News Article

 Natalie Dessay and Ramón Vargas will sing the lead roles in Charles Gounod’s romantic and intensely melodic “Roméo et Juliette,” which will be broadcast live from the stage of the Metropolitan Opera House on Saturday, March 4, at 10:30 a.m., Pacific Time, over the Toll Brothers-Metropolitan Opera International Radio Network. In the Spokane area, the opera can be heard on Gonzaga’s radio station KAGU, 88.7 FM.

 Gounod’s opera is known for Romeo and Juliette’s four exquisite duets, each with its own distinct mood and musical profile, from the hesitance and restraint of their first meeting to the anguish and heartbreak of the tomb scene. In addition to Dessay and Vargas in their first broadcast together, the cast includes Katharine Goeldner as Stéphano and in their Met broadcast debuts, Icelandic bass Kristinn Sigmundsson as Friar Laurence and French baritone Stéphane Degout as Mercutio. Bertrand de Billy will conduct and the announcer for the broadcast will be Margaret Juntwait.

 The 21-week-long 2005-06 broadcast season celebrates 75 years of live radio broadcasts from The Metropolitan Opera.