- 05/14 Ars Nova/BBCNOW - Review
- 05/07 The Met’s 45-Ton Diva
- 05/03 Vale of Glamorgan festival
- 04/27 Ready for My Close-Up, Mr. Puccini
- 04/23 Cellist David Finckel Joins Faculty
of The Juilliard
- 04/20 Alan Hacker dies
- 04/16 Did Humans Invent Music?
- 04/12 World-Class Contenders
- 04/06 The Maestro’s Mojo
- 04/01 Unleashing Playful Music
- 03/28 Famed mezzo-soprano might rethink career
- 03/26 Shostakovich's Seventh - Review
- 03/22 Florian Boesch - Malcolm Martineau
- 03/21 Bach Bits
- 03/14 A chance audition launches career!
- 03/09 St Thomas Choir, Leipzig
- 03/03 William Byrd - the power of song
- 02/29 WCPE Worldwide!
- 02/28 Rusalka greeted with boos
- 02/24 Aida – Royal Albert Hall
- 02/19 NYP/Alan Gilbert – review
- 02/12 Aged Hands Teem With Creativity
- 02/11 Schubert is needed
- 02/09 Berlioz: Roméo et Juliette
- 02/04 Singing Strings
- 01/31 Così Fan Tutte
- 01/27 Nicholas Daniel to receive Queen’s Medal
- 01/20 Violin Masters on Parade
- 01/17 Gustav Leonhardt
- 01/14 Decoding Strauss
- 01/11 Carnegie Hall to Establish National Youth Orchestra
- 01/06 NYO - Daniel
- 01/03 Stradivarius v modern violins
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The late Al Ruocchio (1937-2007) is the host of this week's encore performance of Camille Saint-Saëns's Samson et Dalila (Samson and Delilah) on the WCPE Opera House. Loosely based on the Book of Judges in the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament), it's notable for its superb choruses, lavish spectacle, and the sensuous beauty of Dalila's music. Interestingly, the opera--a staple of the French repertoire--had its premiere in Weimar, Germany on December 2, 1877, thanks to Franz Liszt, who directed the Court Opera there. Paris did not see Samson until 1890, at the Théâtre Eden, and the Paris Opéra--which long objected to portraying biblical subjects onstage--did not capitulate until 1892.
The story takes place in Gaza. Samson (tenor Jon Vickers) leads a successful Hebrew revolt against their Philistine overlords, in which the ruler Abimélech (bass Anton Diakov) is killed. Prompted by the High Priest of Dagon (baritone Ernest Blanc), the Philistine seductress Dalila (mezzo-soprano Rita Gorr) renders Samson powerless by cutting off his hair, from which his strength is derived. Finally, Samson's strength is restored to him through prayer, and he pulls down the Temple of Dagon, killing his enemies and himself.
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WCPE's 'Preview!'Click here to listen to Tara Lynn's Preview Interview with Canadian composer Stephen Chatman who comes to Chapel Hill for US premieres of his works by Voices and Cantari. Be sure to listen for details on Voices' performance on Saturday, May 19th at Memorial Hall.
Reflecting on a Legacy
Thanks To You!
This year WCPE enters its 34th year in broadcasting- that's something special for any public radio station, especially a classical music station!
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