Roberto De Biasio and Gwyn Hughes Jones Join Met Opera's MADAMA BUTTERFLY

Roberto De Biasio and Gwyn Hughes Jones will sing Pinkerton in the initial performances of Puccini's Madama Butterfly at the Met this spring, replacing Massimo Giordano, who has withdrawn due to illness. De Biasio will sing Pinkerton on February 19, 22, and 27, and Hughes Jones will sing the role on March 2 and 5.

As previously announced, De Biasio will also sing Pinkerton on April 6, 9, and 12, and Roberto Alagna will sing the role on March 17, 21, 25, 29, and April 2 matinee.

Sicilian tenor De Biasio made his Met debut as Gabriele Adorno in Verdi's Simon Boccanegra in 2011. He returned in 2012 to sing the title role in Verdi's Ernani and to make his company role debut as Pinkerton. His other engagements this season include Macduff in Verdi's Macbeth at Bologna's Teatro Comunale, Ismaele in Verdi's Nabucco at Barcelona's Gran Teatre del Liceu, and Alfredo in Verdi's La Traviata at the Opéra National du Rhin in Strasbourg.

Gwyn Hughes Jones most recently sang Pinkerton at the Met in May 2014. The Welsh tenor's other Met performances have included Ismaele in Nabucco (the role of his 2001 company debut), Fenton in Verdi's Falstaff, and Manrico in Verdi's Il Trovatore. He is currently singing Don Alvaro in the new production of Verdi's La Forza del Destino at the English National Opera. His other recent performances include Manrico at Scottish Opera, Walther von Stolzing in Wagner's Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg at English National Opera, and Don José in Bizet's Carmen at Welsh National Opera.

Madama Butterfly, conducted by Karel Mark Chichon in his Met debut, also stars Hei-Kyung Hong and Kristine Opolais as Cio-Cio-San, Maria Zifchak as Suzuki, and Artur Rucinski (in his Met debut) and Dwayne Croft as Sharpless. For more information, including casting by date, please visit the Met's website at www.metopera.org.

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