New failure at the Bayreuth "Ring": The tenor Stephen Gould, who was supposed to sing Siegfried at the premiere of "Götterdämmerung" this Friday evening, has canceled his performance, as the Bayreuth Festival announced.
"To his greatest regret, Stephen Gould has to cancel his participation as Siegfried in today's premiere of "Götterdämmerung" due to illness," it said.
Clay Hilley is stepping in for him.
Gould has planned a mammoth program on the Green Hill this year: He should not only sing Siegfried in the fourth part of the Ring, Götterdämmerung, but also Tristan in Tristan und Isolde and the title role in Tannhäuser.
Gould's cancellation initially only applies to the "Götterdämmerung", said the press spokesman for the festival, Hubertus Herrmann.
The revival of “Tannhäuser” is on the Bayreuth schedule for Monday.
Gould's absence is not the first personnel setback for the new production of the "Ring des Nibelungen", which celebrates its premiere this year with its four operas newly staged by director Valentin Schwarz.
At the Bayreuth premiere of "Valkyrie" on Monday evening, "Wotan" singer Tomasz Konieczny was so badly injured when an armchair collapsed on stage that he was unable to continue singing.
Michael Kupfer-Radecky stepped in for him at short notice in the third act of the Richard Wagner opera.
Kupfer-Radecky was already the fifth father of the gods in production.
Günther Groissböck was originally intended for this, but he canceled last year.
Singer John Lundgren, who was supposed to replace him, then canceled in June of this year.
Egils Silins then stepped in for Lundgren in the first "Ring" part "Rheingold".
For the "Valkyrie" and the "Siegfried" Konieczny.
Conductor Pietari Inkinen also had to throw in the towel shortly before the premiere due to a corona disease.
Cornelius Meister took over for him.