Wagner’s Valkyries bring slain heroes to Valhalla. Christa Ludwig is Fidelio who does whatever is necessary to save her husband. Enrico Caruso is the Spanish hero, El Cid, and Jon Vickers as Rhadames leads the Egyptians to victory in Verdi’s Aida.

Heroes and Heroines in Opera

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Music

Beethoven’s Ode to Joy from his Symphony No. 9 is the centerpiece of this program. Herbert von Karajan conducts. Also heard will be the finale of Verdi’s Falstaff with Bryn Terfel and Gluck’s Orfeo ed Euridice with Shirley Verrett and Anna Moffo.

Happy Endings

The holiday season is always about children and the child that lives within us. We will hear lullabies by Kathleen Battle, Boris Christoff, Marilyn Horne, and Ian Bostridge. The prayer from Hänsel und Gretel is sung by Elisabeth Schwarzkopf and Elisabeth Grümmer. The Vienna Boys Choir sing a chorus from Bizet’s Carmen as well.

For the Children

A tasty treat for all! The Robert Shaw Chorale takes us to a clambake, Fanny Brice cooks breakfast, the Crab Man and Strawberry Woman from Porgy and Bess offer food for sale, a little boy named Oliver wants more to eat, and there is a tribute to Julia Child.

Food for Thought

Close personal and professional relationships are explored. We recall those of Joan Sutherland and Richard Bonynge; Galina Vishnevskaya and Mstislav Rostropovich; Benjamin Britten and Peter Pears; and Roberto Alagna and his brothers.

All in the Family




Selections will be heard from religious works by Charpentier, Rossini, Verdi, and Bruckner. Also heard will be Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana and a choral work from the film The Lion in Winter. Among the various artists will be Cecilia Bartoli, Ľuba Orgonášová, and Jussi Björling.




Heroes and Heroines in Opera

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