Met Opera on Japan Tour update

May 31, 2011 by admin

May 31, 2011

Flurry of Last-Minute Cast Changes as Metropolitan Opera
Company Arrives in Japan
To Begin Tour of Tokyo and Nagoya

Netrebko and Calleja are Out; Alvarez, Dolgov, Poplavskaya
and Villazsn Are In; Frittoli Switches Roles

The Metropolitan Opera arrived in Nagoya on Monday evening,
minus a few of its stars, but with other singers jumping in
to ensure that the tour will go forward. Last-minute
cancellations by soprano Anna Netrebko and tenor Joseph
Calleja, both citing concerns about post-earthquake
radiation, forced the Met to scramble over the weekend to
find replacement stars.

Soprano Marina Poplavskaya, a young Met star from Moscow,
was released from a concert in Paris in order to join the
Met tour. Star tenor Marcelo Alvarez canceled a vacation in
Argentina, and fellow tenor star Rolando Villazsn
rearranged his schedule. Another singer, tenor Alexey
Dolgov, was located at his country dacha outside of Moscow.

In an effort to shore up the casting, soprano star Barbara
Frittoli agreed to move into the role of Miml inLa Bohhme
to replace Ms. Netrebko. Ms. Poplavskaya will replace Ms.
Frittoli in the role of Elisabeth inDon Carlo.

Mr. Dolgov and Mr. Villazsn will each sing one performance
of Edgardo in Lucia di Lammermoor, and Mr. Alvarez will
sing two performances of Rodolfo in La Bohhme. As
scheduled, Piotr Beczala will sing the other performances
of La Bohhme and Lucia di Lammermoor.

“Anything can happen in the volcanic world of opera, and
with this tour it seems that our volcano has momentarily
erupted,” said the Met’s General Manager, Peter Gelb.
“While sympathetic to those artists who felt compelled to
withdraw, we are particularly grateful to the stars that
are rallying to our side from around the world in support
of the Met and the Japanese people. Thanks to them, our
show will go on.”

The Met company in Japan includes some 350 orchestra
musicians, chorus members, dancers, stage crew, and guest
stars. Their first performance takes place in Nagoya on
June 4th. They’re performing in Tokyo from June 8 through
June 19. This is their seventh tour of Japan.

Up until last week, both Ms. Netrebko and Mr. Calleja had
been planning on performing in Japan, as scheduled. Ms.
Netrebko changed her mind because of the emotional weight
of having also lived through the tragedy of Chernobyl. She
didn’t feel that she would be able to present her best
performances and didn’t want to disappoint her Japanese
fans. Mr. Calleja also had last-minute misgivings about
performing in Japan at this time.

Ms. Frittoli has sung Miml at the Met and in many other
international opera houses, most recently in Zurich earlier
this month. Ms. Poplavskaya sang Elisabeth to acclaim in
the most recent Met season in a performance which was
transmitted to a worldwide audience through The Met: Live
in HD series.

Mr. Alvarez has sung many starring roles at the Met,
including Rodolfo in La Bohhme.

Mr. Villazsn last sang at the Met in 2009. He has recently
completed a critically acclaimed run of performances in the
title role of Werther at the Royal Opera, Covent Garden and
made his successful debut at Teatro alla Scala as Nemorino
in L’Elisir d’Amore.

Mr. Dolgov, an accomplished tenor from Russia, will be
making his Met and Japanese debuts.

Diana Damrau, Barbara Frittoli, and Piotr Beczala will join
Mariusz Kwiecien for the Suntory Hall concert on June 14,
replacing Ms. Netrebko. The program for this concert will
be announced shortly. It is being conducted by Met
Principal Guest Conductor Fabio Luisi.

Last month, the Japan tour was hit with three
cancellations. James Levine, the Met’s Music Director, was
forced to withdraw because of poor health; he was replaced
by Fabio Luisi, the Met’s Principal Guest Conductor.
Russian star mezzo-soprano Olga Borodina also cancelled
because of illness. She was replaced by Ekaterina Gubanova,
a younger Russian star. Jonas Kaufmann, the German star
tenor, withdrew because of his concerns about coming to
Japan at this time. He was replaced by Yonghoon Lee, a
rising Korean star who had made his Met debut this past
season.

Complete casting and schedule information is below:

Saturday, June 4 (Aichi Prefectural Arts Center, Nagoya)
La Bohhme with Fabio Luisi conducting; Barbara Frittoli
(Miml), Susanna Phillips (Musetta), Piotr Beczala
(Rodolfo), Mariusz Kwiecien (Marcello), Edward Parks
(Schaunard), John Relyea (Colline), Paul Plishka (Benoit &
Alcindoro).

