World of Opera

World of Opera with host Lisa Simeone brings listeners compelling performances from top American and international opera companies. World of Opera encompasses the seminal operas of centuries past as well as today's masterpieces.

About the host:
Lisa Simeone hosts WDAV's nationally syndicated World of Opera and Spoleto Chamber Music 2010. She also hosts The Grainger foundation Chicago Symphony Orchestra Radio Broadcast Series and the internationally syndicated documentary series Soundprint. Lisa has more than 25 years experience in radio and television, including stints with All Things Considered, Performance Today, Weekend Edition and The Metropolitan Opera.
 
Lisa began her career at WBJC in Baltimore and WETA in Washington, D.C. During her ten years at Baltimore's WJHU, she developed a loyal following for her unusual mix of programming — classical, folk and jazz, along with provocative reports, interviews and call-in shows on everything from anthropology and neuroscience to philosophy to media criticism. (But she confesses that her favorite reports were on bocce, The Hon Man of Baltimore and the virtues of a well-fitting bra!).
 
As a freelancer, Lisa has done voice-overs, narrations and hosting for the Discovery Channel, PBS and commercial enterprises. When she's not doing radio, Lisa writes for Style Magazine and the Urbanite, as well as book reviews and op-eds for The Baltimore Sun.

Program Listings:
June 12, 2013
RICHARD STRAUSS: Capriccio
Paris National Opera, Palais Garnier
Paris National Opera Orchestra
Philippe Jordan, conductor
CAST: Michaela Kaune (Countess); Michaela Schuster (La Clairon); Joseph Kaiser (Flamand); Adrian Eröd (Olivier); Bo Skovhus (Count); Peter Rose (La Roche); Ryland Davies (Monsier Taupe)
SYNOPSIS: Forget about the chicken and the egg. Strauss's last opera revolves around a question that's even more elemental, at least in the world of musical theater: Which should take precedence -- the words, or the music?

June 19, 2013
DOMENICO CIMAROSA: Il Matrimonio Segreto (The Secret Marriage)
Royal Theater, Turin
Royal Theater Orchestra and Chorus
Francesco Pasqualetti, conductor
CAST: Barbara Bargnesi (Carolina); Paolo Bordogna (Sir Geronimo); Erika Grimaldi (Elisetta); Emanuele D'Auganno (Paolino); Roberto de Candia (Count Robinson); Chiara Amarù (Fidalma)
SYNOPSIS: Cimarosa's politics once got him in so much trouble that he nearly faced execution, yet his music made him one of the most popular composers of the late 1700s. The Secret Marriage was composed in Vienna in 1792, and remains his most successful opera.

June 26, 2013
GIUSEPPE VERDI: Falstaff
La Scala, Milan
La Scala Orchestra and Chorus
Daniel Harding, conductor
CAST: Ambrogio Maestri (Falstaff); Fabio Capitanucci (Ford); Barbara Frittoli (Alice Ford); Irina Lungu (Nannetta); Laura Polverelli (Meg Page); Daniela Barcellona (Mistress Quickly); Francesco Demuro (Fenton); Caro Bosi (Dr. Caius); Riccardo Botta (Bardolph); Alessandro Guerzoni (Pistol)
SYNOPSIS: Verdi's final two operas, Otello and Falstaff, were both based on Shakespeare. Together, they may be the finest valedictory in the history of opera, and Falstaff may also be the most optimistic.

July 3, 2013
GAETANO DONIZETTI: Lucrezia Borgia
La Monnaie, Brussels
La Monnaie Orchestra and Chorus
Julian Reynolds, conductor
CAST: Elena Mosuc (Lucrezia Borgia); Charles Castronovo (Gennaro); Silvia Tro Santafé (Maffio Orsini); Paul Gay (Duke of Ferrara); Roberto Covatta (Jeppo Liverotto); Tijl Faveyts (Don Apostolo Gazella); Jean-Luc Ballestra (Ascanio Petrucci); Stefan Cifolelli (Oloferno Vitellozzo); Carlo Bosi (Rustighello); Jean Teitgen (Gubetta); Justin Hopkins (Astolfo)
SYNOPSIS: The historical Lucrezia Borgia may actually have been a fine, upstanding citizen. But her popular reputation isn't so sunny, and it's her legacy as a notorious poisoner that Donizetti exploits in an opera featuring a title role that's both brilliant, and daunting.

