Opera Understudy Fills the Bill

An understudy replaced opera star Sylvie Valayre for the Sunday performance of Puccini’s “Manon Lescaut” at the Orange County Performing Arts Center following her collapse onstage Saturday night.

Valayre, who was stricken 75 minutes into the opera, was taken to a local hospital and released. She then flew back to Paris, said Kevin Crysler, marketing director for Opera Pacific, which stages opera at the arts center.

The French-born soprano suffered from bronchitis when she arrived in Orange County and nearly missed a dress rehearsal Feb. 20, Crysler said. Her performance Tuesday was marred by a chest cold.

Valayre was tired from the infection and the medication she was taking, he said. “She was fine for a person, but too sick to sing opera. She needs to recuperate.”

The show was stopped for half an hour after Valayre collapsed in the second act and was examined by a doctor onstage. Understudy Elena Filipova, who had been brought in because of Valayre’s illness, took over the title role when the performance resumed.

Nearly 3,000 patrons saw Filipova finish the production Saturday, and she filled the role throughout for its final performance Sunday before a near-sellout crowd.

The performing arts center said it had received several calls asking about Valayre’s welfare.

Valayre was trained at the Paris Conservatory and performed at the Metropolitan Opera as “Madama Butterfly” and reprised the role in San Francisco last year. She also has performed at Covent Garden and La Scala.