Lyric Opera of Chicago
Saturdays starting at 12:00n
May 10, 2008
La traviata by Verdi
La traviata — the wayward one — Paris's most sought-after courtesan; kept by society's most important men and living a life of empty pleasure. But then Violetta falls in love — real love — finding joy and a new beginning with her adored Alfredo. Oh, how she weeps when Alfredo's father begs her to give him up to save the family name. Oh, how we weep when it all ends too soon for opera's "fallen angel."
Original broadcast: September 29, 2007 at 6:15
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May 17, 2008
Doctor Atomic by Adams
The Bomb. It changed our lives and our world forever. Hard to fathom a bigger — or more personal — subject. Director Peter Sellars takes us to Los Alamos, New Mexico. It's 1945. Scientists are working on a top-secret project for the U.S. government: development of the A–Bomb. We're there for the frenzied three weeks before the blast, and we're there for the final countdown. We watch real people grapple with monumental moral and ethical dilemmas. Could "the gadget" ignite the world's atmosphere? At the helm, the mercurial Robert Oppenheimer; plus a take-no-prisoners general and scientists — some hawks, some doves — racing for a "successful" conclusion — and unleashing the unfathomable. Experience the landmark opera that created its own shock waves at its San Francisco world premiere!
Original broadcast: December 14, 2007 at 7:00
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May 24, 2008
The Barber of Seville by Rossini
He's handsome, socially connected, and rich. Almaviva is the man of Rosina's dreams and he even wants to marry her! So what's the problem? Her crusty old guardian thinks he should be her husband! It's time to call in reinforcements. Enter Figaro, the barber of Seville, master of blarney and bamboozlement and the best friend two sweethearts ever had. With wonderful sets inspired by Magritte, everything turns up roses (not to mention five-foot combs and floating chairs!) in this beloved Rossini charmer.
Original broadcast: *February 22, 2008 at 7:15
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May 31, 2008
Eugene Onegin by Tchaikovsky
Meet Eugene Onegin — a self-indulgent St. Petersburg playboy. He tarries with the sweet country girl Tatyana, then rebuffs her when she pours out her passion; he looks for sport with the fiancée of his best friend, and then kills him in a duel. Years pass. Onegin meets Tatyana again and she's blossomed into a sophisticated beauty. Onegin is smitten — but though she loves him still, Tatyana rejects him. A caring husband has won her devotion, and Onegin is left alone, a portrait of despair.
(more info) Original broadcast: March 1, 2008 at 7:15
June 07, 2008
Julius Caesar by Handel
It's 48 B.C., and things are hopping! Caesar has defeated his countryman Pompey for the job of Rome's supreme commander. Now he's out to conquer Egypt for the empire. Egypt's current ruler is the duplicitous Ptolemy. He's deposed his sister Cleopatra and hopes to impress Caesar by murdering Pompey. But Caesar is furious, and Pompey's family wants revenge. No dummy she, the beauteous Cleopatra seizes the moment. Caesar's the man who can return her to the throne... and she stages a seduction that even the ruler of the Western world is powerless to resist!
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Original broadcast: November 2, 2007 at 6:15
June 14, 2008
La bohème by Puccini
It will make you laugh, and it will break your heart — the true-to-life tale of struggling young artists living life to the fullest in Paris's Latin Quarter. Pulsing at its center, the love story of the ardent poet Rodolfo and the vulnerable seamstress Mimì that begins with rapture and ends with deep, poignant loss. Savor some of the most sublime music ever composed and two splendid casts.
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Original broadcast: October 1, 2007 at 7:15
June 21, 2008
Die Frau ohne Schatten by Strauss
The lovely Empress — part celestial being, part human — has a major problem. Her husband will be turned to stone and she'll be whisked back to the spirit realm unless she has a child — something she cannot do because she doesn't have a shadow. So it's off to the human world to get one. With help from her scheming nurse, the Empress convinces a poor dyer's wife to trade her shadow in return for a life of privilege and wealth. But the dyer himself would kill to have kids — so what's the Empress to do? Like Mozart's Magic Flute, this epic fairytale brims with symbolism and blazes with ravishing music.
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Original broadcast: November 16, 2007 at 6:15
June 28, 2008
Falstaff by Verdi
What happens when an old knight who still fancies himself a ladies' man sends identical love letters to two married women? Plenty, as Sir John, that wine-bibbing rascal and roué finds out when the merry wives of Windsor (and a few furious husbands) decide to teach him a lesson and hang him out to dry! Verdi at the peak of his powers, and inspiration from Shakespeare. What a combination, and what a cast!
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Original broadcast: January 28, 2008 at 7:15
For more information about Lyric Opera of Chicago’s season (including cast lists for each broadcast), please go to www.lyricopera.org/about/radioBroadcasts.asp.
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