Pavel Smelkov will conduct tomorrow's matinee performance of Mussorgsky's Boris Godunov, replacing Valery Gergiev. Maestro Gergiev's manager issued the follow statement: "Valery Gergiev is unable to travel to New York to conduct Boris Godunov at the Metropolitan Opera on Saturday, March 12 due to exhaustion. He has been resting in St. Petersburg and will remain at home to recuperate. He has been advised by his doctors not to fly."
Smelkov conducted Boris Godunov earlier this season on October 30 and March 9. He has conducted regularly at the Mariinsky Theater since 2000 and made his Met debut with Shostakovich's The Nose last season. He is also the founder and artistic director of the Baltika Youth Chamber Orchestra.
Boris Godunov features René Pape in the title role, with Ekaterina Semenchuk, Aleksandrs Antonenko, Oleg Balashov, Evgeny Nikitin, Mikhail Petrenko, and Vladimir Ognovenko in other leading roles. Saturday's performance, which begins at 12 noon ET will be broadcast live on the Toll Brothers-Metropolitan Opera International Radio Network and on the Metropolitan Opera on SIRIUS channel 78 and XM Radio channel 79.
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