Royal Opera Japan tour diary: The second understudy steals the show

On La Traviata's opening night, sitting in my row during Act I, Ailyn Pérez was drafted in to sing Violetta. And she – and the company – turned it into a triumphAnd so to the opening nights, and one of the classic storylines in all opera – not the dying heroines of Manon and La Traviata, but the understudy who steals the show. La Traviata began with Elaine Padmore, director of opera, coming on stage to formally apologise for Angela Gheorgiu's absence, and to explain that Violetta would be...

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