Madison Opera's LA BOHEME and THE TALES OF HOFFMANN to Air on WPR

Madison Opera partners with Wisconsin Public Radio to present recorded broadcasts of Puccini's La Bohème on Saturday, May 14 and Offenbach's The Tales of Hoffmann on Saturday, May 21. Both broadcasts begin at 1pm and listeners can tune into WPR on 88.7FM or stream online at www.wpr.org/listen-live.

Each spring, two operas from Madison Opera's season are presented by Wisconsin Public Radio to let listeners re-live the season. These broadcasts cap off the end of the season of live radio broadcasts from The Metropolitan Opera that run from December through May on WPR's News & Classical Music Network.

Giacomo Puccini's La Bohème, the greatest love story in opera, opens the broadcast series on Saturday, May 14 at 1pm. Set to a ravishing score, Puccini's classic opera tells of the lives, loves, and losses of a group of young artists in a Bohemian quarter of Paris. Critic William Wineke called Madison Opera's November 2015 production "the best I've seen anywhere, including the high-definition broadcasts from the Met."

Madison Opera's cast features Eleni Calenos as Mimi, Mackenzie Whitney as Rodolfo, Emily Birsan as Musetta, Dan Kempson as Marcello, Alan Dunbar as Schaunard, Liam Moran as Colline, and Evan Ross as Benoit / Alcindoro. John DeMain conducts, featuring the Madison Opera Chorus and Madison Symphony Orchestra. The broadcast includes intermission features with cast members and DeMain, interviewed by WPR's Lori Skelton.

On Saturday, May 21 at 1pm, the broadcasts conclude with Jacques Offenbach's The Tales of Hoffmann. As he sits in a tavern, the poet Hoffmann recounts the stories of his three loves: a doll, a singer, and a courtesan. Offenbach's masterpiece moves in a fantasy world, with showpiece arias for the bravura cast, the gorgeous barcarolle, and a truly moving tribute to what it means to be an artist. Critic John Barker called Madison Opera's April 2016 production "an absolute triumph."

Madison Opera's cast features Harold Meers as Hoffmann, Sian Davies as Antonia / Giulietta / Stella, Jeni Houser as Olympia, Morgan Smith as The Villains, Adriana Zabala as The Muse / Nicklausse, Jared Rogers as The Servants, Thomas Forde as Luther / Crespel, and Robert Goderich as Spalanzani. John DeMain conducts, featuring the Madison Opera Chorus and Madison Symphony Orchestra. The broadcast includes intermission features with Meers, Davies, Smith, and DeMain, interviewed by WPR's Lori Skelton.

Madison Opera is a non-profit professional opera company based in Madison, Wisconsin. Founded in 1961, the company grew from a local workshop presenting community singers in English-language productions to a nationally recognized organization producing diverse repertoire and presenting leading American opera singers alongside emerging talent. A resident organization of the Overture Center for the Arts, Madison Opera presents three productions annually in addition to the free summer concert Opera in the Park and a host of educational programming.