Community hub
Recent from talks
Knowledge base stats:
Talk channels stats:
Members stats:
Metropolitan Opera radio broadcasts
The Metropolitan Opera radio broadcasts are a regular series of weekly broadcasts on network radio of full-length opera performances. They are transmitted live from the stage of the Metropolitan Opera in New York City. The Metropolitan Opera International Radio Network airs the live performances on Saturday afternoons while the Met is in season, typically beginning the first Saturday in December, and totaling just over 20 weekly performances through early May. The Met broadcasts are the longest-running continuous classical music program in radio history, and the series has won several Peabody Awards for excellence in broadcasting.
The series is currently broadcast on over 300 stations in the United States, and stations in 40 countries on 5 continents. These countries include Canada, Mexico, 27 European countries, Australia, New Zealand, Argentina, Brazil, Ecuador, Mexico, Peru, Uruguay, China, and Japan. The broadcasts are also listenable online via streaming audio; and select broadcasts and excerpts are listenable year-round on the "Met Opera on Demand" service and on the free online service Rhapsody.
The Met's radio broadcast history dates back to 1910, when radio pioneer Lee De Forest transmitted — experimentally, with erratic signal — two live partial performances from the stage of the Met, which were reportedly heard as far away as Newark, New Jersey. The first of these was a performance of Acts II and III of Tosca on January 12, 1910, starring Antonio Scotti as Scarpia. The following evening, January 13, 1910, parts of Pagliacci starring Enrico Caruso were broadcast.
The first network broadcast was heard on Friday, December 25, 1931: a performance of Engelbert Humperdinck's Hänsel und Gretel. The series was created as the Met, financially endangered in the early years of the Great Depression, sought to enlarge its audience and support through national exposure on network radio. In the first broadcast season only Hänsel und Gretel and Das Rheingold (February 26, 1932) were presented in their entirety; most operas were only heard partially. From the start of the 1933-34 season, complete opera broadcasts became the norm. Since 1931 most broadcasts have been of Saturday matinee performances, with only a handful of exceptions such as the opening night of the new Met, which featured a broadcast of Samuel Barber's Antony and Cleopatra on Friday September 16, 1966.
The live radio broadcasts were originally heard on NBC, and became a staple of its Blue Network. Starting in 1944 the series continued on the Blue Network's successor, ABC, through 1958. It won a Peabody Award in 1950. From 1958 to 1960 the series was broadcast on CBS. As network radio waned with the rise of television, the Met founded its own independent Metropolitan Opera Radio Network in 1960, which is now heard on radio stations around the world. The broadcasts won their second Peabody in 1960, their third in 1982 (shared with Live from the Metropolitan Opera) and their fourth in 1989. The Met's first live closed-circuit television transmission was Carmen with Rise Stevens, sent to 31 movie theaters in 27 US cities on December 11, 1952.
In Canada the live broadcasts have been heard since December 1933, first on the Canadian Radio Broadcasting Commission. Since 1934 they have been heard on the CRBC's successor, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, where they currently air on CBC Radio 2 on Saturday Afternoon at the Opera and on the CBC's French music network, Ici Musique on Place à l'Opéra.
In the late 1930s and early 1940s the broadcasts were transmitted live via shortwave to Latin America over the NBC White Network. Transcription discs made by NBC were also sent to Latin America for relay over local radio stations in much better quality. Some of these discs survive. Spanish commentary and intermission features were inserted for Spanish-speaking countries, and Portuguese for Brazil.
In December 1990, the broadcast series expanded its transmission to include Europe, via satellite transmission and the European Broadcasting Union. Australia and New Zealand joined the network in the late 1990s; Brazil and Mexico in 1999. Uruguay, Ecuador, and Japan joined in 2000.
Hub AI
Metropolitan Opera radio broadcasts AI simulator
(@Metropolitan Opera radio broadcasts_simulator)
Metropolitan Opera radio broadcasts
The Metropolitan Opera radio broadcasts are a regular series of weekly broadcasts on network radio of full-length opera performances. They are transmitted live from the stage of the Metropolitan Opera in New York City. The Metropolitan Opera International Radio Network airs the live performances on Saturday afternoons while the Met is in season, typically beginning the first Saturday in December, and totaling just over 20 weekly performances through early May. The Met broadcasts are the longest-running continuous classical music program in radio history, and the series has won several Peabody Awards for excellence in broadcasting.
The series is currently broadcast on over 300 stations in the United States, and stations in 40 countries on 5 continents. These countries include Canada, Mexico, 27 European countries, Australia, New Zealand, Argentina, Brazil, Ecuador, Mexico, Peru, Uruguay, China, and Japan. The broadcasts are also listenable online via streaming audio; and select broadcasts and excerpts are listenable year-round on the "Met Opera on Demand" service and on the free online service Rhapsody.
The Met's radio broadcast history dates back to 1910, when radio pioneer Lee De Forest transmitted — experimentally, with erratic signal — two live partial performances from the stage of the Met, which were reportedly heard as far away as Newark, New Jersey. The first of these was a performance of Acts II and III of Tosca on January 12, 1910, starring Antonio Scotti as Scarpia. The following evening, January 13, 1910, parts of Pagliacci starring Enrico Caruso were broadcast.
The first network broadcast was heard on Friday, December 25, 1931: a performance of Engelbert Humperdinck's Hänsel und Gretel. The series was created as the Met, financially endangered in the early years of the Great Depression, sought to enlarge its audience and support through national exposure on network radio. In the first broadcast season only Hänsel und Gretel and Das Rheingold (February 26, 1932) were presented in their entirety; most operas were only heard partially. From the start of the 1933-34 season, complete opera broadcasts became the norm. Since 1931 most broadcasts have been of Saturday matinee performances, with only a handful of exceptions such as the opening night of the new Met, which featured a broadcast of Samuel Barber's Antony and Cleopatra on Friday September 16, 1966.
The live radio broadcasts were originally heard on NBC, and became a staple of its Blue Network. Starting in 1944 the series continued on the Blue Network's successor, ABC, through 1958. It won a Peabody Award in 1950. From 1958 to 1960 the series was broadcast on CBS. As network radio waned with the rise of television, the Met founded its own independent Metropolitan Opera Radio Network in 1960, which is now heard on radio stations around the world. The broadcasts won their second Peabody in 1960, their third in 1982 (shared with Live from the Metropolitan Opera) and their fourth in 1989. The Met's first live closed-circuit television transmission was Carmen with Rise Stevens, sent to 31 movie theaters in 27 US cities on December 11, 1952.
In Canada the live broadcasts have been heard since December 1933, first on the Canadian Radio Broadcasting Commission. Since 1934 they have been heard on the CRBC's successor, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, where they currently air on CBC Radio 2 on Saturday Afternoon at the Opera and on the CBC's French music network, Ici Musique on Place à l'Opéra.
In the late 1930s and early 1940s the broadcasts were transmitted live via shortwave to Latin America over the NBC White Network. Transcription discs made by NBC were also sent to Latin America for relay over local radio stations in much better quality. Some of these discs survive. Spanish commentary and intermission features were inserted for Spanish-speaking countries, and Portuguese for Brazil.
In December 1990, the broadcast series expanded its transmission to include Europe, via satellite transmission and the European Broadcasting Union. Australia and New Zealand joined the network in the late 1990s; Brazil and Mexico in 1999. Uruguay, Ecuador, and Japan joined in 2000.