Metropolitan Opera Radio on Sirius XM Celebrates James Levine’s 40th Anniversary, 5/30-6/5

Metropolitan Opera Radio on Sirius XM (Channel 74) will celebrate the 40th anniversary of James Levine's Metropolitan Opera debut with a full week of Levine performances. Fifteen historic performances, three of which join the archival rotation on Sirius XM for the first time, will air in rotation for an entire week, beginning May 30 and ending June 5. The broadcasts will be introduced by Levine and other artists, some of whom will also pay tribute to the Met Music Director's extraordinary career in special segments between operas.

The three operas making their first archival appearances on Sirius XM are an April 8, 1995 performance of Debussy's Pelléas et Mélisande, starring Frederica von Stade; a 1979 performance of Don Carlo, one of Levine's first times leading the opera at the Met, with a cast that includes Renata Scotto, Marilyn Horne, and Nicolai Ghiaurov; and a February 6, 2010 Simon Boccanegra with Domingo in the title role, which was broadcast live but makes its first subsequent appearance on Sirius XM. Rehearsals for this performance are featured extensively in James Levine: America's Maestro, a documentary by Susan Froemke that will premiere on PBS's American Masters series on Wednesday, June 1 at 8 p.m.

The other performances included in this week of tributes range in original broadcast date from 1978 (Smetana's The Bartered Bride) to 2011 (Berg's Wozzeck). Four newly remastered performances-Berlioz's Benvenuto Cellini and Stravinsky's The Rake's Progress from 2003, Berg's Lulu from 2001, and Harbison's The Great Gatsby from 2000, which will be introduced by the composer-are also included on James Levine: Celebrating 40 Years at the Met, a 32-CD box set available from the Met Opera Shop and other retailers.

The remaining operas reflect the variety of great composers Levine has conducted at the Met, including Mozart (Così fan tutte from 1996 and Le Nozze di Figaro from 1985), Wagner (Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg from 2001), Verdi (Falstaff from 2002), Puccini (Manon Lescaut from 1980), and Richard Strauss (Ariadne auf Naxos from 1988). Complete performance information is below.

Metropolitan Opera Radio on Sirius XM
Celebration of James Levine's 40th Anniversary
May 30 - June 6, 2011
(All broadcasts on Sirius XM Channel 74)

Ariadne auf Naxos (R. Strauss). Levine; Kathleen Battle (Zerbinetta), Jessye Norman (Ariadne), Tatiana Troyanos (Composer), James King (Bacchus). March 12, 1988.
Airing: May 30 at 6 a.m., June 2 at 9 p.m., June 4 at 3 p.m.

The Bartered Bride (Smetana). Levine; Teresa Stratas (Marenka), Nicolai Gedda (Jeník), Jon Vickers (Vasek), Martti Talvela (Kecal). December 2, 1978.
Airing: May 30 at 9 a.m., June 3 at 12 a.m., June 4 at 6 p.m.

Benvenuto Cellini (Berlioz). Levine; Isabel Bayrakdarian (Teresa), Kristine Jepson (Ascanio), Marcello Giordani (Benvenuto Cellini), Peter Coleman-Wright (Fieramosca), John Del Carlo (Giacomo Balducci), Robert Lloyd (Pope Clément VII). December 27, 2003.
Airing: May 31 at 12 a.m., June 2 at 6 p.m., June 4 at 12 p.m.

Così fan tutte (Mozart). Levine; Carol Vaness (Fiordiligi), Cecilia Bartoli (Despina), Susanne Mentzer (Dorabella), Jerry Hadley (Ferrando), Thomas Allen (Don Alfonso), DWayne Croft (Guglielmo). February 24, 1996.
Airing: May 30 at 9 p.m., June 2 at 3 p.m., June 5 at 12 p.m.

