Soprano switch: Brenda Rae flies in on short notice for Opera Philadelphia's opening night
Brenda Rae has stepped in as the lead soprano in Mozart’s “Mitridate” at Opera Philadelphia's opening night. She replaced Lauren Snouffer and joined tenor Lawrence Brownlee and countertenor Anthony Roth Costanzo. Rae received the offer while driving to visit her father in Wisconsin. She accepted and arrived just in time for the orchestra dress rehearsal. Rae had previously performed the role only twice, two years ago.
She described the experience as stressful due to the complexity of the Mozart opera. Rae received applause during curtain calls at the Academy of Music and wondered to herself: “Did we really do it?”
Sources and context
ApnewsSource headline and summary supplied via NewsData.io. First collected by NewsJaws on 2026-09-11. This is an automated news brief, not original NewsJaws reporting. Dates reflect the source publication. Feed delays may apply.