(Credit: Bayerische Staatsoper official website)

The Bayerische Staatsoper has canceled the run of Verdi‘s “Falstaff” which was set to be performed between May 16 and May 22, 2021.

The opera was supposed to star Boris Pinkhasovich as Ford, Bogdan Volkov as Fenton, Kevin Conners as Dr. Cajus, Olga Bezsmertna in the role of Mrs. Alice Ford, Emily Pogorelc as Nannetta, Okka von der Damerau in the role of Mrs. Quickly, Dorottya Láng as Mrs. Meg Page, Francesco Castoro as Bardolfo, Callum Thorpe as Pistola, and Wolfgang Koch in the title role. Pinchas Steinberg was set to conduct the production by Mateja Koležnik.

The Bayerische Staatsoper is currently closed due to the complex epidemiological situation in Germany. Per the Infection Protection Act, cultural venues and leisure facilities throughout Germany must stay closed until the seven-day incidence rate drops below 100 for five consecutive days. The new law thus weighs heavily on any prospective reopening of theaters and opera houses in the country.

Faced with great uncertainty and lack of planning, several German opera houses have already opted to end their respective 2020-21 seasons, including Oper Köln, Semperoper Dresden, and Theater Bonn.

The current 7-day incidence in Munich stands at 123.8.