Stemme stumbles again
OperaThe great Swede was replaced again last night as Elektra at Covent Garden.
There were ovations for her successor.
ROH statement: Sadly, Nina Stemme has withdrawn from singing the role of Elektra in this evening’s performance due to illness. The role of Elektra will be performed by Ausrine Stundyte who made her highly anticipated Covent Garden debut as Elektra last week and will return to The Royal Opera to perform the title role in Tosca next month.
I feel sorry for Stemme for this was a project that she, Pappano and Loy had planned for a long time and the pandemic had delayed it from 2020. So far she has only sung the first night and Aušrinė Stundytė has replaced her for the 2nd, 3rd and 4th performances – most impressively. It’s not clear how much rehearsal Stundytė did in December but she has previously sung the role with Pappano and his Santa Cecilia Orchestra in Rome.
I was very sad that Nina Stemme has now had to cancel three performances as Elektra due to her wrist injury. I was so looking forward to seeing her last night especially after seeing her sensational performance at the Met a few years ago.
But Ausrine Stundyte was superb in the title role and is completely at home on this new production. The scene between her and Karita Mattila’s Klytemnestra was absolutely brilliant. We are very fortunate that she has been available to step in.
I am told that the Director,
Christoff Loy has dedicated rehearsal time with her so she is at one with his interpretation.
The question now is whether Nina Stemme will have recovered sufficiently to do the last two scheduled performances or Ausrine Stundyte will take over both performances.
Superb? You mean on Tuesday evening, when I heard her? It is good of her to step in but “superb” she wasn’t. Birgit Nilsson, who I heard in the role, now she was superb.
I agree – just heard the stand-in Elektra on the radio broadcast and was vocally bored in the recognition scene – but who could match Christa Ludwig here?! I also found Pappano very underpowered in this repertoire – it really does need Germanic heft …..