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:
May 22, 2013
PHILIP GLASS: Kepler
Spoleto Festival USA
Spoleto Festival USA Orchestra
Westminster Choir
John Kennedy, conductor
CAST: John Hancock (Kepler); Anne-Carolyn Bird, Leah Wool, Kathryn Krasovec, Gregory Schmidt, Dan Kempson, Matt Boehler (Scholars)
SYNOPSIS: In an encore presentation, the American stage premiere of Philip Glass's dynamic new drama, rooted in the life and inspirational ideas of the 17-century mathematician and astronomer Johannes Kepler.

May 29, 2013
GIACOMO MEYERBEER: Robert le Diable (Robert the Devil)
Royal Opera House, Covent Garden
Royal Opera House Orchestra and Chorus
Daniel Oren, conductor
CAST: Bryan Mymel (Robert); Patrizia Ciofi (Isabelle); John Relyea (Bertram); Marina Poplavskaya (Alice); Jean-Francois Borras (Raimbaut); Nicolas Courjal (Alberti)
SYNOPSIS: This five-act extravaganza features everything from an orgy of evil spirits, to a chorus of defrocked nuns rising from their graves, to a deal with the devil which, for once, doesn't turn out all that badly. The work's Paris premiere, in 1831, instantly made Meyerbeer the most celebrated opera composer of the time.

June 5, 2013
ANTONIN DVORAK: Rusalka
Göteborg Opera, Sweden
Göteborg Opera Orchestra and Chorus
Olaf Henzold, conductor
CAST: Elisabet Strid (Rusalka); Nikolai Schukoff (Prince); Anders Lorentzson (Vodník); Annalena Persson (Foreign Princess); Susanne Resmark (Jezibaba); Eva-Lotta Ohlsson, Mia Karlsson, Erika Sax (Wood Sprites); Henrik Andersson (Hunter)
SYNOPSIS: Best known for his dramatic and popular symphonies, Dvorak also wrote more than a dozen operas. Rusalka is the second of them featured this quarter, and is arguably his best. The title character is a beautiful water nymph who falls tragically in love with a human prince, and the opera's music is Dvorak at his finest.

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.