Opera at Noon brings listeners to opera houses around the world for incredible performances of this art form that dates back to the 16th Century.

April 17: From the House of the Dead by Leoš Janácek (Metropolitan Opera performance from December 2, 2009) – Death is never far away in Leoš Janácek’s work, and From the House of the Dead makes no exception, especially since the composer knew he was living out his final days when he decided to adapt into an opera Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s eponymous novel, a literary work inspired by the time the novelist spent in a Siberian prison. This production features Stefan Margita (Filka Morozov/Kuzmich), Eric Stoklossa (Alyeya), Peter Mattei (Shishkov), and Willard White (Gorianchikov). Esa-Pekka Salonen conducts.

April 24: Die Frau Ohne Schatten by Richard Strauss (Metropolitan Opera performance from November 26, 2013) – Part poetic fairy tale, part meditation on family and marriage, Strauss and Hofmannsthal’s opera features one of the composer’s most ambitious and colorful scores. This production features Anne Schwanewilms (Empress), Christine Goerke (Dyer’s Wife), Ildikó Komlósi (Nurse), Torsten Kerl (Emperor), Johan Reuter (Barak), and Richard Paul Fink (Messenger). Vladimir Jurowski conducts.