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| (Photo: Sam Hodgson) |
"At 9:30 a.m. Monday, one of the main singers for Faust, Joshua Hopkins, told general director Ian Campbell he was getting sick. They immediately decided Hopkins should withdraw from the first performance of Faust, and maybe more, depending on his health. Three hours later, Campbell booked another baritone to sing the Valentin role, Brian Mulligan. By the time I was sitting in Campbell's office on Tuesday at 2:45 p.m., Mulligan had arrived and was at his costume fitting. Once Campbell made the decision that Hopkins should sit out, he and his assistant made a list of about 10 candidates, bolstered by suggestions from some of the other singers of people they'd worked with before. They made a list of requirements, crossing off any of the
candidates who didn't match: Male, baritone, established, available within 24 hours, versed in the role of Valentin (not just a song or two) and comfortable with swordplay. Oh, and he had to be American or currently in the United States, to avoid a visa processing delay. That left a pool of exactly two people. In the first conversation with Mulligan's agent, Campbell learned that Mulligan sang the same role with the San Francisco Opera and will sing it at the Metropolitan Opera next winter." [Source]
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| Brian Mulligan as Valentin and John Relyea as Méphistophélès in San Francisco (Photo by Cory Weaver/San Francisco Opera) |
