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Thursday, January 10, 2019

Cast Changes, Opéra National de Paris

Previously:

Bryan Hymel withdrew from the first several performances of Les Troyens, which will be sung by Brandon Jovanovich.

Now (January 3, 2019):
  • Elīna Garanča has withdrawn from Les Troyens, in which she was to sing Didon. Ekaterina Semenchuk replaces her. Update, January 10: This is owing to illness.
  • To sing Didon, Semenchuk has withdrawn from Rusalka, in which she was to sing Jezibaba. She is replaced by Michelle De Young.
Apparently I will never see Garanča: she was scheduled to sing Charlotte in Werther at San Francisco Opera some years ago, but canceled in order to make a European concert tour, which resulted in a complaint against her filed with AGMA.

 Now (January 10, 2019 update): Brandon Jovanovich will sing Enée in all performances of Les Troyens. Bryan Hymel's withdrawal is owing to family reasons.
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8 comments:

  1. CruzSFJanuary 3, 2019 at 10:14:00 PM PST

    I believe you wondered aloud if Hymel would withdraw. Does this news affect the performance you're attending?

    On Garanča, I was sure I'd seen her live, but now reviewing my opera history, I realize I haven't. I've seen her once, in the Met HD broadcast of Carmen. (I've heard her quite a few times, and have recordings by her.)

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  2. Lisa HirschJanuary 3, 2019 at 10:41:00 PM PST

    I published the news about Hymel and Jovanovich in November. Yes, this does affect me: I can see Jovanich on Feb. 3 or buy a ticket to Hymel's first scheduled program and cross my fingers.

    David Gockley was, ah, very firm about Garanca's SF cancellation. I doubt she will be offered a contract here.

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  3. CruzSFJanuary 3, 2019 at 10:55:00 PM PST

    How did the complaint with AGMA get resolved?

    If I must travel to Europe to see her live, or even to NYC, I'm willing to do that, though there are others ahead of her in my priority list.

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  4. Lisa HirschJanuary 3, 2019 at 10:58:00 PM PST

    Settlement in favor of SFO. Here's my blog post at the time:

    Garanca Out, Coote In

    ReplyDelete
  5. CruzSFJanuary 3, 2019 at 11:34:00 PM PST

    Thanks for the pointer to the blog post. I agree with you now: she'll probably not be asked back, at least not while she's in her prime.

    On other note: has it really been nearly 10 years since that Werther? Coote was the best thing about that run. I hated the opera but liked Coote very much.

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  6. Lisa HirschJanuary 4, 2019 at 8:28:00 AM PST

    It really has been almost ten years.

    I was surprised by the extent to which I liked the opera. Coote is a wonderful singer and that was her last appearance here. Wish they'd get her back for something.

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  7. Mike A.January 10, 2019 at 12:52:00 PM PST

    Now Hymel withdrew completely from Les Troyens!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Lisa HirschJanuary 10, 2019 at 1:08:00 PM PST

    Not....a surprise. I'm going to update this post and push it to the top of the blog.

    ReplyDelete

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