Sunday, June 5 (Aichi Prefectural Arts Center, Nagoya)
Don Carlo with Fabio Luisi conducting; Marina Poplavskaya
(Elisabeth de Valois), Ekaterina Gubanova (Princess Eboli),
Yonghoon Lee (Don Carlo), Dmitri Hvorostovsky (Rodrigo),
Reni Pape (Philip II), Stefan Kocan (Grand Inquisitor).

Wednesday, June 8 (NHK Hall, Tokyo)
La Bohhme with Fabio Luisi conducting; Barbara Frittoli
(Miml), Susanna Phillips (Musetta), Piotr Beczala
(Rodolfo), Mariusz Kwiecien (Marcello), Edward Parks
(Schaunard), John Relyea (Colline), Paul Plishka (Benoit &
Alcindoro).

Thursday, June 9 (Bunka Kaikan, Tokyo)
Lucia di Lammermoor with Gianandrea Noseda conducting;
Diana Damrau (Lucia), Rolando Villazsn (Edgardo), eljko
Lu?i? (Enrico), Ildar Abdrazakov (Raimondo).

Friday, June 10 (NHK Hall, Tokyo)
Don Carlo with Fabio Luisi conducting; Marina Poplavskaya
(Elisabeth de Valois), Ekaterina Gubanova (Princess Eboli),
Yonghoon Lee (Don Carlo), Dmitri Hvorostovsky (Rodrigo),
Reni Pape (Philip II), Stefan Kocan (Grand Inquisitor).

Saturday, June 11 (NHK Hall, Tokyo)
La Bohhme with Fabio Luisi conducting; Barbara Frittoli
(Miml), Susanna Phillips (Musetta), Piotr Beczala
(Rodolfo), Mariusz Kwiecien (Marcello), Edward Parks
(Schaunard), John Relyea (Colline), Paul Plishka (Benoit &
Alcindoro).

Sunday, June 12 (Bunka Kaikan, Tokyo)
Lucia di Lammermoor with Gianandrea Noseda conducting;
Diana Damrau (Lucia), Alexey Dolgov (Edgardo), eljko Lu?i?
(Enrico), Ildar Abdrazakov (Raimondo).

Tuesday, June 14 (Suntory Hall, Tokyo)
Concert with Fabio Luisi conducting the MET Orchestra;
Diana Damrau, Barbara Frittoli, Piotr Beczala, Mariusz
Kwiecien, soloists.

Wednesday, June 15 (NHK Hall, Tokyo)
Don Carlo with Fabio Luisi conducting; Marina Poplavskaya
(Elisabeth de Valois), Ekaterina Gubanova (Princess Eboli),
Yonghoon Lee (Don Carlo), Dmitri Hvorostovsky (Rodrigo),
Reni Pape (Philip II), Stefan Kocan (Grand Inquisitor).

Thursday, June 16 (Bunka Kaikan, Tokyo)
Lucia di Lammermoor with Gianandrea Noseda conducting;
Diana Damrau (Lucia), Piotr Beczala (Edgardo), eljko Lu?i?
(Enrico), Ildar Abdrazakov (Raimondo).

Friday, June 17 (NHK Hall, Tokyo)
La Bohhme with Fabio Luisi conducting; Barbara Frittoli
(Miml), Susanna Phillips (Musetta), Marcelo Alvarez,
Mariusz Kwiecien (Marcello), Edward Parks (Schaunard), John
Relyea (Colline), Paul Plishka (Benoit & Alcindoro).

Saturday, June 18
Don Carlo with Fabio Luisi conducting; Marina Poplavskaya
(Elisabeth de Valois), Ekaterina Gubanova (Princess Eboli),
Yonghoon Lee (Don Carlo), Dmitri Hvorostovsky (Rodrigo),
Reni Pape (Philip II), Stefan Kocan (Grand Inquisitor).

Sunday, June 19
Lucia di Lammermoor with Gianandrea Noseda conducting;
Diana Damrau (Lucia), Piotr Beczala (Edgardo), eljko Lu?i?
(Enrico), Ildar Abdrazakov (Raimondo).

Sunday, June 19
La Bohhme with Fabio Luisi conducting; Barbara Frittoli
(Miml), Susanna Phillips (Musetta), Marcelo Alvarez
(Rodolfo), Mariusz Kwiecien (Marcello), Edward Parks
(Schaunard), John Relyea (Colline), Paul Plishka (Benoit &
Alcindoro).