WCPE offers 2 wonderful opportunities each week to hear the best in opera... Thursday nights at 7pm, and Saturday afternoons at 1:30 (when the Met is in season.)

The WCPE Opera House has been a regular Thursday night feature at WCPE since April of 1980. On Saturday afternoons during the Met season, tune in for live broadcasts from the Metropolitan Opera.

On December 4th, 2008, Bob Chapman became only the third host in the history of the WCPE Opera House, succeeding Robert Galbraith. An opera singer himself, Chapman has been the weekend host of Sleepers, Awake! since September 2006.

“If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” says Bob of the show founded and nurtured by the legendary Al Ruocchio, who hosted the Opera House from its inception in April 1980 until his death in February 2007. “Al’s enthusiasm for opera was infectious, and he deserves much of the credit for creating an audience for opera in central North Carolina.” The WCPE Opera House is aimed at two distinctive audiences: those who already know and love the art form, and those who’ve only recently discovered opera and are anxious to learn more about it.

“Al Ruocchio created a format that worked very well, and Robert Galbraith expanded upon it, introducing more contemporary works. We’ll continue to play works from the core Italian, French, German, Czech and Russian repertoires while introducing newer masterpieces by contemporary American and English composers,” says Chapman.

If you wish to email Bob Chapman, please click here!

Thursdays at 7pm with host Bob Chapman

6/4 — Montemezzi’s L’Amore dei Tre Re. Anna Moffo, Placido Domingo, Pablo Elvira and Cesare Siepi star in this story of forced marriage, infidelity and murder. Nello Santi conducts this 1976 RCA/BMG recording.

6/11 — Gounod’s Faust. Domingo, Mirella Freni, and Nicolai Ghiaurov are featured in this tuneful tale of a man who sells his soul to the devil, only to drive his girlfriend mad. Georges Pretre conducts this 1978 EMI/Angel recording, hosted by the late Al Ruocchio.

6/18 — Stravinsky’s The Rake’s Progress was inspired by the spirit of Mozart, and follows the tragic story of the naïve Tom Rakewell, the devilish Nick Shadow, and the faithful Anne Truelove. John Garrison, John Cheek and Jayne West star in this 1994 MusicMasters recording, conducted by Robert Craft. In Stravinsky’s musical fairy tale Le Rossignol, Natalie Dessay portrays a Nightingale who enchants a Chinese emperor. James Conlon conducts this 1999 EMI recording.

6/25 — Nicolai’s Die lustigen Weiber von Windsor. Kim Borg is Falstaff in this delightful German operatic version of Shakespeare’s Merry Wives of Windsor. Fritz Rieger conducts this 1960 Pantheon recording.

7/2 — Charpentier’s Louise. Beverly Sills, Nicolai Gedda, and Jose van Dam star in a tragic tale of a working class girl who escapes to Paris to avoid an arranged marriage and be with her lover. Julius Rudel conducts this 1977 EMI/Angel recording.

7/9 — Lehar’s The Czarevitch. Jerry Hadley and Nancy Gustafson star as Alexei, the son of Czar Peter the Great, and Sonia, a ballerina, who run away to Naples. Giuditta was Lehar’s most ambitious work, with a story line that resembles Bizet’s Carmen. Deborah Riedel sings the title role, and Hadley is Octavio. Richard Bonynge conducts on Telarc, 1996.

7/16 — Lehar’s The Land of Smiles. In this tragic tale, a Viennese Countess marries a Chinese Prince, but is unable to overcome cultural differences. Gustafson is Lisa and Hadley sings the role made famous by Richard Tauber. Paganini, loosely based on the life of the Italian violin virtuoso, provides some marvelous fiddling for Paul Barritt. Hadley and Riedel star, and Bonynge conducts.

7/23 — Bellini’s La Sonnambula. In this classic recording from the Al Ruocchio archives, Joan Sutherland sleepwalks her way into your heart. Also stars Luciano Pavarotti and Ghiaurov. Bonynge conducts this 1980 Decca/London recording.

7/30 — Richard Strauss’ Der Rosenkavalier. Kiri Te Kanawa, Anne Sofie von Otter, Barbara Hendricks, and Kurt Rydl star in this inter-generational love triangle, filled with musical Schlagsahne (whipped cream). Haitink conducts this 1991 EMI recording.

8/6 — Poulenc’s Dialogues des Carmelites. Nuns willingly go to the guillotine during the French Revolution in this 1957 masterpiece, featuring Catherine Dubosc, Rachel Yakar, Brigitte Fournier, and Rita Gorr. Kent Nagano conducts a 1993 Virgin Classics recording.

8/13 — Puccini’s Manon Lescaut. Manon Lescaut (Renata Tebaldi) falls in love with the Chevalier de Grieux (Mario Del Monaco), but temporarily abandons him for a rich older guy. Molinari-Pradelli conducts this 1954 RCA recording from the Al Ruocchio archives.

8/20 — Glinka’s Ruslan and Ludmila. Evgeny Nesterenko and Bela Rudenko sing the title roles in this vast, sprawling Russian fairy tale. Yuri Simonov conducts this 1978 Melodiya recording.

8/27 — Giordano’s Fedora. In this 1985 CBS recording, conducted by Giuseppe Patane, Jose Carreras and Eva Marton star in a tale of infidelity and revenge. By contrast, in Mascagni’s L’Amico Fritz a middle-aged landowner wagers that he’ll never marry, but the daughter of a tenant has other ideas. Gianandrea Gavazzeni conducts this 1968 EMI/Angel recording, which stars Pavarotti and Freni.

Find out more at the Met Opera Information Center.

Find out more about the Metropolitan Opera.

Find study guides and more at the Metropolitan Opera Guild's Learning Center.

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