Thirty-three centuries ago, a doomed visionary Pharaoh tried to remake the world in honor of his god. Thirty-five years ago, a brilliant composer created a powerful opera that explored the wonder and the tragedy of that ancient dreamer. Philip Glass's Akhnaten combines modern music with a libretto in ancient languages to break through the centuries and tell a timeless tale.

Hosted by Pat and guest co-host Grant.

With Orfeo ed Euridice, Christoph Willibald Gluck turned to an ancient story to show that he could create a new kind of opera. Powerful music displays powerful emotion, and this story tells us that the strongest emotion of all is love. You may know the myth of Orpheus and Euridice, but this Classical opera presents a version of the story in which love and music team up to change the will of the gods.

Hosted by Pat and guest co-host Petria.

In Puccini’s final opera, the icy princess Turandot inspires The Unknown Prince to risk his life in the hope of winning her hand. His quest does not require the usual feats of derring-do... Instead, he must battle wits with her. Though he ultimately triumphs, the cost is terrible.

In Giacomo Puccini's first major hit, Manon Lescaut, we meet the adventurous young Manon as she is headed to a convent to live out the rest of her days. Soon, however, she finds herself torn between a man she loves, and a man whose wealth she loves. Based on the novel by Abbé Prévost, this story found its home in opera, serving as the basis for two wildly successful versions. Come hear how magnificently the "medium of excess" tells a story of a woman who wants it all. Hosted by Pat Wright with special guest Petria Fossel.

Charles Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette is an operatic take on Shakespeare’s timeless and tragic tale of young love bursting through old hatreds. Gounod’s sumptuous music exquisitely transports us into the world of the Juliette Capulet and Roméo Montague. Just say yes to this timeless love story's sweet sorrow.

Hosted by Pat Wright and Keely Herron.

Hector Berlioz’s opera “Les Troyens” is an opera on a truly epic scale, with a story based on the oldest and most successful fan fiction ever written: The Aneid, Virgil's take on the great warrior from the siege of Troy presented in Homer's Illiad. This opera’s tale includes three continents, two legendary founders of empires, and one love story that definitely doesn’t go according to plan. If roaming Romans romancing roving refugee rowers is your thing (or maybe if you just like operas that give costumers a lot to work with), you will love “Les Troyens!” Hosted by Pat and guest co-host Grant.

Even if you think you don’t know Opera, you know something of Georges Bizet’s opera Carmen. The tunes pervade our culture, and for good reason, popping up in films, television, and advertisements. They not only convey the passion and identity of characters who seduce and beguile, but the melodies remain long after the show has ended. Join us for Bizet’s masterpiece, the story of woman who insists on freedom, but cannot escape her fate. Hosted by Pat Wright and special guest co-host Greg.

This episode we present, Handel’s Xerxes, an opera that initially failed at the box office for being too silly and unorthodox. Today’s audiences love it. . . for being so silly and unorthodox. This Baroque opera features the ancient king of Persia, mistaken identities, disguises, and an unusually seductive tree. This work is distinguished by its unusual arrangement of vocal parts: a woman singing as a man, a man singing in the female range, and one part whose casting requirements are totally different now than they were 300 years ago.

With Pat and special guest co-host Grant.

Rossini’s exuberant Opera Buffa, The Barber of Seville, features the irrepressible jack-of-all-trades Figaro. This Bel Canto masterpiece is where you will hear the quintessential opera piece “Largo al Factorum,” best known for the glorious (and comic) repetitions of “Figaro, Figaro, Figaro. . .” Everyone clamors for Figaro’s attention, and in this wild romp he assists Count Almavia to wed Rosina, the lovely ward of the greedy Dr. Bartolo. No marriage for Figaro here—that’s a different opera!

With Pat and guest co-host, Petria Fossel.

Have you ever wondered just who that woman with the blond braids, shining breastplate, and iconic opera helmet might be? Meet Brünhilde and her clan in the in this epic tale.

Dwarfs, water nymphs, giants, dragons, forbidden love, heroes, gods, mortals, greed, pride, lust, resentment, the beginning of time, the end of time, what happens in between, fire, marriage, blood, flying horses, a magic sword, contract law—it’s all here in one of history’s greatest works of art, Richard Wagner’s Der Ring des Nibelungen, the story of the accursed golden ring of infinite power.

With Pat and guest co-host, Petria Fossel.