(Credit: Munich Philharmonic)

The Deutsche Oper Berlin has announced that soprano Irina Churilova will replace Nicole Car in the role of Elisabetta di Valois for the final performance of the opera on Dec. 18, 2021.

Churilova joins a cast that includes Alex Esposito as Philippo II, Etienne Dupuis as Rodrigo, Marquis di Posa, Albert Pesendorfer as The Grand Inquisitor, Yulia Matochkina as Eboli, and Robert Watson in the title role. The cast also includes Gideon Poppe, Byung Gil Kim, Georgina Melville, Valeriia Savinskaia, Samueol Park, Simon Pauly, Padraic Rowan, Tyler Zimmerman, Philipp Jekal, and Byung Gil Kim. Ivan Repusic conducts a production by Marco Arturo Marelli.

Churilova has appeared at the Mariinsky Theatre, Bolshoi Theatre, Teatro Real, Oper Graz, and Arena di Verona, among others. Her repertoire includes works by Wagner, Tchaikovsky, Verdi, Puccini, Cilea, and Bizet.

Car is slated to go back to the stage in the role of Mimì in Puccini’s “La Bohème” at the Wiener Staatsoper in January 2022.