Anna Netrebko withdrew just last week from upcoming Norma productions at both the Metropolitan Opera (opening night, 2017-18) and the Royal Opera (fall, 2016-17). Now the Met has announced what will happen instead. Presumably the ROH, Dallas Opera, and Vienna State Opera (just wait) have done the same.
- Sondra Radvanovsky replaces Netrebko in the Met opening night 2017-18 production. (In my opinion, this was a predictable and desirable casting, and let me say that Rad was terrific in SF the other year.) She is also singing Leonora in Calixto Bieito's new staging of La Forza del Destino in the same season, which will be her company role debut.
- For this to happen, the Vienna State Opera released Radvanovsky from her scheduled appearances as the Trovatore Leonora....
- ....which will instead be sung by Anna Netrebko. In other words, they are swapping engagements.
- Netrebko is still singing the Trovatore Leonora and Tosca at the Met in 2017-18.
- MEANWHILE in London, Sonya Yoncheka (!) will sing Norma at the ROH in the fall of 2016-17. I did not see this one coming.
- The Met released Yoncheva from scheduled appearances as Mimi in La Boheme so that she could sing Norma in London.
- Ailyn Perez is available to sing Mimi in the Met performances originally to be sung by Yoncheva....
- ...because she decided to postpone her role debut as Tatiana at the Dallas Opera this fall.
Whew! Fast work, y'all.
What I want to know (not covered in the Met's four-company press release): when will Sonya Yoncheva sing in San Francisco, and what will she be singing?
5 comments:
I would not want to be on the teams responsible for schedules, although these folks seem to have worked it out this time.
Yoncheva was scheduled to sing Violetta the last time Traviata came around SF, wasn't she? I know she was supposed to appear for something but have forgotten which role it was.
They worked it all out so fast that you have to wonder whether they started working on this a few months ago and coordinated their announcements with Netrebko's so everybody would look good. (Related: I doubt I'll ever know, but for various reasons I wonder whether Patricia Racette actually had a lot more than 3 weeks notice about Dolores Claiborne.
Yoncheva withdrew from the last Traviata AND the last Boheme owing to pregnancy, then sang both roles at the Met after her baby was born.
I hope Yoncheva is welcomed back at SFO. Garanča never returned after she was fired from Werther. I know the reasons for cancelling were very different, but I fear a repeat of the Garanča situation. Come to think of it, Netrebko never returned after she withdrew from the last 2 Traviatas in the Aughts.
Yes, very different circumstances. Garanča withdrew in favor of a better-paying engagement, rather than for health reasons. Another way to look at Netrebko is that the 2009 Traviatas were her only appearances here since 2003-4, so it is possible that other factors are in play. I hope she'll be back and I hope that Yoncheva will appear here.
Also note Stoyanova, two cancellations on account of health issues....
Alas, I think I will have to go to the Met to see Stoyanova on US soil, else I will have to take the boat to Europe. I do hope SFO tries to get her again. *sigh*
I fear AN is too big a star nowadays to sing at SFO. She used to sing here a lot and I was fortunate to have caught her early in her career. I am proud to claim that I was in the audience when she made her US debut in Ruslan and Ludmilla. I wonder if SFO will ever revive that one. It had fabulous costumes and sets and lots of singers. So I suspect not. Such a shame.
Did not know the story about Granca. But now that we have new management, maybe past faux pas will be overlooked. I mean for a while Angela Gheorghi sang here. Never quite understood her appeal; her reputation sure did proceeded her. She's not a bad singer, but there are a hell of a lot of sopranos that sing her roles to merit bad behavior. But maybe we are just lucky to catch her on her good period.
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