Classical 101 Podcasts

The Metropolitan Opera presents Franz Lehar's delicious The Merry Widow carried live in HD throughout the world, this Saturday at 1 pm.

Die lustige Witwe by Franz Lehar has been an operetta sensation since its premiere in 1905. Within a year The Merry Widow turned up in London, and settled for a long run on Broadway, the first of several.

Here's my abbreviated take on Wagner's Die Meistersinger. You can hear this opera for free on Classical 101 live from the Metropolitan on Saturday, December 13 at noon, or watch it in HD in select movie theaters around town.

The full title of Richard Wagner's only comedy is Die Meistersinger von Nurnburg, The Mastersingers of Nuremberg. Comedy and Richard Wagner don't go together.

The Metropolitan Opera presents a new production of Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro live in HD in cinemas worldwide on Saturday, October 18 at 1.30 p.m. For  more information, check here:

http://www.metopera.org/metopera/liveinhd/LiveinHD.aspx?nav=top

Opera Abbreviated is a brief podcast designed to acquaint you with the operas being presented in the Metropolitan Opera's Live in HD series, shown in movie theaters worldwide. This link includes a search function to help you find a local participating cinema.

OPERA PROJECT COLUMBUS presents Leoncavallo's Pagliacci (Clowns) at the Jewish Center of Columbus on Saturday June 14 and Sunday the 15. Alessandro Siciliani conducts. Your obedient servant, the chubby, elderly broadcaster Christopher Purdy, directs the opera.

Listen to the Opera Abbreviated new Pagliacci edition! Get more information at Opera Project Columbus' website. Shameless plug then, okay?

Listen to the latest Opera Abbreviated episode above! The Columbus Symphony Orchestra and Chorus collaborates with Opera Columbus for two performances of Bizet's Carmen in the Ohio Theatre, Friday and Saturday May 9 and 10 and 8 pm. Jean-Marie Zeitouni conducts.

This performance will be broadcast on the Columbus Symphony broadcast series May 18 at 1 pm. 

Carmen! What's not to love. She's comes down to us as a gypsy girl, hands on hip, rose in her teeth, a man killer, a harlot, the nightmare of every boy's Mama.

The Metropolitan Opera presents Rossini's La cenerentola.

La cenerentola takes some liberties with the story of Cinderella as we know her. This zany and delightful opera dates from 1818.

Successful performances depend on a spot-on conductor, a hunky tenor with lots of coloratura and a lovely mezzo-soprano with lots and LOTS of coloratura. This is what I mean by coloratura:

The Metropolitan Opera presents Mozart's Cosi fan Tutte live in HD Saturday April 26 at 1 PM. James Levine conducts. For locations in our listening area and more information, go to The Met's website.

When an opera is called Cosi fan Tutte, you pay attention. Mozart wasn't thinking of ice cream or Little Richard (Tutti-frutti). Instead he created an opera of great beauty and charm with an unsavory premise.

The School of Music at The Ohio State University presents Benjamin Britten's The Rape of Lucretia at The Drake Performance and Event Center on Thursday, April 17 and Saturday, April 19.

Russel Mikkelson conducts with the production by A. Scott Parry. More information at music.osu.edu

The Metropolitan Opera presents Puccini's La Boheme live in HD in move theaters worldwide, Saturday April 5, at 1 p.m. 

Opera Abbreviated tells you everything you need to know to enjoy the world's most loved operas.

Giacomo Puccini (1858-1924) was killer handsome, a world class womanizer, a lover of good cigars, fast cars and women, women, women. Women in the flesh and women on the page.

The Metropolitan Opera presents a new production of Jules Massenet's Werther live in HD in cinemas around the world, Saturday March 15 at 1 p.m.

Do you remember the commercials with the kindly Grandpa dandling a bonny three-year old and feeding him butterscotch candy? Werther's is a wonderful candy popular hereabouts, and who doesn't love a sweet Grandpa?

Werther is Massenet's French opera is based on a German novella by Goethe, Die leiden des jungen Werther.