Michael Volle jumps in as Jack Rance for one performance of La fanciulla del West at the Staatsoper Berlin on July 3, 2024, in a production by Lydia Steier and under the musical direction of Simone Young. He will share the stage with Anja Kampe as Minnie and Brandon Jovanovich as Dick Johnson in the other leading roles.

The German baritone was the original Jack Rance when the Lydia Steier production opened at the Staatsoper Berlin in June 2021, marking two milestones: the Puccini masterpiece, which the prestigious Berlin opera company had never inexplicably staged before, was the first opera to be performed there in front of an audience after six months of inactivity due to the Covid19 pandemic.

Michael Volle’s sheriff clothes won’t be stored away for long, as he is eagerly anticipated to perform as the villainous California law enforcer in two upcoming performances at the Bayerische Staatsoper in Munich on July 26 and 29, in a production by Andreas Dresen led by Juraj Valčuha.

[Photo: Gisela Schenker]