Opera finds radio sponsor

The Saturday radio broadcasts of New York’s Metropolitan Opera, which have introduced generations to the art form, have been saved from extinction, at least temporarily.

The suburban Philadelphia-based home-building firm Toll Brothers, which operates in 20 states, has agreed to sponsor the broadcasts for the next four seasons. The broadcasts cost $6 million a year. Toll Brothers will pay a major portion of that cost, according to the Met.

“We really wanted to ensure that the broadcasts remain,” Toll Brothers spokeswoman Kira McCarron said Thursday. “They are one of the last vestiges of arts education and enable people around the world to be exposed to this extremely important art form.”

Started in 1931, the weekly broadcasts have been imperiled since ChevronTexaco withdrew its support in 2003. The first Met broadcast of the season, heard locally on KUSC-FM (91.5), will be Verdi’s “Rigoletto,” with Anna Netrebko and Rolando Villazon, on Dec. 17.

-- Chris Pasles