Conductor: Emmanuel Joel
CAST: Kiri Te Kanawa (Vanessa); Lucy Schaufer (Erika); John Matz (Anatol); Rosalind Elias (The Old Baroness); Davie Evitts (The Doctor); Tony Dillon (Nicholas).

A man with too much love and women with too much time make Vanessa a fascinating tale of a love triangle among aunt, niece and the son of an old lover. In her Washington Opera debut, Dame Kiri Te Kanawa sings the title role in Samuel Barber and librettist Gian-Carlo Menotti's Pulitzer-prize winning opera. This production also features the distinguished Rosalind Elias, (who created the role of Erika in the 1958 premiere) as Vanessa's mother, the aged Baroness. "In every moment, every sound, every gesture what opera should be: the most intensely theatrical of all performing experiences" - Washington Post. Look for commentary by Artistic Director Plácido Domingo in each Washington Opera broadcast.

Conductor: Heinz Fricke
CAST: Maria Guleghina (Aida); Franco Farina (Radames); Marianne Cornetti (Amneris); Mark Delavan (Amonasro); Hao Jiang Tian (Ramfis); John Marcus Bindel (King of Egypt).

This innovative Washington Opera production features a fast-rising star: Soprano Maria Guleghina, who "fills the hall with gleaming sound" (The New York Times) in her acclaimed portrayal of the slave Aida. Franco Farina is Radames, captain of the Egyptian guard. Mezzo-soprano Marianne Cornetti completes the assemblage as the spiteful princess Amneris.

Conductor: Heinz Fricke
CAST: Susan B. Anthony (Leonore); Christopher Ventris (Florestan); Eric Halfvarson (Rocco); Korliss Uecker (Marzelline); Ferdinand von Bothmer (Jaquino); Tom Fox (Don Pizarro); Alan Held (Don Fernando).

There have been plenty of stories about faithful wives springing their husbands from jail. But it's hard to imagine a woman going to greater ends to save her husband than Leonora, in Fidelio, Beethoven's only opera. In this production from Washington Opera, Susan B. Anthony gives a stirring performance as the faithful Leonore, with tenor Christopher Ventris as the man who is blessed by her devotion.

Conductor: Plácido Domingo
CAST: Erwin Schrott (Don Giovanni); Natalia Ushakova (Donna Anna); Tatiana Pavlovskaya (Donna Elvira); Robert Pomakov (Leporello); Daniil Shtoda (Don Ottavio); Irina Mataeva (Zerlina); Hung Yun (Masetto); Feodor Kuznetzov (Commendatore).

Drama is full of characters you "love to hate," but Mozart's Don Giovanni is more complicated than that. His behavior is so despicable that you know you should hate him, but you can't. He's so compelling that you can't help but root for him right to the bitter end, when he's dropped from his own dining room straight into hell! The Washington Opera's Don Giovanni is the superb baritone Erwin Shrott, in a production conducted by Plácido Domingo.

Conductor: Patrick Summers
CAST: Renée Fleming (Violetta Valéry); Paul Charles Clarke, (Alfredo Germont); Bruno Caproni (Giorgio Germont).

For the very first time, renowned soprano Renée Fleming takes on one of opera's most beloved roles -- with stunning results. From Houston, Fleming portrays Verdi's Violetta Valery, one of opera's, and literature's, greatest romantic characters. Having the diva die as the final curtain falls may seem like an operatic cliché -- but not in the hands of Giuseppe Verdi, who made the final scene of La Traviata one of the most profound of them all.

Conductor: Patrick Summers
CAST: Susan Graham (Ariodante); Alexandra Coku (Ginevra); Oren Gradus (King of Scotland); Christine Brandes (Dalinda); Sally Burgess (Polinesso); John McVeigh (Lurcanio); Nicholas Phan (Odoardo).

Baroque Opera is making a comeback, and this inspiring Houston production of Ariodante shows us why -- with a little help from G. F. Handel - and noted Baroque conductor Christopher Hogwood. This opera was first performed at a brand new theater - a little place called Covent Garden, in London. Ariodante himself seems descended from Shakespeare's Othello -- a hero who falsely believes his wife has betrayed him. But this time, the story has a happy ending. Soprano Susan Graham shines in the lead role of Ariodante in her HGO debut.

Conductor: Patrick Summers
CAST: Teddy Tahu Rhodes (Pilot); Nathaniel Irvin (The Little Prince); Marie Lenormand (The Fox); Robert Mack (The Snake/Vain Man); Scott Scully (Lamplighter/Drunkard/Baobab/Hunter); Kristin Reiersen (The Rose); Laquita Mitchell (The Water); Joshua Winograde (The King/Baobab/ Hunter); Ethan Watermeier (Geographer/Baobab/Hunter); Aaron Judisch (Businessman/Baobab/Hunter).

