Jonas Kaufmann Withdraws from Final Two Performances of WERTHER at Royal Opera House

The Royal Opera House has announced that Jonas Kaufmann has withdrawn from the final two performances of Werther on Saturday 1 July and Tuesday 4 July due to continued illness.  

Saturday 1 July 

The role of Werther will be performed by Francesco Demuro. Francesco Demuro made his Covent Garden debut in 2011 in Gianni Schicchi and has since performed the role of Alfredo Germont in La traviata, and the Duke of Mantua in Rigoletto. Demuro recently performed the role of Werther for Greek National Opera. 

Demuro has performed internationally at some of the most renowned opera houses. This includes the Metropolitan Opera New York, Paris Opera, La Scala Milan, Staatsoper Unter den Linden, Berlin, Vienna State Opera, the Teatro Real Madrid, La Fenice Venice, the Gran Teatre del Liceu Barcelona, and the Bavarian State Opera Munich. He is currently performing the role of Roméo at Opéra de Paris (Roméo et Juliette). 

Tuesday 4 July 

The role of Werther will be performed by Ioan Hotea. Ioan Hotea is a multi-award-winning lyric-tenor who has performed with many of the world's leading companies. This includes Vienna State Opera, Bavarian State Opera, Zürich Opera, Opéra de Paris, Opéra de Monte-Carlo, Chorégies d'Orange, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Hamburg State Opera. He made his Covent Garden debut in L'elisir d'amore (2017) and has since returned to perform Ernesto in Don Pasquale (2019). He has performed the role of Werther at both Hessisches Staatstheater Wiesbaden and at Oper Frankfurt. 

Upcoming engagements this year include performances in Rigoletto (State Opera Prague) and Lucia di Lammermoor (Deutsche Oper Berlin).  

The rest of the cast remains as previously announced .

Test and expand your Broadway knowledge with our new game - The Broadway Match-Up! How well do you know your Broadway casting trivia?	Play the Daily Game, explore current shows, and delve into past decades like the 2000s, 80s, and the Golden Age. Challenge your friends and see where you rank!
How well do you know your Tony Awards history? Take our never-ending quiz of nominations and winner history and challenge your friends.	Can you beat your friends? Play today’s daily Broadway word game, featuring a new theatrically inspired word or phrase every day!