Jonas Kaufmann Cancels Met Opera Production

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Jonas KaufmannCredit Sara Krulwich/The New York Times

Jonas Kaufmann, the star tenor, has canceled his performances in a highly anticipated new production of Puccini’s “Manon Lescaut” that will open at the Metropolitan Opera next month. The company said in a statement that Mr. Kaufmann was suffering from illness.

Having dropped out of a short run of Bizet’s “Carmen” last year, he has not sung at the Met since the winter of 2014. Carnegie Hall announced that Mr. Kaufmann would also be canceling his solo recital there, scheduled for Sunday.

Roberto Alagna, another well-loved tenor, will replace him in “Manon Lescaut,” singing the role of des Grieux for the first time. Currently starring at the Met in Leoncavallo’s “Pagliacci,” Mr. Alagna will withdraw from the rest of the “Pagliacci” performances. (Marco Berti will replace him, completing the game of musical chairs.)

“Manon Lescaut” opens on Feb. 12. Directed by Richard Eyre, the production also features the soprano Kristine Opolais, who has appeared in the opera with Mr. Kaufmann in London and Munich. Reviewing the pair at Munich’s Bavarian State Opera in 2014, Corinna da Fonseca-Wollheim wrote that “the extraordinary chemistry between the two leads makes the most lasting impression.”