The New National Theatre, Tokyo has canceled its upcoming production of “Così Fan Tutte” due to the coronavirus outbreak.

In a press release the theater stated, “In response to a request issued on February 26 by Japan’s Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT Minister) regarding the prevention of the spreading of novel coronavirus (COVID-19) infections, the New National Theatre,Tokyo (NNTT) issued a notice the other day that it has canceled all performances and events until Sunday, March 15, inclusive. Additionally, and regrettably, NNTT has also decided to cancel the performances of the opera ‘Così Fan Tutte.'”

Rehearsals for the production were scheduled to begin early this month in preparation for the first performance on March 18 but due to the challenging circumstances, the company decided to cancel.

The company added, “At present, while we have concerns that the announcement of a cancellation may convey unintentional messages to patrons both in Japan and overseas, delaying this decision while we do not foresee being able to assure performances and events will be held from March 16 onwards may consequently disappoint the expectations of the artists and patrons.”

“Così Fan Tutte” was set to run from March 18 to 24 and was set to star Eleonora Buratto, Anna Goryachova, Nobuko Takahashi, Giovanni Sala, Renato Dolcini, and Simone Alberghini.