The Hof Theatre has already had to cancel two performances of Riccardo Zandonai's opera "Romeo and Juliet" due to illness – now the artistic director and director of the production is stepping in himself: Lothar Krause will be on stage as Romeo for the performance on Friday (May 29), the theatre announced on Thursday. Zurab Zurabishvili will sing the role from the wings. The Georgian tenor is a last-minute replacement for ensemble member Minseok Kim.

"Romeo and Juliet"

The soprano Annina Olivia Batagglia, who is also ill, performs the role of Isabella silently. Xinlei Yu from the house opera chorus sings from the side.

The opera "Giulietta e Romeo," which premiered in Rome in 1922, had its first performance at the Hof Theater on May 2nd. After this and one other performance, the next two shows had to be cancelled. "We are currently the only theater in the world staging this opera," explained Artistic Director Krause. Therefore, he said, "we pulled out all the stops again this time to save the performance – even if it means I have to go on stage myself." As the director, he knows his own production quite well. He simply hopes that the audience will forgive any potential shortcomings in his acting in order to save the performance.

Theater Hof hopes to be able to present the last two performances on May 31st and June 6th with the original cast.

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