(Photo: Monica Ritterhaus)

Piotr Beczała has withdrawn from his remaining performances of “Turandot” at the Opernhaus Zürich.

The tenor took to social media to announce that he has been struggling with a severe viral infection over the last six weeks and that unfortunately his body is too weak to take on the performances.

Beczała He wrote, “Dear friends, as you all know, I have been struggling with a severe viral infection for the last six weeks, which has affected my whole body and especially my whole nervous system very much. Although I am feeling a little better now, my body is still very weakened. In a conversation with my attending doctors, they strongly recommended that I take a real break, get completely cured and regain my strength.

“You all know how seriously I take my commitments. Nothing is harder for me than to cancel. But not least in view of the many commitments I have this year and in the years to come, I have to put my health first now. Singing is high-performance sport and that only works if our bodies are really healthy. That is why I have come to the difficult decision to follow the advice of my doctors and cancel the remaining performances of ‘Turandot’ in Zurich. I am sure that I will soon be fully recovered and I am already looking forward to singing again for you, my dear audience. Piotr”

In his stead, the company has announced that Martin Muehle will perform on June 27. However, the company noted that the tenor for the remaining shows on June 30 – July 8 will be announced at a later date.

“Turandot” also stars Sondra Radvanovsky, Nicola Ulivieri, and Rosa Feola. Marc Albrecht conducts.