Tulsa Opera announced that it would be canceling its 2020 production of “Rigoletto” due to lingering uncertainty surrounding the spread of COVID-19.

The Verdi opera was set to open on Oct. 9, 2020 with a cast including Sarah Coburn and Allegra De Vita.

Per a press release, the company is exploring potential outdoor venues for a semi-staged socially distanced version of the work.

“While we all experience the day-to-day challenges of life during the pandemic, one of the key, behind-the-scenes challenges for arts organizations has been the difficulty—even impossibility—of advance planning amidst all of the uncertainty,” Tulsa Opera General Director Ken McConnell and Artistic Director Tobias Picker noted in a joint statement. “This hits the opera world especially hard, given the logistical complexity involved in staging a full production. We are optimistic that we will be able to present a semi-staged Rigoletto outdoors this October and return to the house for the remainder of the season. Hopefully, a couple years from now when we are building up to Tulsa Opera’s 75th anniversary, diamond jubilee season—the first in our new hall—the arts will again be in full bloom.”

The company does plan to continue its 2020-21 season as currently planned. Among the operas that will be presented throughout 2020-21 are “Orfeo ed Euridice” and “Emmeline;” “Emmeline was originally slated for performances in May 2020, but was canceled due to the spread of the pandemic.