Diana Damrau No Longer Singing Four Heroines in LA Opera’s ‘Les Contes d’Hoffmann’

By David Salazar

Diana Damrau is no longer singing all four heroines in Offenbach’s “Les Contes d’Hoffmann” in Los Angeles this week.

The soprano was originally slated to take on all four characters, a feat that is growing rarer and rarer these days, but recent casting details established that the German soprano will only take on Antonia and Stella in her LA Debut. Stella does not even sing in the opera, so Damrau, who was to sing for most of the evening, will only get one act of the French opera.

According to reports, this decision came about due to the soprano struggling with bronchitis. Her slow recovery has forced her to opt for the limited performances. Damrau did previously sing the four heroines back in Munich in 2011. In that famous run of performances, she performed alongside Mexican tenor Rolando Villazón.

The other two roles, that of Olympia and Giulietta, will be sung by So Young Park and Kate Aldrich respectively. Young Park is an alumna of LA Opera’s Domingo-Colburn-Stein Young Artist Program while Aldrich has had an international career for over a decade. Liv Redpath will take on two performances as Olympia on April 6 and 9.

Vittorio Grigolo is slated for the title role with Plácido Domingo conducting. The opera opens on March 25.

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