Cast Changes Announced for LE NOZZE DI FIGARO & HAMLET at The Met

Ying Fang will sing Susanna in the April performances of Mozart's Le Nozze di Figaro this season, replacing Aida Garifullina.

A graduate of the Met's Lindemann Young Artist Development Program, Chinese soprano Ying Fang made her 2013 company debut as Madame Podtochina's Daughter in Shostakovich's The Nose. Other Met roles include Barbarina in Mozart's Le Nozze di Figaro, the Dew Fairy in Humperdinck's Hansel and Gretel, the Shepherd in Wagner's Tannhäuser, Giannetta in Donizetti L'Elisir d'Amore, Elvira in Rossini's L'Italiana in Algeri, Jano in Janáček's Jenůfa, Ilia in Mozart's Idomeneo, Noémie in Massenet's Cendrillon, Servilia in Mozart's La Clemenza di Tito, and Pamina in Mozart's The Magic Flute. She was the soprano soloist in the Met's performance of Mahler's Symphony No. 2 Resurrection last September.

The spring run of Le Nozze di Figaro opens on April 2, 2022, with James Gaffigan conducting a cast that also includes Federica Lombardi as the Countess, Sasha Cooke as Cherubino, Gerald Finley as the Count, and Christian Van Horn as Figaro.

Performances are April 2, 6, 9mat, 13, 16, and 21.

John Relyea will sing the Ghost in all performances of Brett Dean's Hamlet this season, replacing John Tomlinson.

Canadian bass-baritone John Relyea, currently singing the role of the Grand Inquisitor in the Met's new production of Verdi's Don Carlos, made his company debut in 2000 as Alidoro in Rossini's La Cenerentola. Other Met roles include Masetto in Mozart's Don Giovanni, Colline in Puccini's La Bohème, the Nightwatchman in Wagner's Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, Don Basilio in Rossini's Il Barbiere di Siviglia, Raimondo in Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor, Giorgio in Bellini's I Puritani, Banquo in Verdi's Macbeth, the Water Sprite in Dvořák's Rusalka, Figaro in Mozart's Le Nozze di Figaro, Escamillo in Bizet's Carmen, and Gesler in Rossini's Guillaume Tell. Recent performances include Gurnemanz in Wagner's Parsifal in Palermo, Prince Gremin in Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin in Rome, King Marke in Wagner's Tristan und Isolde at the Glyndebourne Festival, and Creon in Stravinsky's Oedipus Rex at LA Opera.

Neil Armfield's new production of Hamlet opens May 13, with Nicholas Carter conducting a cast that also includes Allan Clayton in the title role, Brenda Rae as Ophelia, Sarah Connolly as Gertrude, Rod Gilfry as Claudius, David Butt Philip as Laertes, William Burden as Polonius, and Jacques Imbrailo as Horatio.

Performances are May 13, 18, 21eve, 26, 31, June 4mat, and 9. The June 4 performance will be transmitted live to cinemas around the world as part of The Met: Live in HD series.

For further information, please visit metopera.org.