Music Center Releases Ewing From ‘Butterfly’

Maria Ewing, scheduled to repeat her portrayal of Cio-Cio San in Los Angeles Music Center Opera’s “Madama Butterfly” in February and March, has been released from her contract so that the American singer can “undertake an important series of recordings which were postponed from this summer,” General Director Peter Hemmings announced.

Ewing will be replaced by the Siberian-born, St. Petersburg-based soprano Galina Gorchakova. Gorchakova made her U.S. debut with the touring Kirov Opera in New York in 1992. In October, Gorchakova will sing her first Italian role in Italian in this country when she appears in the title role of “Madama Butterfly” with Houston Grand Opera.

At the same time, Hemmings announced the production team set to design the new “Der Rosenkavalier,” a co-production with New York City Opera, to be performed first by LAMCO in May. Robert Israel will create the sets, Jan Skalicki the costumes. As previously announced, this production of Richard Strauss’ masterpiece will be staged by Gotz Friedrich, who also staged a modern-dress, updated “Rosenkavalier” in Berlin last year.

Asked if the new production would be updated, Hemmings at first said that he did not expect it to be “bizarre,” then said he had not seen the production drawings, and added, finally, “I’d rather not say.”