Well, two sides of a weird story about Angela Gheorghiu and Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires have surfaced.

On her Facebook page, Gheorghiu announced that she was “deeply upset and disappointed about the lack of professionalism and discourtesy I have encountered in the last days in Buenos Aires, while I was very much looking forward to perform Adriana Lecouvreur at Teatro Colón.”

She claims that her contract with the company was not finalized; without a contract, Gheorghiu was not willing to attend rehearsals or costume fittings, and ultimately, she withdrew from the production.

She continues, “Due to pre-contractual breaches and the failure of Teatro Colon to fulfil my contractual terms, which are unquestionably respected wherever I sing, in opera houses and concert halls all over the world, I find myself in the impossibility to perform for the Argentinian audiences, which I love and highly adore.”

Teatro Colón issued a response in the form of a press release, in which they wrote, “…Having agreed to arrive in Buenos Aires on February 27th to begin rehearsals on March 1st. Angela Gheorghiu arrived on March 1st instead, and retired to her hotel suite for three days, during which time she was silent, refusing to attend rehearsals, costume fittings or to communicate whatsoever with the administration of the theater. She remained cloistered in her hotel throughout her stay in Buenos Aires, refusing to meet with any representative of the Teatro Colón…”

What’s important to note is that Gheorghiu was scheduled to perform in Adriana Lecouvreur at the Royal Opera in London on the evening of February 27th.

As with any situation like this, there’s likely a bit of miscommunication on both sides. Gheorghiu herself comes with a reputation of so-called “diva-like” behaviour; on the other hand, to hear of an opera company without their administrative ducks in a row is by no means a rare occurence.

Perhaps it’s a perfect storm of assumptions and disorganization. In any case, Argentine soprano Virginia Tola will be taking over Gheorghiu’s performances of the title role in Teatro Colón’s Adriana Lecouvreur, opening March 14.