San Francisco Opera's 90th season opened last weekend, and an announcement yesterday from the BBC helps to appreciate what that span of time means. It was in 1922 that the British Broadcasting Company was first heard on the air, that's how long S.F. Opera goes back in time.
The BBC is marking its birthday on Nov. 14 with an unprecedented global simulcast across its radio networks, including every UK station (local, network, and national) and most World Service outlets. The simulcast, called "Radio Reunited," will be heard by a potential global audience of 120 million people, across every inhabited continent.
The transmission will be based on recorded messages from listeners around the world on the theme of the future. Each of an estimated 60 BBC radio stations will choose one message and many of them will then be mixed together and set to a musical score composed by the Blur Frontman.