Does the thought of seven consecutive hours of nothing but opera on Classical 101's wonderful airwaves strike you with joy, pity, mirth, fear, revulsion or all of the above? Good. Opera is not meant to be pallid, dull or middle of the road, but feisty, joyful, exciting and occasionally irritating. Like some broadcasters who shall be nameless. If you want to attract attention and make a lot in the way of joyful noise, opera is the way to go. Forget the fat lady clichés. Fat ladies-and some gents-today are studying scores at their Weight Watchers meetings. This prejudice is robbing the industry of some great voices, but I digress. One of the reasons I love opera is for its blood and guts directness that Wagner excepted. If someone is going to be poisoned, then by God he's going to be poisoned and he or she will sing before death. Join us Friday from 9am to 4pm for Opera Day on Classical 101. My colleagues and I will guide you through the mayhem and stunning music with facts, stories and comments and by asking for your financial support of Classical 101. You'd travel far to find the programming Classical 101 listeners hear every day. If one on air host in particular is thought to go overboard, we'll chalk it up to the passion, grace and humor which is opera at its best. Don't believe me? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Ciez8ldky4 If you're going to be burned at the stake in renaissance Spain you may as well go out to thrilling music. On the other hand, there are funny operas: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zvHIh7MltPE Happy or sad, it's all thrilling. Don't miss Opera Day on Classical 101, this Friday beginning at 9 am.
Christopher Purdy is Classical 101's early morning host, 7-10 a.m. weekdays. He is host and producer of Front Row Center – Classical 101’s weekly celebration of Opera and more – as well as Music in Mid-Ohio, Concerts at Ohio State, and the Columbus Symphony broadcast series. He is the regular pre-concert speaker for Columbus Symphony performances in the Ohio Theater.