 | |
| Broadcast area | United States Canada |
|---|---|
| Frequency | Sirius XM Radio 75DISH Network 6075 |
| Programming | |
| Format | Opera |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | Sirius XM Radio |
| History | |
First air date | September 25, 2006 |
Former frequencies | Sirius XM 74 (2011-2017) |
| Technical information | |
| Class | Satellite Radio Station |
| Links | |
| Website | Met Opera Radio |
Metropolitan Opera Radio is an all-operaradio station onSirius Satellite Radio channel 75[1] (previously 78) andXM Satellite Radio channel 75[2] (previously 79). Originally on channel 85, Met Opera Radio was shifted to channel 78 on June 24, 2008. In December 2020 it was moved again — this time to channel 355. It is also onDish Network channel 6078. It carries live broadcasts from theMetropolitan Opera two to three times each week during the opera season. In addition, throughout the day performances are presented from among the 1,500 recorded broadcasts in theMetropolitan Opera radio broadcast archives. The channel's host and announcer for the live broadcasts isMary Jo Heath. The producers are Ellen Keel, John Bischoff, Matthew Principe, withWilliam Berger as writer and commentator.Jay David Saks is the audio producer.
The channel was launched at 6:30 PM, September 25, 2006 the opening night of the Met season.[3] The first broadcast was a live performance ofPuccini’sMadama Butterfly, conducted byJames Levine, the Met's Music Director at the time, and directed byAnthony Minghella. It starred Chilean sopranoCristina Gallardo-Domâs as Cio-Cio-San, tenorMarcello Giordani as Pinkerton, and baritoneDwayne Croft as Sharpless.
Metropolitan Opera Radio replaced the existing "Classical Voices" channel in the Sirius channel lineup. While opera-oriented, the "Classical Voices" channel also offered somechoral music andart songs programming (such as Germanlieder and FrenchChansons). The new channel was launched as part of new Met general managerPeter Gelb's initiative to utilize technology to make the Met's performances more accessible to a wide audience. The channel was added to the XM lineup (replacing the existing "Vox" channel) on November 12,2008, as part of the merger between Sirius and XM.
Two to three live broadcasts of operas from the Met are presented each week of the Met's performing season.[4] The performances are hosted by Mary Jo Heath with commentator William Berger. During intermissions live interviews with performers and other opera professionals and experts are interspersed with background information and informal chat by the co-hosts.
During the rest of the broadcast week, many of the Met's historic archived broadcast tapes are presented. These have been collected and re-mastered by the Met's sound archive department. When presented on Sirius, the original commentaries are replaced by introductions, which include short stories on principal performers and synopsis of each act, recorded byMargaret Juntwait. Of the Met's approximately 1500 archived broadcasts, Sirius's Met Opera Radio presented over 570 in its first three years.[5]
Each day up to seven full length archived broadcasts are presented, starting at 6:00 AM. The channel's weekly schedule includes approximately 12 or 13 different archive recordings which are broadcast in rotation at different starting times. These broadcasts are then repeated with time-span ranging from few months to well over a year. In between the complete operas, shorter pieces of studio-recorded vocal music are presented. None of these is ever interrupted except to accommodate the start of a live broadcast.
Sirius also provides the sound transmission for the Metropolitan Opera's live high-definition video opera presentations in movie theaters world wide. The traditional Metropolitan Opera Radio Network Saturday broadcasts are also presented on Sirius's Met Opera channel.
Adam Wasserman, "Sirius Business",Opera News, December 2006