Angela Gheorghiu Withdraws From MET's CARMEN, Elina Garanca Replaces Her 12/31

The Met has announced that soprano Angela Gheorghiu has withdrawn from the first six performances of a new production of Bizet's Carmen for personal reasons. Gheorghiu will be replaced by El?na Garan?a, who sang the title role of La Cenerentola at the Met last spring to great acclaim; that production was transmitted to movie theaters worldwide as part of the Met's Live in HD series. This will be the first time that Garan?a has sung Carmen at the Met; she will perform on December 31, January 5, 8, 12, 16, and 21.

Gheorghiu will appear as Carmen as scheduled on April 28 and May 1, 2010; she also reprises her acclaimed portrayal of Violetta in La Traviata at the Met in the spring.

Since the rehearsal period for Carmen coincides with the performances of the Met's new production of Les Contes d'Hoffmann, Kate Lindsey will replace Garan?a as the Muse/Nicklausse in the Offenbach work. Les Contes d'Hoffmann opens December 3. A graduate of the Met's Lindemann Young Artist Development Program, Lindsey made her company debut in 2005 as Javotte in Manon. She has since appeared in numerous roles including Cherubino in Le Nozze di Figaro and Stéphano in Roméo et Juliette. This will mark Lindsey's role debut as the Muse/Nicklausse.

Garan?a made her Met debut as Rosina in IL Barbiere di Siviglia in 2008. She made her role debut as Carmen in her native Latvia, and is scheduled to sing the part in Covent Garden next fall.

The new Carmen, conducted by Yannick Nézet-Séguin, premieres on New Year's Eve with a cast that also features Barbara Frittoli as Micaëla, Roberto Alagna as Don José, and Mariusz Kwiecien as Escamillo. Later performances star Olga Borodina as Carmen, Maija Kovalevska as Micaëla, Brandon Jovanovich and Jonas Kaufmann as Don José, and Teddy Tahu Rhodes as Escamillo. The production is directed by Richard Eyre, with sets and costumes by Rob Howell and lighting by Peter Mumford. Christopher Wheeldon is creating the choreography. Carmen will be seen Live in HD on January 16.