Evgeny Nikitin will take on the title sea captain in the Metropolitan Opera's upcoming production of Der Fliegende Holländer. The Russian bass-baritone replaces the initially announced Bryn Terfel, , according to The New York Times.

Terfel announced his departure from the production last week after injuring his ankle in Spain, weeks before the production's March 2 opening.

Nikitin recently sang Scarpia when the Met presented Act 1 of Tosca as part of its New Year's Eve gala, featuring Anna Netrebko as a trio of Puccini heroines. The Dutchman is his latest Wagner role at the Met, following recent performances in Tristan und Isolde, Parsifal, and Götterdämmerung.

The singer joins a company that also includes Anja Kampe, Mihoko Fujimura, Sergey Skorokhodov, David Portillo, and Franz-Josef Selig.

The new staging from François Girard also features sets by John Macfarlane, costumes by Moritz Junge, lighting by David Finn, and projections by Peter Flaherty. Carolyn Choa choreographs. Valery Gergiev will conduct the first six performances, with Patrick Furrer taking the podium March 24 and 27.