David Gockley, General Director of San Francisco Opera, has announced a casting change in the Company’s upcoming presentation of Richard Wagner’s DER RING DES NIBELUNGEN (The Ring of the Nibelung). American tenor Jay Hunter Morris will now sing the title role of “Siegfried” replacing acclaimed Wagernian tenor Ian Storey, who was originally announced to sing the role in both Siegfried and Götterdämmerung, the third and fourth operas of the composer’s epic four-opera cycle. Mr. Storey will only sing in Götterdämmerung, a performance that will mark both his Company and role debuts.
The premiere of Siegfried is slated for Sunday, May 29th followed by the premiere of Götterdämmerung a week later on Sunday, June 5th. Three complete cycles of the Ring will be presented at the War Memorial Opera House from June 14th to July 3rd, 2011.
“Over recent months, Ian Storey was dealing with an illness which greatly interrupted his learning period for the role of Siegfried. When he arrived in San Francisco, he realized he could not catch up with both operas, choosing instead to focus his attention on the role of Siegfried in Götterdämmerung. We are fortunate that we had a very capable cover for the role in the person of Jay Hunter Morris, a talented artist who knows the role of Siegfried very well. It was a unanimous and enthusiastic choice to put Jay Hunter Morris into the title role of Siegfried,” said San Francisco Opera General Director David Gockley.
“With great reluctance, I am going to have to withdraw from San Francisco Opera’s Siegfried and instead concentrate on my performance and role debut in Götterdämmerung. I’m greatly saddened that I can’t sing both and have had to make this decision, but I need to do the best thing for me and for San Francisco Opera,” said Mr. Storey.
Jay Hunter Morris, Tenor
More: The San Francisco Sentinel
