Sicklist: Beczala jumps in for Zurich’s Lohengrin
mainBrandon Jovanovich has called in sick in Zurich.
At 24 hour’s notice, and only a day after singing Lehar’s Das Land des Lächelns, Piotr Beczala is replacing him.
He will sing from the wings while the director Andreas Homoki plays the part on stage.
It does look ever so Swiss.
You’re wrong.
It looks Bavarian.
You’re right, Tell, and Beczala’s last performance in the Lehár (also in Zurich) was July 13, so he had three days to ready himself for his one Lohengrin (July 16). No big deal. In fact, he really should have been able to learn the moves.
This business of singing from the wings while someone else acts, I don’t know. Amateurish and unprofessional. That said, Amazon reviews of the new Lohengrin DVD where Beczala’s assumption of the title role is well received:
https://www.amazon.com/Lohengrin-Wwv-75-Blu-ray-Wagner/dp/B07141J77N/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1500061392&sr=8-1&keywords=lohengrin+netrebko#customerReviews
That’s what I’d call an Einspringer De Luxe!
According to the Opernhaus Zürich website, it’s the same production of Lohengrin that Wiener Staatsoper has been staging recently.
The two singers in the photo are most likely Klaus Florian Vogt (in the title role) and Ricarda Merbeth (Elsa), who appeared together in Lohengrin at Wiener Staatsoper in September 2016.
Staging was new in Zurich in 2014. It may be Van den Heever in the image.
According to Homoki’s announcement before the curtain, it wasn’t just the blocking that was the problem. Beczala didn’t feel confident enough singing the role from memory as he had only sung it once before, and after that run (a year ago) hadn’t looked at the score anymore.
He did sing gloriously though, as did Rachel Willis-Sorensen as Elsa.