Houston Grand Opera has become known far and wide for its commitment to bringing new works to the operatic stage. The company has presented more than two dozen world-premiere productions, and here's their latest -- one of the world's most popular stories, brought to new life in the opera house by Academy-Award winning composer Rachel Portman. New Zealand tenor Teddy Tahu Rhodes makes his HGO debut as the Pilot. "...a testament to the creative team behind Houston Grand Opera's world premiere of The Little Prince that it was able to craft an enchanting opera that is both faithful to the book and satisfying to child and adult alike." - Financial Times.

Conductor: Patrick Summers
CAST: Laura Claycomb (Lucia); Vinson Cole, (Edgardo); Chen-Ye Yuan (Enrico); Raymond Aceto (Raimondo); Scott Scully (Normanno); Nicholas Phan (Arturo); Marjorie Owens (Alisa).

It's hard to think of an operatic heroine whose fate is more heartbreaking than that of Donizetti's Lucia, in this compelling and at times lurid drama based on Sir Walter Scott. Wait 'til you hear the "Mad Scene" done by soprano Laura Claycomb, and the fine ensemble cast that includes tenor Vinson Cole as Edgardo.

Conductor: Sebastian Lang-Lessing
CAST: Ana Maria Martinez (Mimi); Roberto Aronica (Rodolfo); Earle Patriarco (Marcello); Ainhoa Arteta (Musetta); Oren Gradus (Colline); Daniel Belcher (Schaunard); Richard Sutliff (Benoit/Alcindoro).

"Reality" shows may be a new thing on TV. But we've heard them in the opera house for a century or more. At the opera, they're such shows are called, "verismo," and nobody handled the genre with more genius, and more raw emotion, than Puccini in La Bohème. Struggling young artists have never had it so bad -- or so good!

Conductor: Patrick Summers
CAST: Susan Graham (Hanna Glawari); Bo Skovhus (Count Danilo); Dale Travis (Baron Mirko Zeta); Laquite Mitchell (Baroness Valencienne Zeta; Chad Shelton (Camille de Rosillon); Jason Graae (Njegus); Brooks Almy (Praskovia).

Composer Franz Lehar may have been a "one hit wonder," but what a hit it was! The Merry Widow may just be the most popular operetta ever…spinning its way through a time that's been called, "the era of eternal waltzes." Sung in English, this production features the "voice of an angel" (Houston Press): internationally renowned mezzo-soprano Susan Graham. Graham sings the lead role of Merry Widow Hanna Glawari, heiress to millions. She is wooed by all the eligible bachelors in Paris, but has eyes only for her former beau Count Danilo, sung by Danish baritone Bo Skovhus.

Conductor: Patrick Summers
CAST: Christine Goerke (Fiordiligi); Joyce DiDonato (Dorabella); Richard Croft(Ferrando); Nathan Gunn (Guglielmo); Alfonso Antoniozzi (Don Alfonso); Judith Christin (Despina).

At first, Mozart's drama seems a silly farce of mistaken identities, and maybe it is. But as usual with Mozart it's also more than that. Underneath, the opera tells a disquieting story of human weakness, betrayal and - perhaps - forgiveness. Soprano Christine Goerke and baritone Nathan Gunn head up a fine cast.

Conductor: Paolo Olmi
CAST: Nelly Miricioiu (Helene); Francisco Casanova (Henri); Zeljko Lucic (Montfort); Hao Jiang Tian (Procida).

A sonic spectacular, recorded in performance at one of the world's true, acoustic wonders, Amsterdam's Concertgebouw. The story is French, but it was right up Verdi's alley: It's a heated story of troubled romance and dangerous politics, set amidst Sicilian resistance to foreign occupation.

Conductor: Robert Spano
CAST: Heidi Grant-Murphy, soprano; Nancy Maultsby, mezzo-soprano; Daniel Bubeck, countertenor; Brian Cummings, countertenor; Paul Flight, countertenor; Eric Owens, bass-baritone.

John Adams, reigning Pulitzer Prize-winner and arguably America's best-known living composer, describes El Niño "as my way of trying to understand what is meant by a miracle. The Nativity story is the first miracle and El Niño is a meditation on the events." Adams' sweeping setting of the Christmas story is both compellingly contemporary and filled with ancient traditions, including medieval carolers, Latin American poets, and a children's chorus. "El Niño bears so many gifts that the senses stagger under the load." - The New York Times.

Conductor: Roger Norrington
CAST: Christiane Oelze (Mary); Christopher Maltmann (Joseph); Ralk Lukas (Herod).

To celebrate the Berlioz Bicentennial and observe the holiday season, World of Opera leaves the opera house for a week for "The Childhood of Christ," Berlioz's highly dramatic, "sacred trilogy" -- in a brilliant performance led by one of the composer's true champions, Sir Roger Norrington.