Soprano Sonya Yoncheva will premiere the Metropolitan Opera’s new staging of Tosca during the 2017–2018 season, according to The New York Times. She replaces the previously announced Kristine Opolais. The David McVicar production will premiere in a New Year’s Eve gala performance later this year.
The soprano’s performance will be captured for the Met’s Live in HD series January 27, 2018. She will be the first to appear in three transmissions in one season, as movie theatre audiences worldwide will also be able to see her in La Bohème February 24 and Luisa Miller April 14. Yoncheva will no longer sing Countess Almaviva in the return of Le Nozze di Figaro; Ailyn Pérez will assume the role in her place.
Yoncheva will sing the title role in performances through January 27. When the staging returns in April, Anna Netrebko will take center stage to play the ill-fated prima donna.
The cast will also include Byrn Terfel, Michael Volle, and Željko Lučić in the role of Scarpia, and Vittorio Grigolo and Marcelo Álvarez as Cavaradossi (Jonas Kaufmann, who was originally attached the production, withdrew in March, citing family obligations).
Yoncheva has previously appeared on the Metropolitan Opera stage in such roles as Mimì in La Bohème, Desdemona in Otello, Gilda in Rigoletto, and, in this past season, Violetta in La Traviata, which was filmed for Live in HD. Watch a scene below.
