(Credit: Wiener Staatsoper)

The Wiener Staatsoper has announced the cast change for Richard Strauss’ opera “Elektra.”

Tenor Thomas Ebenstein will take over the role of Aegisth for the presentations on Sep. 19 and Sep. 22, 2020., replacing Jörg Schneider. The opera house did not specify the reason for the cast change.

Ebenstein will join a cast that includes Ricarda Merbeth in the title role, Doris Soffel as Klytämnestra, Camilla Nylund as Chrysothemis, and Derek Welton in the role of Orest. Alexander Soddy will conduct the production by Harry Kupfer.

Ebenstein has performed the role of Valzacchi in Strauss’ “Der Rosenkavalier” at the Metropolitan Opera House, and the role of Guillot de Morfontaine in the Massenet’s “Manon” at the Wiener Staatsoper before the lockdown.

Thomas Ebenstein is the latest opera singer in a series of cast changes at the Wiener Staatsoper, which were brought about by a COVID-19 outbreak at the opera house.