Wolfgang Brendel to Replace Thomas Allen as Major-Domo in The Met's ARIADNE AUF NAXOS

Wolfgang Brendel will perform the role of Major-Domo in all performances of Strauss's Ariadne auf Naxos this season, replacing Thomas Allen.

German baritone Wolfgang Brendel, who retired from the operatic stage in 2014, has sung nearly 100 performances at the Met since his company debut in 1975 as Count Almaviva in Mozart's Le Nozze di Figaro. His other Met roles have included Mandryka in Strauss's Arabella, Germont in Verdi's La Traviata, the Speaker in Mozart's Die Zauberflöte, Eisenstein and Dr. Falke in J. Strauss's Die Fledermaus, Miller in Verdi's Luisa Miller, Sharpless in Puccini's Madama Butterfly, the Count in Strauss's Capriccio, the Music Master in Ariadne aux Naxos, Amfortas in Wagner's Parsifal, Barak in Strauss's Die Frau ohne Schatten, and Altair in Strauss's Die Ägyptische Helena. With a career spanning more than 40 years, he has performed on all the major stages throughout the world, including those of Bayreuth, Berlin, Barcelona, Düsseldorf, London, Paris, Madrid, Milan, and Vienna, as well as at the Salzburg and Glyndebourne festivals, among many others. He is currently on the voice faculty at the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University.

Ariadne auf Naxos opens on March 1, with Marek Janowski conducting a cast that also includes Lise Davidsen as Ariadne, Brenda Rae as Zerbinetta, Isabel Leonard as the Composer, Brandon Jovanovich as Bacchus, Sean Michael Plumb as Harlekin, and Johannes Martin Kränzle as the Music Master.

Performances are March 1, 5, 8, 12mat, and 17. The March 12 performance will be transmitted live to cinemas around the world as part of The Met: Live in HD series.

For further information, please visit metopera.org.

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