(Credit: Algirdas Bakas)

The Berliner Philharmoniker has announced that soprano Sonya Yoncheva has canceled her participation in the title role in Tchaikovsky’s “Iolanta” for concert performances of the opera on Jan. 12, 14 & 15, 2022 due to flu.

As a result, soprano Asmik Grigorian will take over the role, making her Berliner Philharmoniker house debut. Grigorian joins a cast that includes Mika Kares in the role of König René, Liparit Avetisyan as Vaudémont, Igor Golovatenko as Robert, Michael Kraus in the role of Ibn-Hakia, Anna Denisova as Brigitta, Victoria Karkacheva as Laura, Margarita Nekrasova as Marta, Dmitry Ivanchey as Almerik, and Nikolay Didenko in the role of Bertrand. Kirill Petrenko conducts the Berliner Philharmoniker and the Rundfunkchor Berlin.

Grigorian has performed the role of Iolanta at the Oper Frankfurt to critical acclaim and is also well known for her interpretation of Tatiana in Tchaikovsky’s “Eugene Onegin.”

Yoncheva is scheduled to return to the stage for performances of Verdi’s “Don Carlos” at the Metropolitan Opera House in February and March 2022.