DiDonato, one of the leading mezzo-soprano interpreters of male operatic characters, made her role debut as Romeo in the Op_ra National de Paris' production that played its last performance June 15. Described by Agence France-Presse as an "ardent, decisive, and dramatically vivid Romeo," this marked her sixth new "trousers role" in the last two years.

Netrebko made her Paris Opera debut as Juliet, a role she most recently performed in April with Vienna Kozerthaus. Though the five-month-pregnant Russian soprano has been forced to cancel several of her upcoming engagements, her Juliet (appropriately costumed to minimize the visibility of her protrusion) earned high praise for her impressive pianissimi high notes and all-around stage performance.

Also featured in the cast were Giovanni Battista Parodi as Capellio, Matthew Polenzani as Tebaldo and Mikhail Petrenko as Lorenzo.

FranceMusique presents the initial June 28 webcast at 1:30 pm (EDT). It may be accessed by visiting Radio France, where the archived performance will remain available through July 6. The English-language website, www.operacast.com, may provide technical assistance.