Metropolitan Opera International Radio Broadcast Information Center

Metropolitan Opera International Radio Broadcast Information Center

METROPOLITAN OPERA NAMES NEW ANNOUNCER
By Metropolitan Opera
Oct 4, 2004, 16:05

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Metropolitan Opera general manager Joseph Volpe announced today that Margaret Juntwait will succeed Peter Allen as announcer for the Metropolitan Opera Saturday Afternoon Radio Broadcasts beginning December 11 of this year. Ms. Juntwait will be only the third regular announcer, and the first woman to take the position, in this landmark broadcast series that dates back to 1931.

Mr. Volpe said, “We are delighted that Margaret Juntwait will be the new voice of the Met on our radio broadcasts series. Her knowledge and enthusiasm are the perfect fit for the considerable demands of live radio, and ensure the ongoing quality of this unparalleled series.”

Ms. Juntwait said, “I am honored and thrilled to become the announcer for what is probably the most revered live classical radio show in the world. I simply can’t imagine a better focus for my love of opera and live performance.”

Currently a classical music radio host at WNYC New York Public Radio, Ms. Juntwait holds a degree in voice from the Manhattan School of Music. In addition to her work at WNYC that she began in 1991, she has been heard on Sirius Satellite Radio’s Classical Voices and Sirius Pops channels, as well as on many museum audio tours. Her previous work for the Met includes announcing for the PBS telecast program “The Met Celebrates Verdi,” announcing for the broadcast of the 2003 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions Finals Concerts, and acting as a standby announcer for Mr. Allen for the past several years. She makes her home in New York City with her husband, magazine editor Jamie Katz, and is the mother of three sons and a stepdaughter.

The Metropolitan Opera Saturday Afternoon Radio Broadcasts are carried live on a network of more than 360 stations in the United States, and in many countries around the world including all of North America, most of Europe and South America, as well as Australia, New Zealand, Japan, and China. With over 10 million listeners worldwide, the series is the longest running cultural program in American broadcast history. A new public appeal to finance the series, the “Save the Met Broadcasts Campaign” was launched last March and is currently seeking donations from individuals, foundations, and corporations around the world who value this historic program.

Mr. Allen announced his retirement this past May after 29 years as the series’ announcer. His predecessor, Milton Cross, had been the announcer since the broadcasts’ inception. Besides Mr. Cross and Mr. Allen, only one other announcer, Lloyd Moss, a substitute for two broadcasts, has been heard on the air in the 73 years of the program’s existence.

The 2004-05 Metropolitan Opera Saturday Afternoon Radio Broadcasts begin on December 11 with Verdi’s “I Vespri Siciliani,” and continue until May 7.