Since 1931, 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 WPR's NPR News & Music Network.
The 2020-21 Metropolitan Opera Radio Broadcast season opens on Dec. 5, 2020 — the Met’s 90th consecutive year on the air and a milestone for the longest-running classical music series in American broadcast history. This year’s live season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, so the broadcast season will include 27 specially selected encores, many showcasing operas and stars originally scheduled for live performances in 2020-21.
Host Mary Jo Heath and commentator Ira Siff return each week, and intermissions will include new interviews with artists, special features, and a virtual opera quiz.
The schedule includes:
Dec. 5, 2020, 12 p.m. — Prokofiev: "War and Peace"
Dec. 12, 2020, 12 p.m. — Beethoven: "Fidelio"
Dec. 19, 2020, 12 p.m. — Humperdinck: "Hansel and Gretel"
Dec. 26, 2020, 12 p.m. — Mozart: "The Magic Flute"
Jan. 2, 2021, 12 p.m. — Glass: "Satyagraha"
Jan. 9, 2021, 12 p.m. — Rossini: "The Barber of Seville"
Jan. 16, 2021, 12 p.m. — Verdi: "La Traviata"
Jan. 23, 2021, 12 p.m. — Verdi: "Il Trovatore"
Jan. 30, 2021, 12 p.m. — Gounod: "Faust"
Feb. 6, 2021, 12 p.m. — Listeners' choice: To be announced
Feb. 13, 2021, 12 p.m. — Massenet: "Cendrillon"
Feb. 20, 2021, 12 p.m. — Puccini: "La Rondine"
Feb. 27, 2021, 12 p.m. — R. Strauss: "Der Rosenkavalier"
March 6, 2021, 12 p.m. — Bizet: "Carmen"
March 13, 2021, 12 p.m. — Mozart: "The Marriage of Figaro"
March 20, 2021,12 p.m. — Rossini: "Le Comte Ory"
March 27, 2021, 12 p.m. — Mozart: "Don Giovanni"
April 3, 2021, 12 p.m. — Dvorak: "Rusalka"
April 10, 2021, 12 p.m. — Puccini: "La Boheme"
April 17, 2021, 12 p.m. — Janacek: "From the House of the Dead"
April 24, 2021, 12 p.m. — R. Strauss: "Die Frau Ohne Schatten"
May 1, 2021, 12 p.m. — Donizetti: "Roberto Devereux"
May 8, 2021, 12 p.m. — Anna Netrebko Puccini Gala
May 15, 2021, 12 p.m. — Wagner: "Tristan und Isolde"
May 22, 2021, 12 p.m. — Bellini: "I Puritanti"
May 29, 2021, 12 p.m. — Verdi: "Otello"
June 5, 2021, 12 p.m. — Britten: "Billy Budd"
