WQXR/New York, Met Opera Team For 'Aria Code' Podcast

Starts 12/4

NEW YORK PUBLIC RADIO Classical WQXR/NEW YORK is teaming with the METROPOLITAN OPERA for a new 10-episode podcast on opera's legendary arias.  "ARIA CODE" will be hosted by GRAMMY-winning Bluegrass star RHIANNON GIDDENS and will feature MET OPERA performances from PLÁCIDO DOMINGO, DIANA DAMRAU, NADINE SIERRA, SONDRA RADVANOVSKY, JAVIER CAMARENA, ELĪNA GARANČA, ROBERTO ALAGNA, and KATHRYN LEWEK and personal reflections from DOMINGO, SIERRA, RADVANOVSKY, VITTORIO GRIGOLO, and GARANČA plus insights from RUFUS WAINWRIGHT, actor/director RUBEN SANTIAGO-HUDSON, anthropologist Dr. HELEN FISHER, Shakespearean scholar VIRGINIA MASON VAUGHAN, and others. The show will debut on DECEMBER 4th with an episode on VERDI's "LA TRAVIATA," a new production of which will be opening at the MET that night, and will post weekly through FEBRUARY 6th.

“I studied opera at the OBERLIN CONSERVATORY and fell hard for the music,” said GIDDENS. “Even though I’ve branched out in very different directions, opera stayed with me and I wanted to figure out why. In ARIA CODE, we really get inside these arias – decoding them with singers and other experts to understand the magic. I’m so excited to take listeners on this journey.”

“Opera is one of the most passionate and dramatic musical forms, but it can present certain barriers for the uninitiated,” said WQXR VP/Programming MATT ABRAMOVITZ. “We strive every day at WQXR to make classical music and opera more accessible to a broader audience, on-air, online and via podcasts. We couldn’t think of a better partner to take the most essential element of an opera -- the aria -- out of the opera house and into the ears and imaginations of our listeners than the storied and luminous METROPOLITAN OPERA.”

"We are very pleased to be collaborating with WQXR on this new podcast series," said MET GM PETER GELB. "It marks yet another way we are reaching out to new audiences, and RHIANNON's combination of musical authority, true opera knowledge, and widespread appeal make her an ideal spokesperson for our art form."

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