Maksim Aniskin to Make Met Opera Debut in Tonight's I PURITANI; Mariusz Kwiecien Is Ill

Maksim Aniskin will make his Met debut as Riccardo in this evening's opening performance of Bellini's I Puritani, replacing Mariusz Kwiecien, who is ill.

The Belarussian baritone was originally scheduled to make his Met debut next season as Robert in the company premiere of Tchaikovsky's Iolanta. His recent performances with other opera companies include the title role in Verdi's Macbeth at Austria's Klagenfurt State Theater, Robert in Iolanta at Madrid's Teatro Real, Marcello in Puccini's La Bohème at the Bolshoi in Moscow, Sharpless in Puccini's Madama Butterfly at Novosibirsk Opera, and Tomsky in Tchaikovsky's The Queen of Spades at Perm Opera.

I Puritani, conducted by Michele Mariotti, also stars Olga Peretyatko in her Met debut as Elvira, Lawrence Brownlee as Arturo, and Michele Pertusi as Giorgio.