Sonya Yoncheva has canceled her role debut as “La Gioconda” in Ponchielli’s opera at the Teatro alla Scala.

The soprano took to social media and said, “These last weeks I’ve been fighting a very strong flu and I’m still not in the shape to participate in the rehearsals for La Gioconda at Teatro alla Scala. Since the premiere is only 2 weeks away, it’s not possible for me to make my debut in such a demanding role at this point, so I decided with a very heavy heart to withdraw. I thank you for the comprehension and mostly I thank la Scala for their cooperation and understanding. I will be debuting La Gioconda in 2024 and will be coming back in Milano this Fall for Fedora.”

As a result, Saioa Hernández and Irina Churilova will share the title role.

The two sopranos will join a cast that includes Daniela Barcellona, Erwin Schrott, Anna Maria Chiuri, Fabio Sartori, Roberto Frontali, and Fabrizio Beggi. Frédéric Chaslin conducts the new production by Davide Livermore.

“La Gioconda” opens on June 7 and runs through June 25, 2022.