Dutch diva dumps Covent Garden

Dutch diva dumps Covent Garden

Opera

norman lebrecht

September 19, 2024

The Royal Opera informs us that Eva-Maria Westbroek has withdrawn from all performances of Festen ‘due to personal reasons’.

The new opera by Mark Anthony Turnage, based on the Danish cult film, does not premiere until next February. Whatever the personal reasons, they seem likely to last a very long time. Probably not to do with the score: she starred in Turnage’s last opera, Anna-Nicole.

Westbroek, 54, will be replaced by the young English mezzo-soprano Rosie Aldridge.

Also in the cast are Allan Clayton, Stéphane Degout, Gerald Finley and Natalya Romaniw.

Comments

  • Bigger Exhibition says:

    Please be kind. You never know what someone might be going through in their life.

  • Malcolm David James says:

    We don’t want to get snarky over this, because the personal reasons could be fairly sad, or even tragic.

  • Louise says:

    Young?

  • RW2013 says:

    Does such a remarkable film need to be made into an opera?!

  • Lorenz1060 says:

    An opera on „Festen“? Didn’t we already suffer through „The Exterminating Angel“ or do we need more dinner party operas?

  • Barney says:

    Dumps?

    Typically provocative choice of words. Do you know what her personal reasons are?

    Operabase has her down for two Proms with the Rotterdam Philarmonic – tomorrow and Saturday. However, the orchestra’s own website says the soprano soloist is Emily Pogorelc.

    Is she also ‘dumping’ Rotterdam? There is nothing else on her Operabase schedule before the Turnage. Maybe she has genuine reasons for pulling out and is not simply ‘dumping’ (on?) Covent Garden.

  • Tiredofitall says:

    I am sad to read of her recent cancellations. Eva-Maria is a brilliant artist and I have been fortunate to attend many of her performances over the years. I hope all is well.

  • Gerard says:

    I think she has quietly retired. No performances in the past months and nothing in the future. She did a masterclass recently on dutch television.

  • frank says:

    Her voice has been gone for years.

  • Marianne Koopman says:

    Both in the comments (‘her voice has been gone for years’) as in the title (‘dumps’ ) a nasty undertone of spite and belittlement is to be heard. Have some respect, please. Eva Maria Westbroek deserves better treatment, after giving us so many touching and wonderful performances. Keep your venom to yourself.

  • Tony Axe says:

    Having met Eva-Maria Westbroek in a restaurant after her performance in 2019 as Katya Kabanova with the Staatsoper unter den Linden, I can tell you she is anything but a ‘diva’ (if that was meant to be derogatory) and the last person in the operatic world to ‘dump’ any one or any organisation.

  • zandonai says:

    She’s nice Dutch girl not a Diva.

  • Victoria says:

    As mentioned she also pulled out of Rotterdam this month, so I doubt it had anything to do with ROH (where she has often sung in the past). I fear she has some troubles with her voice as she has not performed recently and also cancelled Isolde in Japan late last year. Fingers crossed she will have recovered for her debut as Kundry in Glyndebourne this summer

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