Ponchielli’s “La Gioconda” will kick off the 2017 national radio broadcast series of San Francisco Opera performances on the WFMT Radio Network this Saturday, September 2.

The broadcast dates back to 1979 and stars soprano Renata Scotto in the title role and tenor Luciano Pavarotti as Enzo Grimaldi. The performance features each artist’s first performance of their respective roles.

The broadcasts are slated for every Saturday starting at 10 a.m. PDT through Oct. 14, 2017. Other broadcasts that will be featured will be from the 2016 season. They include “Aida” “Madama Butterfly,” “Andrea Chénier,” “Dream of the Red Chamber,” “Don Pasquale,” and a 1980 broadcast of “Arabella,” which stars Kiri Te Kanawa, Ingvar Wixell, and Barbara Daniels.

In its eleventh year, WFMT Radio Network’s American Opera Series was created to provide public and commercial stations with outstanding live opera performances. The WFMT Radio Network is one of the world’s most respected producers and distributors of classical, jazz, folk and public affairs programming.