The Dude Is Not In

Gustavo Dudamel cancels at the Philharmonic.
by Paul J. Pelkonen

Gustavo Dudamel has the flu. As indicated by the added biohazard symbol.
Original photo by Chris Lee.

Conductor Gustavo Dudamel has cancelled his appearances with the New York Philharmonic this week due to a severe case of the flu. The conductor was scheduled to lead the orchestra in three concerts this week at Avery Fisher Hall.

The announcement came this morning from the New York Philharmonic press department.

Soldier Dodges Bullet

Mathias Goerne steps in for Thomas Hampson in Wozzeck.
by Paul J. Pelkonen

Getting the axe: Thomas Hampson has withdrawn from tonight's Wozzeck due to illness.
Matthias Goerne will sing the title role in Berg's opera.
Photo by Cory Weaver © 2014 The Metropolitan Opera.

The Metropolitan Opera has a major casting change in tonight's first season performance of Wozzeck: the title role.

Plácido Domingo Released from Hospital

72-year-old singer had pulmonary embolism.

by Paul J. Pelkonen

He'll be back on stage in no time.
Photo of Placido Domingo originally published on Facebook.

According to a photograph published on Plácido Domingo's Facebook page, the legendary tenor, conductor and general manager of the Los Angeles Opera has been released from a Madrid hospital.

The 72-year-old Spanish singer was hospitalized with a pulmonary embolism earlier this week, a condition in which a loose blood clot can travel dangerously close to the heart. He was forced to cancel a set of appearances in the Daniel Catán opera Il Postino, but is expected to resume his busy schedule forthwith.

Mr. Domingo's summer plans include a set of performances as Giacomo in Verdi's rarely performed early opera Giovanna d'Arco. ("Joan of Arc") at this summer's Salzburg Festival. We here at Superconductor wish Mr. Domingo continued health and recovery from his illness.

Plácido Domingo Hospitalized

Tenor diagnosed with pulmonary embolism.
by Paul J. Pelkonen

Plácido Domingo in the title role of Rigoletto in Mantua.Film still © 2011 Emerging Pictures.

According to a story on Norman Lebrecht's classical music blog Slipped Disc, 72-year old tenor-turned-baritone Plácido Domingo is in a Madrid hospital with a pulmonary embolism.

Natalie Dessay Out of Traviata Premiere

Hei-Kyung Hong gets the nod as Violetta.
by Paul Pelkonen

A trip to IKEA, on gossamer wings: Act I of La Traviata at the Met.
Photo by Marty Sohl © 2012 The Metropolitan Opera.

The saga of the Little Red Dress continues. 

Last night the Metropolitan Opera press office quietly announced that tonight's performance of La Traviata will be sung by soprano Hei-Kyung Hong. Ms. Hong will replace Natalie Dessay, who is ill.

It is not known at press time whether Ms. Dessay will be available to sing the remaining seven performances in the run, starting with next Tuesday night and leading up to the Met Live in HD broadcast on April 14. 

Willy Decker's production of La Traviata, which bowed at the Met on December 31, 2010, is more physical than most productions of this Verdi opera. Violetta is required to careen across a slanted, curved acting surface, to be hoisted on a red couch by the choristers, and to meet the physical challenges of the characters medical condition (she is dying of tubeculosis) head-on. 

The production, which was originally mounted at Salzburg with Anna Netrebko (currently singing Manon at the Met) premiered with Marina Poplavskaya making a splash in the title role. Ms. Hong was the "cover" for those performances, and also sang the dress rehearsal earlier this week when Ms. Dessay announced that she was ill.

Regulars at the Metropolitan Opera are familiar with this talented Korean soprano, who has been something of a fixture at the house over a long career. She has sung over 300 performances at the theater, starting in 1984. Her wide repertory includes Butterfly, Gilda, the Countess (in the Marriage of Figaro), Liu, and of course, Violetta.

Last season, Ms. Hong was thrust into the limelight as Juliette in Gounod's Roméo et Juliette  after soprano Angela Gheorghiu abruptly cancelled her entire run, claiming illness. 

This year's cast also features Matthew Polenzani as Alfredo Germont, and baritone Dmitri Hvorostovsky as Giorgio Germont.

Violetta Succumbs to Illness

Red dress drama as Natalie Dessay cancels rehearsal.

While the Clock Ticked: a scene from La Traviata.

The Metropolitan Opera's revival of La Traviata (scheduled to take the stage on Friday night) just got a little more interesting. French soprano Natalie Dessay pulled out of today's dress rehearsal, claiming that she was ill.

According to the singer's Paris management, the singer is suffering from a cold.

Another source confirmed, saying that the singer was not feeling well and "didn't want to push it."

Soprano Hei-Kyung Hong, who is currently the contracted cover for the run of performances, sang the dress rehearsal, which was not open to the general public.

 The Met's production of La Traviata opened on Dec. 31, 2010, to a mixture of acclaim from critics and bafflement from traditionalists. The show is mounted in a claustrophobic, curved room, and places great emphasis on Violetta's rapid deterioration, with a large clock at one end of the room symbolizing time running out for the Verdi heroine.

Originally directed by Willy Decker, this show is noted for its heavy physical requirements for singers, including a tough confrontation with Giorgio Germont in the second act and the "couch surfing" scene, where Violetta is hoisted into the air by the chorus, balanced on what appears to be a red IKEA® "Klippan" sofa.

The singer's management added that Ms. Dessay "intends to sing all of her performances."

La Traviata opens Friday. To read more about the production, check out out the Superconductor preview.

Egyptian Plague Strikes Soprano

Sondra Radvanovsky, Latonia Moore to platoon in Aida at the Met.
by Paul Pelkonen.

She's in the Egyptian business: Sondra Radvanovsky.

The winter flu bug has struck Egypt--and the Metropolitan Opera.

The Metropolitan Opera press office announced earlier this week that Violeta Urmana, scheduled to sing Aida at the Met this week, was ill.

Her replacement on Tuesday night was soprano Sondra Radvanovsky. Saturday's matinee broadcast will be sung by Latonia Moore.

Ms. Radvanovsky rose to stardom at the Met with the company's 2009 production of Il Trovatore. She has sung Aida before, but in the much smaller role of the (offstage) Priestess in Act I.

Her last appearances at the Met were in the spring of 2011, where she sang the title role in Tosca and reprised the role of Leonora in Trovatore. Next season, she will sing the role of Elisabetta de Valois in Don Carlo.

Latonia Moore is a recipient of the 2005 Richard Tucker Foundation grant. She has sung the role at the Hamburg State Opera in 2009 and at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden in 2011. This performance is her Metropolitan Opera debut.

In other news, tenor Marcelo Giordani will sing Radames, taking over for Marcelo Àlvarez. Stephanie Blythe, who has drawn strong reviews for her fiery portrayal of the Egyptian princess Amneris, will sing as scheduled.

For a full review of the Met's Aida starring Ms. Urmana and Ms. Blythe, visit this page on Superconductor.
Contact the author: E-mail Superconductor editor Paul Pelkonen