The Metropolitan Opera said Friday it is scrapping its previously announced revival of Berlioz’s “La Damnation de Faust” next season and replacing it with concert performances.
Robert Lepage’s production debuted at the Met in 2008, based on a staging seen at the Saito Kinen Festival in Japan and the Paris Opera.
The Met announced in February the staging would return for seven performances from Jan. 25 to Feb. 15 in 2020.
The company made the unusual decision to make a switch after a show had been announced.
“The decision to present Faust in its more usual concert version is driven by the unanticipated technical demands of reviving the Met’s staged production, impossible to accommodate within the company’s crowded production schedule,” the Met said in a statement.
The cast remains the same, including mezzo-soprano Elina Garanca, bass Ildar Abdrazakov, and tenors Bryan Hymel and Michael Spyres sharing the title role. Edward Gardner conducts.