(Credit: Mathias Leidgschwendner)

The Staatsoper Unter den Linden has announced that mezzo-soprano Ekaterina Gubanova will not be appearing in the role of Ortrud in Wagner’s “Lohengrin” for the final performance of the opera in 2021 on Dec. 12.

As a result, mezzo-soprano Okka von der Damerau will take over the role. The mezzo will join a cast that includes Martin Gantner as Telramund, Elza van den Heever in the role of Elsa von Brabant, Gábor Bretz as Heinrich der Vogler, Adam Kutny as Heerrufer des Königs, and Andreas Schager in the title role. Thomas Guggeis conducts a production by Calixto Bieito.

Okka von der Damerau is a well-known mezzo-soprano who has performed at the Wiener Staatsoper, Bayerische Staatsoper, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Teatro Real, Gran Teatre del Liceu, Lyric Opera of Chicago, and De Nationale Opera, among others.

Gubanova is slated to return to the stage for a run of Verdi’s “Don Carlo” at the Wiener Staatsoper starting on Dec. 16, 2021.