Royal Opera House Announces Cast Change for CARMEN

Due to pregnancy, German soprano Anett Fritsch has withdrawn from singing the role of Micaëla in Carmen. The role will now be sung by Russian soprano Kristina Mkhitaryan, who will make her Royal Opera debut as Micaëla. She has recently sung the role of Micaëla for Norwegian National Opera in Oslo.

A graduate of the Galina Vishnevskaya Theatre Studio, Moscow, Kristina Mkhitaryan joined the Young Artists Opera Programme at the Bolshoi Theatre, where she remains a studio artist. Her recent roles include Eritea in Cavalli's Eliogabalo for Dutch National Opera, Violetta Valéry (La traviata) for Glyndebourne Festival Opera, Isifile (Il Giasone) at the Grand Theatre de Génève and Giulietta (I Capuletti e i Montecchi) for Bergen National Opera. Her roles for the Bolshoi have included Norina (Don Pasquale), Xenia (Boris Godunov), Gilda (Rigoletto) and Amina (La sonnambula). She won second prize at the 2017 Operalia Competition.

The rest of the cast of Carmen for these performances remains unchanged: Russian mezzo-soprano Anna Goryachova sings Carmen, Italian tenor Franceso Meli sings Don José, Lithuanian bass-baritone Kostas Smoriginas sings Escamillo, British bass David Soar sings Zuniga, Jette Parker Young Artist American soprano Jacquelyn Stucker sings Frasquita and Jette Parker Young Artist Russian mezzo-soprano Aigul Akhmetshina sings Mercédès. Czech conductor Jakub Hr?ša conducts.