Concert performances of two operas in London have just announced late artist replacements.
At the Royal Opera House, baritone Thomas Hampson has withdrawn from the role of Athanaël in next week's sold-out concert performances of Massenet's Thaïs. Simone Alberghini will now play Athanaël. Alberghini has appeared in the role in Louisville, USA, having also recently played Dandini in La Cenerentola for Glyndebourne Festival Opera.
Hampson was to have joined a starry cast that still includes Renee Fleming, Joseph Calleja, Robert Lloyd and Jette Parker Artists (Senior and Young, respectively) Liora Grodnikaite and Ana James, under the baton of Sir Andrew Davis, for these two performances (on 27 and 29 June) of Massenet's exotic opera.
Hampson has cancelled several appearances lately, including a concert at the Barbican in March in which he was replaced by Bryn Terfel.
This is the second replacement of a high-profile opera singer at Covent Garden in only weeks, as Anna Netrebko was unwell for the first two performances of Don Giovanni. Her replacement, the Jette Parker Young Artist Marina Poplavskaya, won critical acclaim on all sides for taking over as Donna Anna.
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Meanwhile, the London Symphony Orchestra's two concert performances of Berlioz's Benvenuto Cellini will also feature a modified cast.
The title role of Cellini will now be sung by Gregory Kunde, replacing Giuseppe Sabbatini, while Darren Jeffrey will now take over from Michele Pertusi as Balducci. Jeffrey was to have sung the part of Bernardino; he is now replaced by Andrew Foster-Williams.
Gregory Kunde is an experienced Berlioz singer, having appeared in performances of La Damnation de Faust, Les Troyens and Benvenuto Cellini, the latter two of which were recorded to great acclaim.
British bass-baritone Darren Jeffrey is a former member of the Royal Opera House's Young Artists Programme (2001-03), excellent training that has paid off with a number of important international engagements, of which this appearance in Cellini is one of the most significant. He has sung many roles for ENO and at the ROH, has appeared at the Proms and the Lufthansa Festival, and has engagements at opera houses in Madrid, Brussels, Lyon and Montpellier. One can only hope that another star will be born next Tuesday (26 June) and Friday (29 June), following in the footsteps of Poplavskaya's triumph as Donna Anna.
Jeffrey is also joined by ROH Young Artist Jacques Imbrailo as Pompeo in the performances, hot on the heels of his success in winning the Audience Prize in the Cardiff Singer of the World last week, while former Young Artist Andrew Kennedy appears in the role of Francesco. The presence of these singers in the cast is a testament to the success of the Young Artists Programme, which began in 2001.