Saturdays at 4:30 pm
Enjoy recording collector and host Larry Johnson’s vast library of vocal music.
Arias and Songs celebrates great singers of the past and present, from Maria Callas and Jussi Björling to Renée Fleming and Jonas Kaufmann. Each week, recording collector and host Larry Johnson spins a wonderful web of opera, operetta, Broadway tunes, art songs—even vintage pop. Expect the unexpected as Larry guides you through the range and nuance of vocal artistry, with some programs tied to local performances, as well.
The player below features a continuous three hour loop of the most recent Arias and Songs episodes to be joined in progress.
There are no upcoming broadcasts at the moment.
Play Gypsy, Dance Gypsy
September 1, 2018
Gypsies have long been a favorite topic for composers. Hear delightful and melodic songs and arias sung by Leontyne Price, Conchita Supervia, Fritz Wunderlich, Angela Gheorghiu, Renata Tebaldi and more.
Leonard Bernstein’s 100th Birthday Tribute
August 25, 2018
Larry explores the life of this endlessly fascinating musician. You will hear him as a conductor, composer, and accompanist. The program features him conducting Maria Callas at La Scala and Marilyn Horne at the Metropolitan Opera, to selections from his various Broadway musicals – which certainly includes West Side Story!
One Theme, Multiple Operas
August 18, 2018
Two La bohèmes, two Fausts and two Manons are heard in this program. Sorting out the differences are Renée Fleming, Nicolai Gedda, Victoria de los Ángeles, Anna Netrebko, Boris Christoff, Anna Moffo and Angela Gheorghiu.
Silence, Please!
August 11, 2018
Two operatic calls for silence. One by Rita Gorr in Verdi’s Aida with Leontyne Price. The other for the finale of Wagner’s Die Meistersinger with Ben Heppner, José van Dam and more with the Chicago Symphony led by Sir Georg Solti.
Scenes from Russian Opera
August 4, 2018
Dmitri Hvorostovsky and supporting cast give us a scene from Prokofiev’s War and Peace. Then the duet between Marina and Dmitri from Mussorgsky’s Boris Godunov is sung by Evelyn Lear and Nicolai Gedda.
Tenors, Tenors, Tenors
July 28, 2018
And what tenors they are! From today and yesteryear we hear Jonas Kaufmann, José Carreras, Fritz Wunderlich, Ian Bostridge, Jussi Björling, George Thill, and Juan Diego Flórez.
The Art of Renata Tebaldi
July 21, 2018
Conductor Arturo Toscanini said she had the voice of an angel. Judge for yourself as Tebaldi sings arias from Italian operas and a song by Rossini.
The Art of Josephine Baker
July 14, 2018
Arriving in France as one of the many Americans in Paris in the 1920s, La Belle Josephine, as she was called, became a national treasure for the French for half a century.
Scandinavian Singers, Scandinavian Songs
July 7, 2018
Songs by five Scandinavian composers will be heard sung by Kirsten Flagstad, Jussi Björling, Karita Mattila, Bo Skovhus, Anne Sophie von Otter and Solvieg Kringelbotn.
Things that Crawl, Swim, and Fly
June 30, 2018
Fish swim, butterflies float, snakes slither, bees sting, and worms crawl in a most unusual program. Immersed in nature are Kathleen Battle, Gérard Souzay, Christa Ludwig, John McCormack, Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, Felicity Lott, and more.
A Program for Gay Pride Weekend
June 23, 2018
In this special one-hour tribute to the LGBTQ community, we give recognition to various composers including Tchaikovsky, Copland, and Menotti. You’ll also hear an aria from the 2017 opera Fellow Travelers, about two men who meet in McCarthy-era Washington. We nod to Broadway with Jerry Herman’s La Cage aux Folles and the film version of Victor/Victoria.
Solti conducts Strauss
June 16, 2018
Solti distinguished himself as a notable Strauss interpreter in the world of opera and as conductor of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Selections will be heard from Arabella, Der Rosenkavalier, and Ariadne auf Naxos. Singers include Régine Crespin, Leontyne Price, Yvonne Minton, Helen Donath, Lisa Della Casa, and Hilde Gueden.
Larry’s Favorite Recordings
June 9, 2018
Often asked for his personal favorites, Larry shares a few choices sung by Maria Callas, Giuseppe Di Stefano, Bidu Sayao, Alfredo Kraus, and Leontyne Price.
Fathers, Daughters, Mothers, Sons
June 2, 2018
Duets from Verdi’s Il Trovatore and Simon Boccanegra explore these complicated relationships. The parents are Fiorenza Cossotto and Piero Cappuccilli. Their adult children are Mirella Freni and Carlo Bergonzi.
Birgit Nilsson’s One Hundredth Birthday Anniversary
May 19, 2018
This Swedish soprano was without doubt one of the greatest interpreters of Wagner and Strauss in the twentieth century. The highlight will be the Final Scene from Salome along with an aria from Lohengrin and a song by Sibelius.
Coffee, Tea, Beer, or Wine?
May 12, 2018
The bar is open. It’s your choice and served by Jerry Hadley, Joan Morris, Carlo Bergonzi, Ella Fitzgerald and more.
The Merry Month of May
May 5, 2018
May is the theme with folk songs, Broadway selections, and operetta as sung by Julie Andrews, Robert White, Anna Moffo, Sergio Franchi, and Lawrence Tibbett.
A One Hundredth Birthday Anniversary Tribute to Astrid Varnay
April 28, 2018
This Swedish‐American soprano and one the finest Wagnerian interpreters of the twentieth century will be heard in two of her finest roles. First we hear Dich teure Halle from Tannhauser then the Immolation Scene from Gotterdammerung.
French Operas Duets
April 21, 2018
It is all things French today with three magnificent duets. They are the Flower Duet from Lakme with Mady Mesple and Danielle Millet, the Pearl Fishers Duet with Jonas Kaufmann and Ludovic Tezier, and the St. Sulpice Scene from Manon with Anna Moffo and Flaviano Labo.
First the Music, Then the Words
April 14, 2018
Larry explores this theme once again with a non‐vocal version of a familiar melody followed by a vocal one. Artists include Giuseppe De Stefano, Morton Gould and His Orchestra, Fred Astaire, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Joan Morris, William Bolcum, Mischa Maisky, and Mario Lanza.