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Saturday Operas on MPBN Radio to start one half-hour earlier at 1:00 pm beginning May 10
"Says You" to leave MPBN Radio schedule for now
The Metropolitan Opera has announced a schedule change that will take affect next season. Beginning May 10, the opera's regular start time will be at 1:00 pm, one half-hour earlier than has been customary over the years. Contractually, MPBN must air the opera live at this time in order to keep the program in our schedule. The other year-round opera companies that MPBN airs when the Met is not in season have reacted by following suit and are matching this schedule.
The first opera production to be broadcast at the new 1:00 pm start time will be Verdi's La Traviata, performed in Italian by the Lyric Opera of Chicago with Sir Andrew Davis conducting.
Unfortunately, with the new 1:00 pm start time, MPBN will no longer be able to air Says You in that time slot. The varying lengths of opera broadcasts make it impractical to merely schedule Says You after the conclusion of opera, since Says You would then have to either come on at various times or be joined in progress (MPBN currently joins American Public Media's Weekend America program in progress as "filler" until All Things Considered begins at 5:00 pm when the opera runs short). We have examined our schedule for another convenient and appropriate time for Says You, but have not yet determined the best alternative time or made any firm decisions as to where it will eventually wind up elsewhere on our schedule. We understand many listeners may miss the program. It remains available for online listening -- for a fee, none of which goes to MPBN -- through www.audible.com which can also be accessed from their website at www.saysyou.org.
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