(Credit: Opera Online)

Opéra de Rouen Normandie has announced the cancellation of April performances due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic concerns.

Among the affected performances are the recital of Lea Desandre on April 7, as well as the presentations of Gérard Pesson’s opera “Trois Contes” on April 8 & 9. The opera was set to star Camille Merckx, Marc Mauillon, Pierre Derhet, Maïlys de Villoutreys, Melody Louledjian, Jean-Gabriel Saint-Martin, Jos Houben, and Funaya Yumiko. Aurélien Azan Zielinski was signed on to conduct the Orchestre de l’Opéra de Rouen Normandie in the production by David Lescot.

The French government has yet to allow the reopening of the cultural sector. Fears of reopening were aggravated when Minister of Culture Roselyne Bachelot was infected after attending a performance of Gounod’s “Faust” at the Opéra National de Paris that was closed off to the public.

France is undergoing an ongoing pandemic crisis. The French government has recently locked down Paris and 15 other departments in a bid to stem the exponential spread of SARS-CoV-2 new variants.