October is French Opera Month
October is French Opera Month on the Sunday Opera Matinee, which airs at 2 P.M. Sundays throughout the year. We will celebrate the great body of 19th Century Romantic French opera during our broadcasts next month.
Apart from Carmen, the French repertoire is underrepresented in the repertories of many of the world’s great opera companies outside France. A notable exception is the work of Charles Gounod. Of all his output, Faust traditionally was the favorite of audiences.
But recently Roméo et Juliette has rivaled, perhaps even overtaken Faust as an audience favorite. You can hear this delectable work on October 3 with your host Ann Shaffer.
On October 10 you are invited to pledge your support for WTJU during our annual Jazz Marathon.
Tim Snider returns the following week to present two French rarities. Giacomo Meyerbeer, a name almost forgotten in this country, was France’s most celebrated opera composer of the middle of the 19th Century. You can hear his first great success in Paris, Robert le Diable (1831), on October 17.
Some consider his last work, L’Africaine (1865), premiered posthumously, to be his finest achievement. Judge for yourself when we air a great live broadcast recording of this work on October 24. Meyerbeer’s operas set powerful drama to music overflowing with melodic invention.
Both works are excellent examples of French grand opéra, a musical style that has become extinct.
These broadcasts will be an excellent complement to Tim’s lecture series on French Romantic Opera. For more information, go to www.olliuva.org.
