT 
In the garden outside her chamber, Isolde waits with Brangäne for Tristan while the king has gone hunting. She dismisses Brangäne’s warnings about Melot. As the last hunting horns fade away, she extinguishes the torch, the signal for her lover. Tristan immediately comes. Joyfully, she throws herself into his arms (“Isolde! Tristan! Beloved!”). In the hopelessness of their situation, they long for death and praise the surrounding night (“O sink down, night of love”). Brangäne’s warning cries (“Lonely watching in the night”) go unheeded. Led by Melot, King Mark appears and surprises Tristan and Isolde. Shaken, he realizes he has been betrayed by his most loyal man (monologue “Did you really do this?”). Tristan cannot answer his painful question about the reason for the betrayal. He asks Isolde if she would follow him into the realm of night, where life offers him nothing anymore (“The land that Tristan means”). When she agrees, Melot angrily urges the king to take revenge. Tristan lunges at Melot with his sword but drops his weapon when Melot counters with his own sword. Severely wounded, he falls into Kurwenal’s arms. 

THIRD ACT 
In front of his castle Kareol in Brittany, the mortally wounded Tristan lies in the care of his faithful Kurwenal. A shepherd plays a sad tune on the shawm. Kurwenal has sent for Isolde. Only she can still save Tristan. The shepherd is to play a cheerful tune as soon as he spots Isolde’s ship. But the sea remains desolate and empty. The shepherd’s sad song wakes Tristan (“The old tune”). In feverish fantasies, his longing for Isolde intensifies into great torment. In delusions, he relives the passion of love and the yearning for death. In wild despair, he curses the love potion that sealed his fate (“O this sun”). He collapses unconscious. Awakening again, he sees Isolde approaching over the waves like a vision (“How she blissfully, nobly and gently”). 

Then the shepherd’s cheerful tune sounds. Isolde’s ship has landed; with superhuman strength, Tristan tears the bandage from his wound, staggers towards his beloved, and dies in Isolde’s arms. Suddenly, the shepherd reports a second ship. Kurwenal recognizes King Mark and Melot. In terrible misunderstanding, he denies them entry to the castle. Kurwenal kills the entering Melot and is then mortally wounded in battle by King Mark’s knights. The king remains shaken. Brangäne has revealed the secret of the love potion to him; now he himself wanted to unite the lovers. Once again, Isolde awakens from her faint and “fixes her eyes with growing enthusiasm on Tristan’s body” (Isolde’s Love Death “Mild and gentle, how he smiles”), before she follows Tristan into the realm of night. 

Composer: Richard Wagner 

Venue: The Bayreuth Festival Theatre 

Presenting Company: Bayreuth Festival 

CAST:  

Tristan: Andreas Schager 

Marke: Günther Groissböck 

Isolde: Camilla Nylund 

Kurwenal: Olafur Sigurdarson 

Melot: Birger Radde 

Brangäne: Christa Mayer 

Ein Hirt: Daniel Jenz 

Ein Steuermann: Lawson Anderson 

Junger Seemann: Matthew Newlin 

Ensemble: Bayreuth Festival Orchestra and Chorus 

Conductor: Semyon Bychkov