Bun In The Oven, Out Of The Opera

By Alexander Hough in Arts & Entertainment on Oct 8, 2010 6:40PM

Kate Aldrich, the mezzo-soprano scheduled to make her Lyric Opera of Chicago debut this Wednesday playing Carmen, the title character of Georges Bizet's most famous work, has bowed out due to side effects from her pregnancy.

It's unclear what exactly the side effects are, although they've also forced her to withdraw from her January 2011 performances in the same role with the Metropolitan Opera, a move announced earlier this week. As of now, she's still scheduled to perform in the Deutsche Oper Berlin's production of Hector Berlioz's "Les Troyens" in December, although we expect to hear of a cancellation there, too - unless the issue is "Carmen"-specific. Perhaps it's distasteful to have a pregnant woman play Carmen, a character described on Lyric's website as "the sex-bomb, gypsy seductress who loves them and leaves them." In any event, we wish Aldrich the best.

The move is disappointing because apparently Aldrich makes a darn fine Carmen, although her replacement is no slouch, either. Katharine Goeldner was already going to play Carmen for the October 29 Lyric performance and will take over for the entire fall run. Nadia Krasteva will still play the attractive, flirtatious Romani woman who enjoys dating when the Lyric reprises the opera next March.

See Carmen on October 13, 16, 20, 22, 25, and 29, Civic Opera House, 20 N. Wacker Drive, $43-$227