Metropolitan Opera Announces Cast Change Advisory

Guanqun Yu will make her Met debut as Leonora in Verdi's Il Trovatore on September 29 matinee, replacing Carmen Giannattasio who is ill. Yu was already scheduled to sing Leonora on October 17, 20, and 25; Giannattasio is still scheduled to sing the role on October 4, 8, and 12.

Last June, Yu won Second Prize in Plácido Domingo's prestigious Operalia competition. The Chinese soprano's recent engagements include Elettra in Mozart's Idomeneo, a role she performed at Bologna Opera and in four other Italian cities: Ferrara, Modena, Ravenna, and Reggio Emilia. Last season, at Modena's Teatro Comunale, she sang the role of Giuseppina Strepponi in the world premiere of Lorenzo Ferrero's Risorgimento. 

Il Trovatore, conducted by Daniele Callegari, runs September 29 through October 25, then returns to the repertory from January 9 to 24, 2013. Casting for the fall performances also includes Dolora Zajick as Azucena; Gwyn Hughes-Jones as Manrico; Franco Vassallo and Àngel Òdena as di Luna; and Morris Robinson as Ferrando.