For cast lists, please visit the Opera Series Overview.
The WFMT Radio Network is pleased to welcome Opera Festival of Chicago back to the WFMT Opera Series with two stunning productions: Pizetti’s Assassinio nella cattedrale and Verdi’s Attila.
From the writing of T. S. Eliot’s 1935 play, Murder at the Cathedral remains one of Ildebrando Pizzetti’s most celebrated compositions. This dramatic opera portrays the assassination of Archbishop Thomas Becket in Canterbury Cathedral during the reign of Henry II in 1170. Starring Andrea Silvestrelli in the role of Thomas Becket, alongside a fantastic cast including Maria Kanyova, William Powell III, Patrick Blackwell, and more.
Next is Verdi’s popular 1846 opera Attila. In a prologue and three acts, the work takes us to the mid-5th century near Rome following Attila, King of the Huns. A story of Power, Glory, and Betrayal, Attila was Verdi’s 9th opera and has been one of his most popular earlier works with soaring melodies, giant choruses within this epic tale.
About the Host
Lisa Flynn has been a program host and producer for WFMT since 1991. She presents The New Releases and has hosted many programs for the WFMT Radio Network, including War Letters (which won the 2002 Peter Lisagor Award) and a series of live broadcasts from Salzburg to celebrate Mozart’s 250th birthday in 2006. As WFMT’s midday weekday announcer, Lisa hosts live studio performances and interviews guest artists including Renée Fleming, John Adams, Jean-Yves Thibaudet, John Eliot Gardiner, and many others. Before coming to Chicago, Lisa presented classical music at WOSU in Columbus, Ohio, and at WMFE and WUCF in Orlando, Florida. She holds a music degree from the University of Central Florida.
This program is a part of the WFMT Radio Network Opera Series, a series designed to complement the Metropolitan Opera broadcasts to fill out the year with great Opera content. The series begins in June and lasts until December.
