Metropolitan Opera Radio (Sirius XM)
 |
|
| Broadcast area | United States Canada |
|---|---|
| Frequency | Sirius XM Radio 74 DISH Network 6074 |
| First air date | September 25, 2006 |
| Format | Opera |
| Class | Satellite Radio Station |
| Owner | Sirius XM Radio |
| Website | Met Opera Radio |
Metropolitan Opera Radio is an all-opera radio station on Sirius Satellite Radio channel 74 (previously 78) and XM Satellite Radio channel 74 (previously 79). Originally on channel 85, Met Opera Radio was shifted to channel 78 on June 24, 2008. It is also on Dish Network channel 6078. It carries live broadcasts from the Metropolitan 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 the Metropolitan Opera radio broadcast archives. The channel's host and announcer for the live broadcasts is Mary Jo Heath. The producers are Ellen Keel, John Bischoff, Matthew Principe, with William 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. The first broadcast was a live performance of Puccini’s Madama Butterfly, conducted by James Levine, the Met's Music Director at the time, and directed by Anthony Minghella. It starred Chilean soprano Cristina Gallardo-Domâs as Cio-Cio-San, tenor Marcello Giordani as Pinkerton, and baritone Dwayne 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 some choral music and art songs programming (such as German lieder and French Chansons). The new channel was launched as part of new Met general manager Peter 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.
...
Wikipedia