Don Carlo (Verdi). Levine; Renata Scotto (Elizabeth of Valois), Marilyn Horne (Princess Eboli), Giuseppe Giacomini (Don Carlo), Sherrill Milnes (Rodrigo), Nicolai Ghiaurov (Philip II), James Morris (Grand Inquisitor). February 24, 1979.
Airing: May 30 at 12 p.m., June 2 at 12 a.m., June 3 at 6 a.m.

Falstaff (Verdi). Levine; Marina Mescheriakova (Alice Ford), Camilla Tilling (Nannetta), Stephanie Blythe (Dame Quickly), Susanne Mentzer (Meg Page), Gregory Turay (Fenton), DWayne Croft (Ford), Bryn Terfel (Sir John Falstaff). April 6, 2002.
Airing: May 31 at 6 p.m., June 2 at 12 p.m., June 4 at 6 a.m.

The Great Gatsby (Harbison). Levine; Dawn Upshaw (Daisy Buchanan), Susan Graham (JorDan Baker), Lorraine Hunt Lieberson (Myrtle Wilson), Mark W. Baker (Tom Buchanan), Jerry Hadley (Jay Gatsby), DWayne Croft (Nick Carraway). January 1, 2000.
Airing: May 31 at 12 p.m., June 2 at 6 a.m., June 5 at 6 p.m.

Lulu (Berg). Levine; Christine Schäfer (Lulu), Hanna Schwarz (Countess Geschwitz), David Kuebler (Alwa), James Courtney (Dr. Schön/Jack the Ripper), Franz Mazura (Schigolch). April 21, 2001.
Airing: June 1 at 12 a.m., June 3 at 9:30 a.m., June 5 at 3 p.m.

Manon Lescaut (Puccini). Levine; Renata Scotto (Manon), Plácido Domingo (Des Grieux), Pablo Elvira (Lescaut), Renato Capecchi (Geronte). March 29, 1980.
Airing: May 31 at 3 p.m., June 2 at 9 a.m., June 5 at 6 a.m.

Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg (Wagner). Levine; Karita Mattila (Eva), Ben Heppner (Walther von Stolzing), Matthew Polenzani (David), Thomas Allen (Beckmesser), James Morris (Hans Sachs), René Pape (Pogner). December 8, 2001.
Airing: May 30 at 3:30 p.m., June 1 at 9 a.m., June 4 at 9 p.m.,

Le Nozze di Figaro (Mozart). Levine; Kathleen Battle (Susanna), Carol Vaness (Countess Almaviva), Frederica von Stade (Cherubino), Thomas Allen (Count Almaviva), Ruggero Raimondi (Figaro). December 14, 1985.
Airing: May 30 at 9 a.m., June 1 at 9 p.m., June 3 at 3 p.m.

Pelléas et Mélisande (Debussy). Levine; Marilyn Horne (Geneviève), Frederica von Stade (Melisande), Victor Braun (Golaud), DWayne Croft (Pelléas), Robert Lloyd (Arkel). April 8, 1995.
Airing: May 30 at 9 p.m., June 1 at 3 p.m., June 4 at 9 a.m.

The Rake's Progress (Stravinsky). Levine; Dawn Upshaw (Anne Trulove), Stephanie Blythe (Baba the Turk), Paul Groves (Tom Rakewell), Samuel Ramey (Nick Shadow). April 19, 2003.
Airing: June 1 at 6 a.m., June 4 at 12 a.m., June 5 at 9 a.m.

Simon Boccanegra (Verdi). Levine; Adrianne Pieczonka (Amelia), Plácido Domingo (Simon Boccanegra), Marcello Giordani (Gabriele Adorno), James Morris (Jacopo Fiesco). February 6, 2010.
Airing: May 30 at 6 a.m., June 1 at 6 p.m., June 3 at 12 p.m., June 6 at 12 a.m.

Wozzeck (Berg). Levine; Waltraud Meier (Marie), Gerhard Siegel (Captain), Stuart Skelton (Drum Major), Alan Held (Wozzeck), Walter Fink (Doctor). April 16, 2011.
Airing: June 3 at 8 p.m.

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