Upcoming and Noteworthy

The “Ideal” Liszt Années de Pèlerinage Book I this Friday (1/2, rebroadcast Saturday 1/3)

What happens when a “hometown” commissions an opera about their best known resident? A bit of historical fiction, quite a bit actually, will result, and the output is on this week’s Sunday Opera (1/4 3:00 p.m.) in Alberto Franchetti’s homage to Christopher Columbus to celebrate the 400th Anniversary of Columbus’ voyage and the unification of Italy.

Happy New Year! (We hope.) We're still showcasing musicals that opened each month on the Dress Circle (1/4 7:00 p.m.), but instead of framing the program with the "oldest" and "newest" openings, we decided, instead, to pick a random sample of musicals we haven't showcased in a while to present their overtures and opening numbers or prologues to give a bigger picture of entire piece.

Keyboard Sonatas by Domenico Scarlatti this Friday (12/26, rebroadcast Saturday 12/27)

Beginning in November, I thought about looking for a new opera to play as we approached the New Year. However, by the beginning of December, I’d already heard from several people who asked me to repeat Johann Strauss' “Die Fledermaus” because it’s become a part of their family tradition. Who am I to go against tradition? So, on this week’s Sunday Opera (12/28 3:00 p.m.), the all-star “bat” returns!

For many, this time of year features a whirlwind of parties. We really don’t have first-hand knowledge of that, so we had to turn to the musicals on this week’s Dress Circle (12/28 7:00 p.m.) for some help with what parties might entail.

Recordings by Percy Grainger, Magda Tagliaferro and Grete Scherzer this Friday (12/19, rebroadcast Saturday 12/20)

We have a Christmas favorite on this week’s Sunday Opera (12/21 3:00 p.m.) as we turn to Englebert Humperdinck’s 1892 Marchenoper or “fairytale opera,” “Hansel and Gretel” in an English Translation by Tom Hammond. It features Heidi Grant Murphy and Suzanne Mentzer in the title roles.

The holidays seem to induce memories, and some of them seem to be rather interesting. This is the case with this week’s Dress Circle (12/21 7:00 p.m.) and our playlist of songs from musicals and films that make up some of our holiday memories. Several of these may not be what you might expect.

Celebrating Beethoven’s birthday this Friday (12/12, rebroadcast Saturday 12/13)