The Metropolitan Opera’s Nov. 17 “Il Trovatore” performance saw two major debuts in the second part of the opera.

Mexican tenor Arturo Chacón-Cruz made an unexpected house debut as Manrico while Leah Hawkins made her role debut as Leonora.

Chacón-Cruz replaced Michael Fabiano, while Hawkins replaced Angela Meade. Both  Meade and Fabiano took to social media to announce that they could not continue the second part of the evening due to illness and also showed support to their colleagues.

Chacón-Cruz is well known for his interpretation of the opera having performed it at the San Francisco Opera and Las Palmas, Gran Canaria. He has performed at the Teatro Massimo di Palermo, Florida Grand Opera, Arena di Verona, and Teatro dell’Opera di Roma. Hawkins has performed at the Metropolitan Opera, Arizona Opera, Santa Fe Opera, and  Pittsburgh Opera.

“Il Trovatore” also starred Olesya Petrova, Ryan Speedo Green, and Igor Golovatenko. Daniele Callegari conducts.

Meade and Fabiano are set to return to the production on Nov. 22.