Surprise surprise

Don't fall off your chair.

"German soprano Anja Harteros has withdrawn from singing the role of Elizabeth of Valois in Don Carlo for the final four performances in May (15, 18, 21, and 25 May). Anja is not able at this point to stay abroad for an extended period of time as originally planned. The role of Elizabeth of Valois on 15, 18, 21 and 25 May will now be sung by Armenian soprano Lianna Haroutounian, who makes her debut with The Royal Opera in this role."

Lianna Haroutouniam?

"Lianna’s recent roles include Desdemona in Otello for Opéra-Bastille in Paris, Leonora in Il trovatore in Marseille, Amelia in Simon Boccanegra in Lille, Mimì in La bohème for the Grand Théâtre in Tours and Amelia in Un ballo in maschera at the Stadttheater in Bern and the Grand Théâtre in Tours. Her roles during the 2012–13 season include Elena (I vespri siciliani) at the Megaron Concert Hall, Athens; and Vitellia (La clemenza di Tito) for Opéra de Marseille."

Comments

[PLIMPTON]

Could someone please just explain to me what is wrong with the woman? Is she genuinely suffering from some chronic condition or is she just flakey/bonkers?
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Intermezzo replies - Her husband is seriously unwell and she (understandably) doesn't like to leave him. That doesn't explain the timing of all these announcements though.

[John]

They've really pushed the boat out with her replacement.

[Faye]

Oh FFS, I have a ticket for the 18th! Her husband has been ill for several years now and while they both have my sincere sympathies then why on earth is she agreeing to contracts for operas which will require her to spend several weeks abroad in the first place? If spending time abroad is such a problem for her then surely it would be fairer for audiences if she only accepted jobs that she thought she had a reasonable chance of being able to do - or only agreed a limited number of shows rather than the entire run?

I will be interested to hear if Kasper H cares to comment on this....

[John]

More seriously, I am quite surprised they couldn't field a more established replacement (I'm not saying better - I haven't heard Haroutouniam). The ROH may not charge more for particular performers, but people have paid an awful lot of money to see an all-star cast in this Don Carlos. It's only four performances - why not Frittoli, Stoyanava, Poplavskaya or Giannatassio? Even Gheorghiu could probably get it together to sing four shows - it's not as though she's been doing much for the last 12 months. I respect the need to showcase new performers but she's singing most of the run now!

[David]

She has a sick husband. Show some charity and remember that, despite a few singers who cancel at the drop of hat and give the others a bad name, this sort of thing isn't usually done lightly.
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Intermezzo replies - Thanks for the lecture, but I don't see any lack of sympathy for Harteros here. People are annoyed with the ROH for (a) not sorting out the casting sooner despite being well aware of Harteros' problems, and (b) substituting one of the world's greatest sopranos with some chick nobody's ever heard of. However good she may.....etc.

[amac]

*still seated firmly on chair*

I have the 11th May so still get the pleasure of her company !

Replacement looks intriguing -possibly she may be very good.
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Intermezzo - Glass-half-full on both counts is my guess.

[Siggy]

While having every sympathy with her personal situation she really ought to say 'I'm singing nowhere except Munich (and possibly Vienna/Salzburg)' and have done with it. At least then everyone would know where they stand.

And yes, the replacement is hardly awe-inspiring but I'm happy to go with an open mind and hopefully be pleasantly suprised.

I have got a ticket to one of the earlier performances in the run but I'm still not convinced Harteros will be there.

[Siggy]

Angela's performing rep seems to consist almost entirely of Boheme's these days with the odd Tosca and Rondine thrown in. I'd actually quite like to see her in this role but I vaguely remember she was orginally scheduled for this production when it was new but didn't want to do the five act version.

Presumably the other singers mentioned are otherwise engaged and Ms Haroutouniam was available - simple as that.

Now just crossing my fingers (and toes) that Kaufmann doesn't have an attack of the vapours or whatever....

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Intermezzo replies - I'm in the party of one that would rather see Poplavskaya than Harteros in this role, and I'm a little surprised she wasn't drafted in. I guess she or the ROH have their reasons.

[John]

I think the chances of her pulling out of the whole thing are pretty high. Even a revival requires two weeks of rehearsal so it may all just be too much. I don't blame her (although she possibly shouldn't sign further international contracts) but given the extreme predictability of the announcement, one has to wonder why the opera house didn't have someone better known in their sights to replace her.

[Rannnaldini]

From a historical perspective - several prominent careers have been launched in such circumstances.

[Jon]

I am going on 11th so it may not be an issue for me, but I too would not be disappointed if Popsy was replacing Harteros. She did so in Otello last year and was superb (indeed, she gave a much more complete and involving performance than Harteros had earlier in the run and she also seemed to galvanise Antonenko). Her performances in the last run of Don Carlo was also fine.

[Ruth]

Poplavskaya appears to have engagements elsewhere...

[Ruth]

Completely agree with you on this one, Siggy.

[Hariclea]

I totally agree, wish we had had Marina for the entire run to begin with rather than this poor end-result :-S

[Nik]

She was always going to pull out. I wonder if this announcement implies an increased chance she will turn up for the dates she hasn't cancelled? (My ticket is for the 4th).

In any case, top marks for the koala!

[Il Grande Inquisitor]

Always happy to see Poplavskaya's Elisabetta, but after two outings in this production (three if you include its trip to the Met) Anja Harteros' appearance is welcome. Now, we just have to hope she'll manage to make the early part of the run... this could be wishful thinking.

