Due to an indisposition, Petra Lang cannot sing the role of Isolde on August 12. However, she will still perform the role scenically. Ricarda Merbeth will take over the vocal part from the stage portal. The Kammersängerin of the Vienna State Opera sang this role with great success at the Hamburg State Opera last year; performances as Isolde are already planned for Turin and Amsterdam. Ricarda Merbeth has already proven her reputation as one of the world’s best Wagner singers multiple times in Bayreuth: In 2000, she took on the roles of Freia and Gutrune in the Jürgen Flimm Ring; from 2002 to 2005 and in 2007, Elisabeth in Tannhäuser; and in 2013, the role of Senta in the current production of Der Fliegende Holländer.
Photo: Ricarda Merbeth as Senta in Der Fliegende Holländer, Bayreuth Festival 2014