Casting Change for Canadian Opera Company's ROBERTO DEVEREUX

The Canadian Opera Company regrets to announce that Italian tenor Giuseppe Filianoti will not be returning to the company's production of Roberto Devereux, currently in performance at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts. As previously announced, Filianoti withdrew from the title role for the first three of seven scheduled performances, and circumstances continue to prevent his return to the stage. American tenor Leonardo Capalbo stepped into the role on April 25, 29 and May 3, 2014 and was met with overwhelming popular and critical acclaim for his portrayal of Roberto Devereux.

For the production's next performance on May 10, 2014, Mexican tenor Edgar Ernesto Ramírez appears as Roberto Devereux. An emerging voice on the international opera stage garnering rave reviews for his distinctive Italianate sound, youthful exuberance, and expressive musicality, Ramírez appeared with the opera company last season as Ruiz in Il Trovatore and has been understudying the role of Roberto Devereux for the COC this spring. He has performed to great acclaim for audiences in France, Germany, Switzerland, Canada, and the United States, and makes Toronto his home.

For the final three performances of Roberto Devereux on May 15, 18 and 21, 2014, the COC welcomes Spanish opera star José Bros in his company debut. One of the leading tenors of the romantic bel canto repertoire, Bros has appeared in starring roles with major opera houses around the world including Teatro alla Scala; Royal Opera House, Covent Garden; Wiener Staatsoper; Teatro Real; Gran Teatro del Liceu; and the houses of Hamburg, Munich, Rome, Tokyo, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Washington, Berlin, and Naples, among others.

The COC's Roberto Devereux, starring superstar soprano Sondra Radvanovsky as Queen Elizabeth I, opened on April 25 to rave reviews that proclaimed it "a night to remember" (Charlebois Post), "puts the 'grand' back into 'grand opera'" (Toronto Star), is "a moving production that examines, with heart-rending power, the price of power and love, and the danger of combining the two" (Bachtrack), and that "the audience gets caught up in the beauty of the music, the taut of power of the often thrilling solo performances, and the electric voltage of vocal athleticism and emotional depth meshing in perfect combination" (Globe and Mail).

A limited number of tickets are available for the remaining performances of Roberto Devereux. Tickets are $12 - $332 (includes applicable taxes) and may be purchased online at coc.ca, by calling 416-363-8231 or in person at the Four Seasons Centre Box Office (145 Queen St. W.).

Pictured: José Bros