The Salzburg Festival has announced a cast change for its production of Strauss’ “Ariadne auf Naxos.”

The company said that Christina Nilsson will take on the dual role of Primadonna/Ariadne, making her debut at the Salzburg Festival this summer replacing the originally announced Elīna Garanča, who has withdrawn.

Garanča said in a statement, “I accepted the offer from the Salzburg Festival with great appreciation and sincere enthusiasm. After careful consideration, I have decided not to include this role in my repertoire and therefore to withdraw from this production.”

She added in a social media post that she regarded it as an artistic responsibility to take part “in a production only when I am fully convinced of my ability to do justice to a role in its complete psychological and emotional depth. For this reason, I am very sorry to inform you that I have decided not to add the role to my repertoire.”

Nilsson is a Swedish soprano who is regarded as one of the most exciting voices of her generation and has recently appeared at the Metropolitan Opera in New York, the Deutsche Oper Berlin and the Bayreuth Festival.

She is set to join a cast that includes Kate Lindsey, Eric Cutler, and Ziyi Dai. Manfred Honeck conducts the production by Ersan Mondtag.

“Ariadne auf Naxos” opens on August 2 and run through August 28, 2026.