Featuring legendary songs like “Ol’ Man River” and “Can’t Help Lovin’ Dat Man,” in a spectacular new production, “this joyous, beautifully mounted entertainment should keep rolling along for a long while to come” (Chicago Tribune). Classical WETA’s Nicole Lacroix hosts this audio preview of the American masterpiece Show Boat, which opens May 4 in the Kennedy Center Opera House.

Musical excerpts courtesy of EMI Classics.

In Bellini’s Norma, rising star Angela Meade is the Druid priestess who secretly carries on a love affair in the midst of the Gallic-Roman wars. When her lover’s affections shift, the mystic Norma turns warrior, prepared to seek revenge. Classical WETA’s Nicole Lacroix hosts this audio preview of Bellini’s Norma, which opens March 9 in the Kennedy Center Opera House.

Musical excerpts courtesy of EMI Classics.

Intensely romantic and beguiling, Manon Lescaut is the first tragic heroine in a long list of Puccini favorites. Patricia Racette makes her role debut in John Pascoe’s “impassioned, sensual production” (Baltimore Sun). Classical WETA’s Nicole Lacroix hosts this audio preview of Puccini’s Manon Lescaut, which opens March 2 in the Kennedy Center Opera House.

Musical excerpts courtesy of EMI Classics.