Kaufmann ill, Frank van Aken stands in at METs Walkure

It never rains but it pours for the METs Ring Cycle, so much so, it is sometimes very difficult to keep up. But one could do worse than Van Aken

Frank van Aken will make his Met debut as Siegmund in Die Walküre at todays matinee performance, replacing Jonas Kaufmann who is ill.

Van Aken has sung Siegmund with the Deutsche Oper am Rhein in Düsseldorf and at the Frankfurt Opera where he has been a member of the company since 2006. The Dutch tenor sang the title role of Tannhäuser at the Bayreuth Festival in 2007 and made his Vienna State Opera debut in the same part in 2010. Other Wagner roles in his repertory include the title roles in Tristan und Isolde, Parsifal, and Lohengrin, and Erik in Der Fliegende Holländer.

He has also of course previously performed with Westbroek on more than one occasion, including Walkure (see videos below)

 

 

 Frank van Aken as Siegmund: Oper Frankfurt

 

Eva Maria Westbroek and Frank Van Aken in Cavalleria Rusticana