July 10, 2013
P. I. TCHAIKOVSKY: Eugene Onegin
Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London
Royal Opera Orchestra and Chorus Robin Ticciati, conductor
CAST: Simon Keenlyside (Eugene Onegin); Krassimira Stoyanova (Tatyana); Pavol Breslik (Lensky); Peter Rose (Prince Gremin); Elena Maximova (Olga); Diana Montague (Larina); Kathleen Wilkinson (Flilppyenvna); Michel de Souza (Captain); Jihoon Kim (Zaretsky); Christophe Mortagne (Triquet)
SYNOPSIS: A brooding masterpiece, Tchaikovsky's dark drama deals with a caddish aristocrat whose indifference towards others turns full circle, and comes back to destroy him. It's the first of four productions this quarter from London's Royal Opera House, Covent Garden.

July 17, 2013
AMILCARE PONCHIELLI: La Gioconda 
Bastille Opera, Paris
Paris National Opera Orchestra and Chorus
Daniel Oren, conductor
CAST: Violeta Urmana (Gioconda); Marcelo Alvarez (Enzo); Luciana D'Intino (Laura); Maria José Montiel (La Cieca); Claudio Sgura (Barnaba); Orlin Anastassov (Alvise Badoero)
Ponchielli's masterpiece, a drama of politics, passion and murder, is so over-the-top sensational that you can't help but love it -- one of opera's most delicious "guilty pleasures."

July 24, 2013
W. A. MOZART: Cosí fan tutte
Teatro Real, Madrid
Teatro Real Orchestra and Chorus
Sylvain Cambreling, conductor
CAST: Annett Fritsch (Fiordiligi); Paola Gardina (Dorabella); Andreas Wolf (Guglielmo); Juan Francisco Gatell (Ferrando); Kerstin Avemo (Despina); William Shimell (Don Alfonso)
SYNOPSIS: Deceptively complex, this comic farce leaves many listeners a little bit queasy, pondering the future of their most treasured relationships. Lorenzo da Ponte's libretto may spring plenty of jokes, but Mozart's music tells you to hold on to your heart.

July 31, 2013
GIUSEPPE VERDI: Don Carlo
Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London
Royal Opera Orchestra and Chorus
Antonio Pappano, conductor
CAST: Ferruccio Furlanetto (King Philip II); Jonas Kaufmann (Don Carlo); Mariusz Kwiecien (Rodriqo); Anja Harteros (Elisabeth de Valois); Béatrice Uria-Monzon (Eboli); Eric Halfvarson (Grand Inquisitor)
SYNOPSIS: Fresh from its latest appearance on the Covent Garden stage, in London, this production features an all-star, international cast -- including tenor Jonas Kaufmann in one of his signature roles -- in one of Verdi's most beautiful, if perplexing operas.

August 7, 2013
GIOACHINO ROSSINI: William Tell
Netherlands Opera House, Amsterdam
Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra
Netherlands Opera Chorus
Paolo Carignani, conductor
CAST: Nicola Alaimo (William Tell); Helena Rasker (Hedwige); Eugénie Warnier (Jemmy); Marina Rebeka (Mathilde); John Osborn (Arnold Melchtal); Patrick Bolleire (Melchtal); Christian Van Horn (Gessler); Marco Spotti (Walter Furst)
SYNOPSIS: If William Tell, the complete opera, was as familiar as its ubiquitous overture, it might just be the most famous opera ever composed! Still, as this production from Amsterdam demonstrates, Rossini's final opera is far more than just the original home to "the theme from the Lone Ranger."

August 14, 2013
RICHARD WAGNER: The Flying Dutchman
Teatro San Carlo, Naples
Teatro San Carlo Orchestra and Chorus
Stefan Anton Reck, conductor
CAST: Juha Uusitalo (Dutchman); Elisabete Matos (Senta); Stanislav Shvets (Daland); Will Hartmann (Erik); Elena Zilio (Mary); Enzo Peroni (Steersman)
SYNOPSIS: Perhaps Wagner's most straightforward and approachable opera, The Flying Dutchman is presented here in a version which, unlike the one-act original, comes complete with an intermission!

August 21, 2013
GIUSEPPE VERDI: A Masked Ball
Royal Swedish Opera, Stockholm
Royal Opera Orchestra and Chorus
Pier Giorgio Morandi, conductor
CAST: Andrea Caré (Gustavo, King of Sweden); Emma Vetter (Amelia); Frederik Zetterström (Ankarström); Marianne Hellgren Staykov (Oscar); Susanne Resmark (Ulrica); Magnus Kyhle (Judge); Anton Eriksson (Christian); John Erik Eleby (Ribbing); Lennart Forsén (Horn)
SYNOPSIS: The original version of A Masked Ball so offended Italian censors that Verdi picked up the whole story and moved it from it's original setting in Sweden, all the way to Boston! For this presentation, the drama is back home again, at the Royal Opera in Stockholm, and set in the Swedish royal court, as the composer first intended.

