Week of November 27-December 5, 2010

This week on WSBE:
 TOSCA

Karita Matila as Tosca

Karita Matila with Marcelo Alvarez as Cavaradossi

WSBE 36.2 = (RI Cox Cable 808) (RI Fios 478) (In Massachusetts, Comcast 294)

Saturday, November 27 -- 8:00pm; Sunday, November 28 ---3:00am; Monday, November 29 -- 12:00am

Duration: 150 min
 

Synopsis: 

http://www.metoperafamily.org/metopera/season/production.aspx?id=11083

Season 4 opens with Luc Bondy's staging of Puccini's "Tosca," starring soprano Karita Mattila as the title character, whose lover (Marcelo Álvarez) is arrested by a police chief (George Gagnidze) and threatened with death unless she gives herself to him.

Tosca - Karita Mattila

Cavaradossi - Marcelo Álvarez

Scarpia - George Gagnidze

Sacristan - Paul Plishka

Spoletta - Joel Sorensen

Angelotti - David Pittsinger

Sciarrone - James Courtney

Shepherd - Jonathan Makepeace

Jailer - Keith Miller

Karita Matila  with George Gagnidze, as the evil Scarpia

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

OPERA ON THE INTERNET WITH DAVE D'AGUANNO

Lots of interesting items on tap for this Saturday (Nov. 27) on Internet Radio:

 Among the better-known operas, there's a performance from last February of Verdi's "Otello" to be aired on Canada's CBC, as done by the Canadian Opera Company. (At 1 p.m.)

(www.cbc.ca/radio2/)

 Also at 1 o'clock, Donizetti's "Don Pasquale" can be heard on Radio 4 (the Netherlands) as performed this month by the Reisopera. (A different cast altogether from that shown in the recent Met HD-transmission of this opera, naturally.)

(www.radio4.nl/)

 Then at 1:30, you can sit back & listen to yet another "Don Giovanni" (Mozart) as performed by the English National Opera on BBC Radio 3.

(www.bbc.co.uk/radio3/)

 And at 2 o'clock, an all-Swedish cast tackles Verdi's monumental "Don Carlo" (LIVE from Goteborg, Sweden).

(http://sverigesradio.se/p2/)

 For all you MODERN OPERA enthusiasts, the world premiere performance from Philadelphia of Margaret Garwood's new opera "The Scarlet Letter" will be broadcast on WRTI. It's based on the well-known novel by Nathaniel Hawthorne (naturally!!!).

(www.wrti.org/)

 Then, for our OBSCURE OPERA of the WEEK: Mercadante's tragic "Virginia" gets a rare outing on German Radio, in a performance from last month's Wexford Festival. If you like Verdi and/or Donizetti, this one should be right up your alley! (at 1 p.m.)

(www.dradio.de/dkultur/)

 From the ARCHIVES: ORF is broadcasting a wonderful performance of Bellini's "La Sonnambula" with Joan Sutherland singing the soprano role, in a performance that was done at the Met on March 30, 1963. (starts at 1:30)

(http://oe1.orf.at/)

 Finally -- on Tuesday, November 30, at 8 p.m. -- the Met is giving us another LIVE performance of Bizet's "Carmen" with the incomparable Elina Garanca in the title role.

 In the meantime -- Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!

 DAVE