Chuck out the chintz (II)

Angela Gheorghiu cancelled on 16 July and was replaced by Amanda Echalaz. Mundoclasico.com reviewer Ditlev Rindom, then at the Royal Opera House, reports.When Anna Netrebko cancelled the majority of her performances of La Traviata at Covent Garden last year (citing bronchitis), those audience members who decided to attend were thrilled to discover an outstanding replacement in the form of Ermonela Jaho. The Albanian soprano possessed not only the necessary flexibility, dramatic power and tonal beauty for the part, but also sang with heart-rending conviction and intelligence, making it clear that she was more than good enough to be employed as a principal in her own right. Upon hearing that Gheorghiu had in turn cancelled her final appearance as Tosca, hopes were therefore high that the Royal Opera would find a similarly talented deputy…