NEWS FLASH: Marco Vassalli steps in as Pelléas in Linz

Marco Vassalli in the Loire Valley (left) and as Pelléas in Osnabrück (right)

It's not just Wagnerian Christine Goerke making last minute splashes in big roles, as barihunk Marco Vassalli stepped in at the last minute last night as Pelléas at the Landestheater Linz for the ailing Iurie Ciobanu. The production of Debussy's Pelléas and Mellisande also features fellow barihunk Ville Lignell.

Vassalli, whose voice is perfectly suited to the role of Pelléas, last performed the role at the Stadttheater Osnabrück in the winter of 2010. He's currently in the midst of a run of Roman Cycowski's Die Comedien Harmonists. You can also read about upcoming debut in Sweat of the Sun in a previous post. The opera runs from May 28-31.

On June 12, he can be heard in a lieder recital at the Museumssaal Überlingen featuring the music of Schumann and Wolf. Next season he returns to the Staatsoper Hannover for a reprisal of Leonard Bernstein's Candide.

Ville Lignell and Myung Joo Lee in
Pelléas et Mélisande at the Landestheater Linz (© Karl und Monika Forster)

There are three remaining performances left of Pelléas and Mellisande on May 20 and 24, and June 27.  Tickets and additional information is available online.

Ville Lignell, who is part of the ensemble at the Landestheater Linz, can be seen there in The Merry Widow, McTeague and La traviata.