Saturdays at 4:30 pm
The Chagall ceiling of Opéra Garnier in Paris (Photo: Lin Padgham, CC BY 2.0, cropped, via Flickr)
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.
Lyric Opera’s “Die Walküre”
November 11, 2017
Jon Vickers and Gre Brouwenstijn reprise their 1960 Lyric Opera debut roles in Act I of Die Walkure which coincides with this second opera of Wagner’s Ring Cycle currently being presented by Lyric.
A Cole Porter Program
October 21, 2017
The legendary Broadway composer well served in recordings made famous by his contemporaries Fred Astaire, Mary Martin, Artie Shaw and Ella Fitzgerald. Mr. Porter will also accompany himself in one of his songs.
Lyric Opera’s Rigoletto
October 14, 2017
The Court Jester returns to Lyric Opera of Chicago. Highlights will be heard by Daniela Dessi, Carlo Bergonzi, Dietrich Fischer‐Dieskau and Renata Scotto. Rigoletto’s solo scene will be sung by the great Verdi baritone Leonard Warren.
Lyric Opera’s “Orphée et Eurydice”
September 30, 2017
This opera’s justly famous aria “J’ai perdu mon Euridice” in French or “Che faro senza Euridice” in Italian is heard by soprano Maria Callas, tenor Juan Diego Florez, mezzo‐soprano Rita Gorr, flautist James Galway and contralto Kathleen Ferrier.
Inge Borkh at 100
September 23, 2017
German soprano Inge Borkh turned 100 earlier this year. Larry celebrates her centenary with “In questa reggia” from Puccini’s Turandot and the “Final Scene” from Richard Strauss’ Salome.
Maria Callas ‐ Gone Now For Forty Years Today
September 16, 2017
Gone but hardly forgotten after four decades, La Divina is heard in arias that recall her unique artistry. Besides La Vestale, Norma, and Tosca, we hear Callas accompanying herself in her final recording, “Ah, Perfido!” by Beethoven.
Vivaldi’s Magnificat
September 9, 2017
Sacred music is heard in a program consisting of the Magnificat by Antonio Vivaldi. Riccardo Muti conducts the New Philharmonia Orchestra and Chorus with soloists Teresa Berganza and Lucia Valentini Terrani.
A Program for Labor Day
September 2, 2017
A tribute to workers everywhere that features three government ministers, a flower seller, a fashion designer and even a smuggler. Cecilia Bartoli, Lucrezia Bori and Katherine Hepburn are heard among others.
Remembering Nicolai Gedda
August 26, 2017
The late Swedish tenor is fondly remembered in arias from some of his operatic roles from Carmen, Cosi fan Tutte, Faust and Vanessa. Then there will be a superb rendition of Dein ist mein ganzes Herz from Lehar’s The Land of Smiles.
Five Wagnerian Tenors
August 19, 2017
Five tenors who are all acclaimed for their Wagner interpretations. Listen and enjoy Lauritz Melchior, Jon Vickers, Jess Thomas, Ben Heppner and Jonas Kaufmann.
Music of the American West
August 12, 2017
We begin on horseback in the Grand Canyon then on to California for Puccini’s Fanciulla del West. Colorado is next for The Ballad of Baby Doe. We ride the range with cowboys and end up with a salute to Texas.
The Art of Giulietta Simionato
August 5, 2017
Simionato and Callas sang Norma in Lyric Opera’s first season in 1954. Becoming a valued member of the company she sang Carmen, Rosina and Amneris among numerous roles until 1961. A voice that must be heard!
First the Music then the Words
July 22, 2017
Itzhak Perlman plays the Meditation from Thais followed by the opera’s final scene sung by Dorothy Kirsten and Robert Merrill. Then Rachmaninoff’s Vocalise is performed by the London Symphony led by Andre Previn then sung by Anna Moffo.
A Program for Bastille Day
July 15, 2017
Let’s celebrate the holiday with a program of French opera and song. A highlight will be the Air de Lia from Debussy’s L’Enfant Prodigue sung by Victoria de los Angeles. Other artists include Gerard Souzay and Joan Sutherland.
Songs by Stephen Sondheim
July 9, 2017
Broadway’s master composer and lyricist is heard in his musicals Sweeney Todd, Follies, Into the Woods and Company among others. Singers include Angela Lansbury, Len Cariou, Carol Burnett, Jason Alexander, Barbra Streisand and more.
Arias from the Age of Bel Canto
July 1, 2017
Enjoy a Bel Canto spectacular with Joan Sutherland, Marilyn Horne, Placido Domingo, Maria Callas, Giuseppe di Stefano and Leopold Simoneau in selections from operas by Rossini, Bellini and Donizetti.
A Program For Gay Pride Weekend
June 24, 2017
Larry will present a special one hour broadcast beginning at 4 PM to celebrate Gay Pride Weekend in Chicago. Expect to be entertained as well as informed hearing recordings by gay and lesbian composers and singers who have made significant contributions to American and European culture over a century and more ranging from Leonard Bernstein to Cole Porter and Jake ...
The Art of Anna Netrebko
June 17, 2017
A tribute to the Russian Diva includes an excerpt from Prokofiev’s War and Peace as well as arias by Mozart, Puccini and Verdi and a song by Rimsky-Korsakov.
Gustav and Alma Mahler
June 10, 2017
Larry offers a sampling of recordings by eminent Mahler interpreters Maureen Forrester, Elizabeth Schwarzkopf, Kathleen Ferrier, and Fritz Wunderlich, as well as an unexpected and hilarious tribute to Alma Mahler.
Operatic Mad Scenes
May 27, 2017
So-called “mad scenes” have been long been a staple of opera , and were especially so during the bel canto era of Donizetti and Bellini. Larry offers two later examples. Natalie Dessay sings Ophelia’s mad scene from Hamlet and Philip Langridge descends into madness as the title character in Peter Grimes.
