More Villazon Cancellations: Jolanthe In Baden-Baden

That "reluctantly" makes all the difference, doesn't it?

Rolando Villazon withdraws from one of his two roles at Baden-Baden.

Reluctantly.

Reluctantly, Mexican tenor Rolando Villazón has withdrawn from the 2009 summer opera production “Jolanthe”. Three performances in the Festspielhaus Baden-Baden will be affected - 18th, 21st and 24th of July. Russian soprano Anna Netrebko will sing the title role in the Tchaikovsky opera as planned, alongside a tenor yet to be announced, and Valery Gergiev will take charge of the musical direction.

Villazón does, however, does offer some consolation to the Baden-Baden audience by agreeing to a third concert performance of the opera “Werther” by Jules Massenet on the 14th of June 2009 in the Festspielhaus, alongside Elina Garanca. The first two performances on the 7th and 10th of June 2009 have already sold out.

The Festspielhaus Baden-Baden is offering a full refund to patrons who have already purchased tickets to “Jolanthe” should they decide not to attend. However, Artistic and Managing Director Andreas Mölich-Zebhauser believes that “many opera lovers will come to Baden-Baden to see Anna Netrebko, Valery Gergiev and the St. Petersburg Marrinsky Theatre Ensemble, and will forgive Rolando his withdrawal”. 

In the video below, Rolando & Anna in the good old times, singing Jolanthe.