As to the ROH's replacement, I doubt they could have secured Marina given her Amsterdam commitments in May.
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Intermezzo replies - It's not always to our advantage that the ROH are more gentlemanly than the Met when it comes to securing artists already booked elsewhere.

[Laura]

*Sigh* I have tickets for the 15th - have planned a trip to London especially to see the Kaufmann-Harteros Traumpaar. Much as I would love to see Poplavskaya as a replacement Elisabetta, she's singing Violetta in Amsterdam and I'm very glad that she's not pulling out of La Traviata in order to sing Elisabetta (I live Amsterdam...).
I have never heard of Haroutounian, but hope she is up to the task. But I do wonder why the ROH hasn't contracted a more established soprano sooner (Camilla Nylund did a great job in Amsterdam as Elisabetta last year), especially since Harteros cancellations seem to be the rule rather than the exception.

By the way, the Netherlands Opera has also released all the details of their 13/14 season. I'm personally really looking forward to Faust (Minkowski conducted a heavenly Roméo et Juliette last season) as well as to Lucia di Lammermoor, and Siegfried and Götterdämmerung of course.

[Emil Archambault]

She's doing Gutrune at La Scala at the time.

[Miriam]

I'm going on the 18th too. While her being in the cast was not really a reason for booking I am not best pleased about having someone well-known replaced by someone I never heard of before.

Although like you I sympathise about her husband's health problems I also agree that given the long term nature of these it is not really fair to either audiences or opera houses to keep accepting contracts such as this and then cancelling at a fairly late stage when the opera house will have difficulty finding a suitable replacement. She should stick to working closer to home.

[marcillac]

Sadly, not at all surprising. She did cancel relatively early but unfortunately not in time to secure that *established* sub. I suppose these things are a matter of taste but would gladly pay 3 times as much to hear Harteros rather than Popsy. Whereas the former very significantly enhances (over your average run of the mill ROH-caliber soprano) even a cast including Kaufmann and Furlanetto, Popsy degrades such a cast rather dramatically. I'm sure that's not *just* me but I may well be in a minority. Some very discerning people differ. I don't know.

What I do know is that I am now relieved I didn't get tickets for this (and I abstained specifically in fear of such an outcome). Will keep fingers crossed for Salzburg. Hope the new girl is good. On balance this should still be a great show.

[John]

I think it's also relevant that she's withdrawn once booking has opened and tickets have been sold. Her replacement sounds very promising, but of course it's not what we were hoping for. What I find surprising about Poplavskaya is just how such a talented performer has never managed to overcome their glaring technical flaws - poor support and dodgy intonation most obviously. I understand she was promoted by the ROH at a very early stage in her career and she probably feels that she has to grab every opportunity before her, but isn't she aware of these problems herself? And why hasn't anybody directed her towards a teacher who could resolve them? I realise she has her devotees but even many of them acknowledge her flaws.

[Sheila]

One thing not considered here is that when Harteros signed the contract, she might have had reason to believe her husband would be in better shape at this time. It's a shame she could not cancel earlier, but with all the advance booking of singers, even a year's notice might not be enough to engage another star soprano for this role.

[David]

Don't bristle so: the 'lecture' was aimed at Plimpton, the only commenter at the time of posting, who WAS decidedly uncharitable. Anyway, I count myself lucky to have heard the greatest Verdi soprano of our time twice at the Royal Opera - in Boccanegra and in one of the Otellos she DID sing.
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Intermezzo replies - 'Plimpton' asked a perfectly reasonable question for someone ignorant of the circumstances. The only uncharitable tone I perceive is closer to home.

[SopranoLili]

Chill out, people. You may just witness the breakthrough perf of tomorrow's biggest diva! Who knows? as Lenny would say. For those who want to learn more:
http://www.liannaharoutounian.com/
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Intermezzo replies - YouTube ended those sort of surprises I'm afraid. The lady clearly knows her stuff, but she's just as clearly not the equal of Harteros.

[David]

Well, I suppose I never learn not to interfere in these playgrounds. I'd believe the tone of 'it's in the public interest' if I saw more comments here about how wonderfully Harteros sings every time she does appear. Isn't that what it's all about? Bye now.

[paco]

Miss Haroutouniam is an excellent surprise for a replacement, and I am much more excited to see her than Poplavskaya or Frittoli. The ROH is right to take profit of a short-term replacement to make us discover an extremely talented newcomer instead of a tired "former star" such as Frittoli

[Renata P.]

Gheorghiu seems to have remorse at having withdrawn from Don Carlo years ago: she's singing Tu che le vanita in her May London concert. She recorded it on her Verdi Heroines album, but now it's the first time she's doing it live. I really wonder how it will turn out: I've heard that concert hall has awful acoustics.
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Intermezzo replies - Remorse? If she really had any, she'd leap in and replace Harteros. But I suspect she realises the full role is a step too far for her.

[manou]

It would be ironic for a prominent career to be launched by a prominent carer.

[John]

Gheorghiu's been claiming she will sing Don Carlo (the four act version) for years - just like she's claimed she'll sing Lucia, Don Giovanni, Norma and Alceste. If she had any serious interest in doing these, the offers would be flooding in.

[SJT]

On the repertoire front, Morticia will still be singing Mimi clinging to a Zimmer frame sometime around the next London Olympics, trust me.

[Faye]

I can't swear to the accuracy / reliability of this information but someone told me that her husband was terminally ill....