(Credit: Bayerische Staatsoper official website)

The Theater Basel has announced that soprano Aleksandra Jovanović will not be appearing in the role of Die Königin der Nacht in Mozart’s “Die Zauberflöte.”

As a result, soprano Galina Benevich will take over the role for the performances on Dec. 18, 2021, Jan. 17, and Feb. 3 & 5, 2022. Benevich joins a cast that includes Ronan Caillet and Kai Kluge as Tamino; Kali Hardwick and Mari Eriksmoen as Pamina; and Patrick Zielke and Friedemann Röhlig as Sarastro. The cast also includes Judith van Wanroij, Ena Pongrac, Jasmin Etezadzadeh, Álfheiður Erla Guðmundsdóttir, André Morsch, and Karl-Heinz Brandt. Francesc Prat and Thomas Wise conduct a production by Simon McBurney.

Benevich is a well-known soprano who has appeared at the Staatsoper Hamburg, Bayerische Staatsoper, Theater Bremen, Landestheater Coburg, and Opera Wrocławska, among others.

Jovanović is scheduled to go back to the stage for performances of Mozart’s “Die Entführung aus dem Serail” at the Staatstheater Wiesbaden in Jan. 2022.