Pierre Vallet to Conduct Metropolitan Opera's MADAMA BUTTERFLY Tonight

Pierre Vallet will conduct this evening's performance of Puccini's Madama Butterfly, replacing Philippe Auguin, who is ill. Auguin's illness also forced him to withdraw from the January 16 performance of Madama Butterfly, which was conducted by Marco Armiliato.

Mo. Vallet is a member of the Met's music staff and an assistant conductor of this season's performances of Madama Butterfly. He made his Met debut in 2011, leading a performance of Gounod's Faust. In recent seasons, he has conducted Madama Butterfly at Tokyo's Bunka Kaikan; Faust at the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona; Bartok's Bluebeard's Castle on a tour of China with the Saito Kinen Festival Orchestra; Wagner's Tannhäuser at L'Opéra de Paris; and Massenet's Manon at the Bolshoi in Moscow.

Tonight's performance of Madama Butterfly stars Amanda Echalaz as Cio-Cio-San, Elizabeth DeShong as Suzuki, Bryan Hymel as Pinkerton, and Scott Hendricks as Sharpless.