Rolando Villazón to Undergo Surgery to Remove Laryngeal Cyst, Cancels All Performances Through 2009 April 29, 2009
Tenor Rolando Villazón will undergo surgery to remove a cyst on his vocal cord, and has been forced to cancel all of his remaining performances in 2009, the tenor's concert organizer said in a statement released today. The surgery will require Villazón to cancel two May concerts that had been slated for Berlin and Hamburg; May performances of Werther at the Vienna State Opera and in Munich; a concert performance of Handel arias at the Salzburg Festival; a Madrid concert with Plácido Domingo; a June concert with Antonio Pappano at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden; and an August concert in Copenhagen. The Metropolitan Opera also announced today that Villazón has withdrawn from the title role in the company's new production of Offenbach's Les Contes d’Hoffmann, which is scheduled to play from December 3, 2009 through January 2, 2010. The Met plans to announce a replacement for the role of Hoffmann at a later date. Likewise, Los Angeles Opera has announced that Giuseppe Filianoti will now sing the role of Nemorino in the company's season-opening performances of L'Elisir d'Amore in September 2009. In a statement posted to his website, Villazón wrote: "Due to a cyst that has just been detected on one of my vocal cords I will very shortly have to undergo surgery. After the operation, there is a phase of rehabilitation and in order to make sufficient time for this, I have unfortunately had to withdraw from all of my performances until the end of the year. I would like to apologize to you, my wonderful audience, for any inconvenience these cancellations will cause you and want to express my gratitude for the loyalty and support of my audience, colleagues and friends. I am greatly looking forward to be performing again in the coming year. I will share any further information as and when it becomes available, so please do check this space."