Two lead sopranos walk out on Covent Garden
OperaFrom the press release:
Jacquelyn Stucker has withdrawn from all performances of The Marriage of Figaro for health reasons. The role of Countess Almaviva will be performed by Maria Bengtsson.
Press release
Wednesday 28 August 2024
Cast change announcements
The Marriage of Figaro and Tosca
The Marriage of Figaro | 2 – 15 Sept 2024
Jacquelyn Stucker has withdrawn from all performances of The Marriage of Figaro for health reasons. The role of Countess Almaviva will be performed by Maria Bengtsson.
Sonya Yoncheva has withdrawn from all performances of Tosca for personal reasons. The role of Floria Tosca will be performed by Natalya Romaniw (26, 29 Nov and 6, 8 (matinee) Dec), and Chiara Isotton (11, 13 Dec), who makes her House debut.
To lose one soprano is unfortunate. Two starts to look like a trend.
I was frankly surprised that Yoncheva had agreed to appear next to the unspeakable Eyvazov. It seems she has belatedly come to the same conclusion.
Why is he unspeakable?
Explain!
Eyvazov is a joke. Any reputable theatre employing him is no longer reputable, it becomes a joke also.
Why mention Eyvazov? As far as I was aware it was the Korean tenor SeokJong Baek for all performances?
You are right, it is now. So they’ve had a change of tenor as well.
I considered buying tickets a while ago in order to see Yoncheva but was put off because at that time it was showing Eyvazov.
Your final sentences are delightfully reminiscent, I suppose deliberately, of Oscar Wilde’s quip from “The Importance of Being Ernest”:
“To lose one parent, Mr. Worthing, may be regarded as a misfortune; to lose both looks like carelessness”.
No surprise that Yoncheva has dropped out. She was double booked during this time for this engagement as well as Butterly in Barcelona.
Barcelona pays more than ROH.
That didn’t stop her doing a full-page interview with the Times where she talked about how excited she was to be signing Tosca in London.
On a different note, this “RBO” business is clearly not catching on.
Is it being suggested that Ms Stucker is being economical with the truth?
If somebody withdraws for health reasons, it’s rather stretching things to say that they have ‘walked out’.
Any evidence that something other than health issues is the reason for her withdrawal?
According to Ms Stucker’s Instagram, the primary health issue is a back injury sustained doing stunt work in performance last season. She says she’s taking time out to recuperate, and expresses gratitude to ROH for being supportive. Sounds pretty convincing to me. Hopefully she’ll make a full recovery.
I work in the building and can confirm it is a health reason.
Ms Stucker has a right to privacy, no further explanation should be required.
Further speculation should be treated as tasteless gossip.
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I read a compilation of reviews at “TheOperaCritic.com” and Yusif Eyvazov is well-regarded, especially as Cavaradossi in Tosca. Several have commented on his improvement over the years.
“To lose one parent, Mr. Worthing, may be regarded as a misfortune; to lose both looks like carelessness.”
Oscar Wilde, The Importance of Being Earnest
How ugly are the productions the sopranos fled? That should be reason enough to withdraw, whether for health or personal reasons.
Not at all. They are both lavish, traditional stagings.
“has withdrawn” is not the same, in English usage of language, as “walked out”.