What's On IPR's Classical Stations

Friday, May 9,
6:04 PM

Streaming by Mediacom.
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KHKE/KUNZ/KSUI Listen Online

Classical Music with Nancy Hagen
3:00 PM - 7:00 PM

WOI-FM Listen Online

All Things Considered
4:00 PM - 6:30 PM

Live in HD Series 2007-2008

"The Met's experiment of merging film with live performance has created a new art form," said the Los Angeles Times of the groundbreaking series of live, high-definition performance transmissions to movie theaters around the world. The series enjoyed box office success, reaching an estimated audience of more than 325,000 viewers. In 2007-08, the Met offers its second season of international HD transmissions - this time with eight broadcasts, up from last year's six. Don't miss the chance to enjoy thrilling, world-class opera at your neighborhood theater!

Iowa Public Radio is teaming up with the Metropolitan Opera and movie theatres in Ames, Cedar Falls, Iowa City and West Des Moines to bring you this unique cinema experience.

PURCHASE DISCOUNTED TICKET VOUCHERS
THROUGH IOWA PUBLIC RADIO CLASSICAL!
Iowa Public Radio is offering discounted ticket vouchers for each opera in the series to our IPR Classical listeners for $10 each. Discounted vouchers at each theatre location are very limited. Vouchers will be sold on a first-come, first-served basis. Vouchers will be sold for one opera at a time. Please remember to select the appropriate opera screening, the number of vouchers you are requesting and for which theatre location. Purchases must be made with a valid credit card. Vouchers will be mailed. You must present your voucher to the theatre box office to redeem for a valid ticket. Arriving early at the theatre is recommended to complete the ticket redemption process.

Participating Theatres:
Ames: Movies 12 (1317 Buckeye Avenue)
Cedar Falls: College Square 12 (1065 College Square Mall)
Iowa City: Sycamore 12 (1602 Sycamore Street)
West Des Moines: Jordan Creek 20 (101 Jordan Creek Parkway)


Past HD Events:

Roméo et Juliette – Gounod
Saturday, December 15, 2007 (12:00 pm CST)
Sunday, December 16, 2007 (2:00 pm CST)
Running time: 3 hours, 30 minutes.
1 intermission

Gounod's ultra-sensual interpretation of Shakespeare is an ideal vehicle for star soprano Anna Netrebko and the remarkable tenor Roberto Alagna, both of whom bring their incandescent appeal to the title roles. The irresistible Nathan Gunn is Mercutio and Plácido Domingo presides on the podium.

Conductor Plácido Domingo; Production Guy Joosten; Anna Netrebko, Isabel Leonard, Roberto Alagna, Nathan Gunn, Robert Lloyd

Download the cast sheet and synopsis here.
 

Hansel and Gretel (new production) – Humperdinck
Tuesday, January 1, 2008 (12:00 pm CST)
Sunday, January 6, 2008 (2:00 pm CST)
Running time: 2 hours, 35 minutes.
1 intermission

Most fairy tales, though charming on the outside, have darker underpinnings. Alice Coote and Christine Schäfer play the siblings lost in a shadowy world of unknown menace, pursued by the Witch (portrayed by tenor Philip Langridge) who seeks to devour them. The English-language production of Engelbert Humperdinck's masterful treatment of the beloved story by the Brothers Grimm is the second in the Met's annual series of special holiday presentations.

Conductor Vladimir Jurowski; Production Richard Jones; Christine Schäfer, Alice Coote, Rosalind Plowright, Philip Langridge, Alan Held

Download the cast sheet and synopsis here.

 

Macbeth (new production) – Verdi
Saturday, January 12, 2008 (12:30 pm CST)
Sunday, January 13, 2008 (2:00 pm CST)
Running time: 3 hours, 20 minutes.
1 intermission

Giuseppe Verdi's longstanding affinity for Shakespeare is explored in Adrian Noble's dark yet exhilarating vision for this disturbing work. James Levine conducts and acclaimed baritone Lado Ataneli stars in the towering title role. Bass-baritone John Relyea plays the role of the doomed Banquo.

Conductor James Levine; Production Adrian Noble; Maria Guleghina, Roberto Aronica, Lado Ataneli, John Relyea

Download the cast sheet and synopsis here.

