BBC Radio 3 is to broadcast every opera by Richard Strauss during 2014 to mark the German composer’s 150th anniversary.


The celebrations launch on 4 January with a broadcast of the Royal Opera House’s production of Capriccio starring soprano Renée Fleming and conducted by Sir Andrew Davis.

This broadcast will be followed, on 6 January, with another Covent Garden performance, this time Elektra conducted by Andris Nelsons with soprano Christine Goerke in the title role.

Broadcast dates for other Strauss operas will be announced later in 2014 but in a statement the radio station said its celebration of the composer's work would continue up to and beyond his birthday on 11 June.

Roger Wright, controller of Radio 3, said: ‘Radio 3 is proud to bring our listeners every operatic work by remarkable composer through our new Opera on 3 slots, leading up to a special weekend around the actual anniversary of the composer’s birth.’

Radio 3 has been marking the bicentenaries of Verdi and Wagner this year, broadcasting operas by the two composers throughout the year. And the centenary of British composer Benjamin Britten was marked with a celebratory weekend of broadcasts from his home county of Suffolk. Read our coverage of the event here.


For more information about the January schedule, pick up a copy of the January issue of BBC Music Magazine which marks the 150th anniversary of Richard Strauss, and is on sale from 23 December.