August 28, 2013
GIOACHINO ROSSINI: The Lady of the Lake
Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London
Royal Opera Orchestra and Chorus
Michele Mariotti, conductor
CAST: Joyce DiDonato (Elena); Juan Diego Flórez (Uberto); Simon Orfila (Douglas); Colin Lee (Rodrigo); Daniela Barcellona
SYNOPSIS: In 1819, Rossini cashed on an Italian taste for all things Scottish, with this overtly Romantic opera based on a narrative by Sir Walter Scott. It comes to us from Covent Garden in a production featuring a first-rate cast, including soprano Joyce DiDonato in the title role, and Juan Diego Flórez, one of the world's most acclaimed Rossini tenors.

September 4, 2013
G. F. HANDEL: Agrippina
Flemish Opera, Ghent
Flemish Opera Orchestra and Chorus
Paul McCreesh, conductor
CAST: Ann Hallenberg (Agrippina); Renata Pokupić (Nerone); Joao Fernandes (Pallas); José Lemos (Narcissus); Gevorg Grigoryan (Lesbo); Kirstina Hammarström (Ottone); Elena Tsallagova (Poppea); Umberto Chiummo (Claudio); Marija Jokovic (Juno)
SYNOPSIS: Handel's Italian operas made him the toast of London long before his famous English oratorios caught the public's ear. Agrippina is named for Nero's shrewd and savvy mother, without whom the infamous emperor could never have fiddled while Rome burned.

September 11, 2013
GIACOMO PUCCINI: Madame Butterfly
Grand Liceu Theatre, Barcelona
Liceu Orchestra and Chorus
Josep Pons, conductor
CAST: Hui He (Butterfly); Roberto Alagna (Pinkerton); Jossie Pérez (Suzuki); Giovanni Meoni (Sharpless); Vicente Ombuena (Goro); Roberto Accurso (Prince Yamadori); Levgueni Orlov (The Bonze); Joan Josep Ramos (Yakuside); Claudia Schneider (Kate Pinkerton); Theodore Rulfs (Imperial Commisioner)
SYNOPSIS: A much-loved masterpiece, Puccini’s Butterfly combines an exotic setting with true, verismo passions, in a cautionary tale warning that the meeting of divergent cultures can lead to both rich rewards, and tragic misunderstanding.

September 18, 2013
GIOACHINO ROSSINI: L'Italiana in Algeri
Teatro Regio, Turin
Teatro Regio Orchestra and Chorus
Daniele Rustioni, conductor
CAST: Daniela Pini (Isabella); Antonio Siragusa (Lindoro); Lorenzo Regazzo (Mustafà); Linda Campanella (Elvira); Roberto de Candia (Taddeo); Alessia Nadin (Zulma)
SYNOPSIS: The plot is more than a little bit silly -- not to mention politically incorrect in the extreme! But nobody did wackiness better, more beautifully, or with a finer instinct for pure comedy than Rossini displays in this sparkling score.

September 25, 2013
GIUSEPPE VERDI: I Masnadieri
La Fenice, Venice
La Fenice Orchestra and Chorus
Daniele Rustioni, conductor
CAST: Andeka Gorrotxategui (tenor); Maria Agresta (Amalie); Artur Rucinski (Francesco); Giacomo Prestia (Count Moor); Cristiano Olivieri (Arminio); Antonio Feltracco (Rolla); Cristian Saitta (Moser)
SYNOPSIS: Verdi’s drama about doomed romance and a wealthy crook who seems to get away with murder is a hot-blooded, somewhat messy affair. Yet the opera features an array of brilliant musical numbers, including arias tailored for its first leading lady, the legendary soprano Jenny Lind.

October 2, 2013
BENJAMIN BRITTEN: Gloriana
Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London
Royal Opera Orchestra and Chorus
Paul Daniel, conductor
CAST: Susan Bullock (Queen Elizabeth I); Toby Spence (Robert Devereux, Earl of Essex); Patricia Bardon (Countess of Essex); Mark Stone (Lord Mountjoy); Kate Royal (Penelope); Peter Coleman-Wright (Sir Robert Cecil); Clive Bayley (Sir Walter Raleigh)
SYNOPSIS: Written for the coronation of Britain's current queen, Elizabeth II, Gloriana tells the much-repeated story of the Elisabeth I and the Earl of Essex. Now a popular and successful score, it was snubbed at first, for paying less than perfect respect to the history of the monarchy.