 

Manon Lescaut – Puccini
Saturday, February 16, 2008 (12:00 pm CST)
Sunday, February 17, 2008 (2:00 pm CST)
Running time: 3 hours, 41 minutes.
3 intermissions

On the heels of her triumph in Jenůfa, Finnish phenomenon Karita Mattila adds another landmark role to her Met repertory, the free-spirited beauty Manon Lescaut. The story of the magnetic attraction between two young lovers is the perfect vehicle for the soprano's exhilarating charisma, especially when matched by the ardent tenor of Marcello Giordani. Music Director James Levine conducts his first Met performances of the work since 1981.

Conductor James Levine; Karita Mattila, Marcello Giordani, Dwayne Croft, Dale Travis

Download the cast sheet and synopsis here.

 

Peter Grimes (new production) – Britten
Saturday, March 15, 2008 (12:30 pm CST)
Sunday, March 16, 2008 (2:00 pm CST)
Running time: 3 hours, 45 minutes.
2 intermissions

Peter Grimes is under investigation for unthinkable transgressions, yet Benjamin Britten's probing exploration of the nature of guilt and judgment implicates an entire fishing village. Director John Doyle, a Tony Award® winner for his interpretation of Sondheim's Sweeney Todd, makes his Met debut answering the challenges of this modern masterpiece. Tenor Anthony Dean Griffey takes on the complex title role. The riveting Patricia Racette plays Ellen Orford, the woman who refuses to abandon him. Featuring what may be 20th-century opera's most impressive tenor role, Peter Grimes, with its sweeping orchestral beauty, will be an engrossing and haunting theatrical journey.

Conductor Donald Runnicles; Production John Doyle; Patricia Racette, Anthony Dean Griffey, Anthony Michaels-Moore

Download the cast sheet and synopsis here.

 

Tristan und Isolde – Wagner
Saturday, March 22, 2008 (11:30 am CST)
Sunday, March 23, 2008 (2:00 pm CST)
Running time: 5 hours, 35 minute.
2 intermissions

Met Music Director and eminent Wagnerian James Levine conducts this much anticipated revival. Deborah Voigt, one of the world's most celebrated Wagnerian sopranos, undertakes this iconic role for the first time at the Met. The leading Tristan of our time, Ben Heppner, portrays the other half of this archetypal couple on their mystical journey of love, sex, and death.

Conductor James Levine; Production Dieter Dorn; Deborah Voigt, Michelle DeYoung, Ben Heppner, Eike Wilm Schulte, Matti Salminen

Download the cast sheet and synopsis here.

 

La Bohème – Puccini
Saturday, April 5, 2008 (12:30 pm CST)
Sunday, April 6, 2008 (2:00 pm CST)
Running time: 3 hours, 20 minutes.
2 intermissions

A magnificent cast comes together for Franco Zeffirelli's iconic production of the Puccini favorite. The exciting young conductor Nicola Luisotti presides over a glorious vocal ensemble led by the mesmerizing Angela Gheorghiu, who sings Mimì at the Met for the first time in twelve years, opposite golden-toned tenor Ramón Vargas as her lover, Rodolfo.

Conductor Nicola Luisotti; Production Franco Zeffirelli; Angela Gheorghiu, Ainhoa Arteta, Ramón Vargas, Ludovic Tézier, Quinn Kelsey, Oren Gradus, Paul Plishka

Download the cast sheet and synopsis here.

 

La Fille du Régiment (new production) – Donizetti
Saturday, April 26, 2008 (12:30 pm CST)
Sunday, April 27, 2008 (2:00 pm CST)
Running time: 3 hours, 10 minutes.
1 intermission

Experience the "exceedingly yummy operatic cake" that was called "the operatic show of the season" by The Times of London when it opened at Covent Garden this past winter. Audiences were dazzled by Natalie Dessay's fearless coloratura and impeccable comic timing and by Juan Diego Flórez's remarkable musicality—complete with the famous high Cs. Dessay and Flórez are an "operatic coupling made in heaven" raved the Financial Times. Directed by Laurent Pelly, the production also boasts stage legend and four-time Tony Award® winner Zoe Caldwell as the Duchess of Krakenthorp.

Conductor Marco Armiliato; Production Laurent Pelly; Natalie Dessay, Felicity Palmer, Juan Diego Flórez, Alessandro Corbelli, Zoe Caldwell

DISCOUNTED VOUCHERS VIA IPR NO LONGER AVAILABLE! PLEASE CONTACT YOUR LOCAL THEATRE FOR REGULARLY PRICED TICKETS.

Download the cast sheet and synopsis here.


Programs and casting subject to change. Running times are approximate.