The Met Returns!
Dear Radio Network Partners,
I am very pleased to present the line-up for the 2020-21 Saturday Matinee Radio broadcast season of special encore broadcasts – our 90th consecutive broadcast season on the radio. […] These encore broadcasts will feature new commentary and intermission content from host Mary Jo Heath and commentator Ira Siff, including new artist interviews, special features and the Opera Quiz.
The season opens on December 5 with an encore of Prokofiev’s War and Peace, featuring the broadcast debut of Anna Netrebko and a stellar cast including Dmitri Hvorostovsky. This is followed by a broadcast of Fidelio with Adrianne Pieczonka and Klaus Florian Vogt in celebration of Beethoven’s 250th anniversary. Highlights throughout the season include a rare performance of Philip Glass’ Satyagraha and a 1961 performance of Il Trovatore with Leontyne Price and Franco Corelli in honor of the 60th anniversary of their Met debuts. We will feature four broadcasts conducted by Met Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin: Faust featuring Jonas Kaufmann and Rene Pape, Rusalka with Renee Fleming and Piotr Beczala, Otello with Sonya Yoncheva and Aleksandrs Antonenko, and Anna Netrebko’s 2019 New Year’s eve Puccini Gala which will make its Saturday matinee debut on May 8. The season concludes on June 5 with a broadcast of Benjamin Britten’s Billy Budd.
We are very excited to debut a Listener’s Choice broadcast – giving our listeners the opportunity to vote on their favorite historic Met broadcast. We will announce this during our first broadcast on December 5 and listeners will have the chance to vote on their pick throughout the month of December. We’ll announce the winning broadcast in the New Year and it will air on February 6. We will follow up with details on this and look forward to having our listeners participate in the selection of a broadcast from the Met’s archives.
We are so happy that in this unique year we can continue to bring incredible Met performances to our listeners – 27 broadcast weeks over the course of the season. We will deliver the encore broadcast files to you directly and in advance via a downloadable link with accompanying rundowns, promos and broadcast information. We will follow up with detailed information on this process in the coming weeks.
On behalf of the entire Met radio team, we look forward to continuing our partnership with all of you this season and bringing the much-needed comfort of music to our listeners.
We hope that you remain healthy and safe.
With best wishes,
Mia
Mia Bongiovanni
Assistant General Manager, Media
The Metropolitan Opera
