Changing His Tune

For years, we've heard KDFC's Director of Operations, Bill Leuth, telling us that KDFC has eliminated vocal music (except for that slot rather early on Sunday mornings) because the audience doesn't want to hear it - it interrupts the consistency of their experience.

I guess David Gockley made him an offer he couldn't refuse, because today KDFC and the San Francisco Opera announced an agreement to broadcast pre-recorded performances from the Opera:

KDFC will broadcast full-length productions, digitally recorded live at the War Memorial Opera House and presented commercial-free, on the first Sunday night of every month at 8 p.m. The series begins April 1 with Puccini's Manon Lescaut, with yours truly as program host.

It will be a thrill welcoming one of the world's finest opera companies to KDFC, and bringing opera back to Bay Area radio. Enjoy!

That's great news. For his next act, maybe he'll bring back the Met broadcasts.

Updates: The broadcast schedule is on the SFO Web site. Joshua Kosman reports on the broadcasts.