Bryan Hymel to Play 'Rodolfo' in Metropolitan Opera's LA BOHEME Tonight

In a last-minute substitution, American tenor Bryan Hymel will sing the role of Rodolfo in this evening's performance of La Bohème, replacing Ramón Vargas, who is ill. Hymel, who made a successful Met role debut as Rodolfo earlier this season, agreed yesterday evening to fly to New York from Chicago, where he is in rehearsal for a different opera.

Singing Mimì to Hymel's Rodolfo will be Bulgarian soprano Sonya Yoncheva, who herself agreed just last week to sing her first stage performances of this role as a replacement for another soprano. Yoncheva, who gave birth to her first child last month, arrived at the Met on Tuesday for an intensive series of rehearsals with stage directors, music staff, and her colleagues.

Tonight's performance of La Bohème, conducted by Riccardo Frizza, also stars Myrtò Papatanasiu as Musetta, David Bizic as Marcello, Alessio Arduini in his Met debut as Schaunard, Matthew Rose as Colline, and John Del Carlo as Benoit and Alcindoro.

Bryan Hymel made his Met debut in 2012 as Aeneas in Berlioz's Les Troyens. Last season he sang his first Puccini role with the company when he made his house role debut as Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly. He sang four performances of Rodolfo at the Met earlier this season. He is currently rehearsing the role of Percy in Donizetti's Anna Bolena at Lyric Opera of Chicago. His other roles this season include Rodolfo at Dallas Opera, Arnold in Rossini's Guillaume Tell at the Bavarian State Opera, Aeneas at San Francisco Opera, and the Duke of Mantua in Verdi's Rigoletto at Santa Fe Opera. He is the winner of the 2013 Beverly Sills Artist Award.

Sonya Yoncheva made her Met debut last season as Gilda in Verdi's Rigoletto, as a late replacement for a colleague who withdrew due to pregnancy. As announced last month, she will sing Violetta in Verdi's La Traviata at the Met on January 14, 17, 21, and 24, a role she has previously sung with the Berlin State Opera; Bavarian State Opera; Opera Monte Carlo; Palau de les Arts, Valencia; Chartres Festival; and Malaysia Philharmonic, and will sing this spring at the Royal Opera, Covent Garden. Also this season, Yoncheva sings Fiordiligi in Mozart's Così fan tutte at the Bavarian State Opera, Donna Elvira in Mozart's Don Giovanni at Monte Carlo Opera, and the title role in Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor at Zurich Opera.

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