New York, NY (June 8, 2007) – To commemorate the birthday of composer Richard Strauss on June 11, Metropolitan Opera Radio on SIRIUS Satellite Radio (Channel 85) will present an exclusive two-day broadcast event featuring digitally-restored archival Met broadcasts of seven of the composer’s operas, many conducted by Met Music Director James Levine. Of the 12 performances in the broadcast event, 11 have not been heard since they were originally transmitted live from the Met. The event airs from 6 a.m. to midnight on June 11 and 12.
These performances feature some of the 20th century’s most illustrious singers, including Birgit Nilsson, Leonie Rysanek, Inge Borkh, Montserrat Caballé, Christa Ludwig, Grace Bumbry, Tatiana Troyanos, Regina Resnik, Ramón Vinay, James King, and Walter Berry. More recent recordings feature legendary performances by Kiri Te Kanawa, Kathleen Battle, Deborah Voigt, Renée Fleming, and Susan Graham. Broadcasts are preceded by excerpts from taped interviews with Maestro Levine, Kiri Te Kanawa, and Renée Fleming, in which they talk about their love for Strauss and their favorite roles and performances.
The Strauss birthday broadcast event on Metropolitan Opera Radio on SIRIUS is scheduled as follows (all times are EST). Please visit www.metopera.org for more information:
Monday, June 11:
6:00 a.m.
Ariadne auf Naxos – Originally broadcast on March 20, 1976
James Levine, conductor. Cast: Montserrat Caballé, Tatiana Troyanos, Ruth Welting, Alberto Remedios, William Dooley.
9:00 a.m.
Der Rosenkavalier – Originally broadcast on January 29, 2000
James Levine, conductor. Cast: Renée Fleming, Susan Graham, Heidi Grant Murphy, Stuart Neill, Hans-Joachim Ketelsen, Franz Hawlata.
12:25 p.m.
Salome – Originally broadcast on January 5, 1974
James Levine, conductor. Cast: Grace Bumbry, Regina Resnik, Ragnar Ulfung, William Lewis, Lawrence Shadur.
3:00 p.m.
Die Frau ohne Schatten - Originally broadcast on December 17, 1966
Karl Böhm, conductor. Cast: Leonie Rysanek, Christa Ludwig, Irene Dalis, James King, Walter Berry.
6:00 p.m.
Elektra – Originally broadcast on January 22, 1994
James Levine, conductor. Cast: Hildegard Behrens, Deborah Voigt, Brigitte Fassbaender, James King, Donald McIntyre.
9:00 p.m.
Arabella - Originally broadcast on March 5, 1983
Erich Leinsdorf, conductor. Cast: Kiri Te Kanawa, Kathleen Battle, David Rendall, Bernd Weikl.
Tuesday, June 12:
6:00 a.m.
Elektra – Originally broadcast on March 25, 1961
Joseph Rosenstock, conductor. Cast: Inge Borkh, Leonie Rysanek, Jean Madeira, Ramón Vinay, Hermann Uhde.
9:00 a.m.
Capriccio – Originally broadcast on January 31, 1998
Andrew Davis, conductor. Cast: Kiri Te Kanawa, Kathryn Harries, David Kuebler, Simon Keenlyside, Wolfgang Brendel, Jan-Hendrik Rootering.
12:00 p.m.
Arabella - Originally broadcast on December 15, 2001
Christoph Eschenbach, conductor. Cast: Renée Fleming, Barbara Bonney, Raymond Very, Hans-Joachim Ketelsen, Eric Halfvarson.
3:00 p.m.
Der Rosenkavalier – Originally broadcast on March 19, 1983
James Levine, conductor. Cast: Kiri Te Kanawa, Tatiana Troyanos, Judith Blegen, Giuliano Ciannella, Derek Hammond-Stroud, Aage Haugland.
6:20 p.m.
Ariadne Auf Naxos – Originally broadcast on April 14, 2001
James Levine, conductor. Cast: Deborah Voigt, Susanne Mentzer, Lyubov Petrova, Richard Margison, Wolfgang Brendel.
9:00 p.m.
Salome – Originally broadcast on March 13, 1965
Karl Böhm, conductor. Cast: Birgit Nilsson, Irene Dalis, Karl Liebl, George Shirley, Walter Cassel.
About the Met
Under the leadership of General Manager Peter Gelb, the Metropolitan Opera has launched many new initiatives to connect the company with a larger audience, including free open houses that offer the public access to final dress rehearsals of Met new productions; reduced ticket prices, including an immensely popular new rush ticket program; and the new Arnold and Marie Schwartz Gallery Met, which exhibits contemporary art inspired by operas in the Met’s repertory.
Building on its 76-year-old international radio broadcast history, the Met recently began to use advanced media distribution platforms and state-of-the-art technology to attract new audiences and reach millions of opera fans around the world. In 2006, the company launched “Metropolitan Opera: Live in HD,” a series of live performance transmissions, shown in high definition in movie theaters throughout North America, Europe, and Japan. The response was overwhelming: in its inaugural season, the series was seen by 325,000 people worldwide on 2,367 screens. These performances were subsequently broadcast on PBS, as part of a new “Great Performances at the Met” series. “Metropolitan Opera: Live in HD” expands from six to eight opera transmissions in 2007-08, beginning with Roméo et Juliette on December 15, starring Anna Netrebko and Rolando Villazón.
“Metropolitan Opera: Live in HD” complements the Met’s rich 76-year broadcast legacy – the Toll Brothers-Metropolitan Opera International Radio Network series heard by over 11 million listeners in 42 countries. The Met also presents free live streaming of performances on its website once every week during the season with support from RealNetworks®.
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