Just before the New Year holiday, Korean tenor SeokJong Baek was on a plane from China to Phoenix, routing through LAX, when his phone rang.
It was Peter Gelb, general manager of New York Metropolitan Opera.
The principal tenor singing the role of RadamΓ©s in the Metβs new staging of Verdiβs βAidaβ was fighting a virus. Could Baek come in and cover?
It had been awhile since Baek had sung the role; he was nowhere near ready. But this was the Met, Americaβs most prestigious opera house where he had made his debut in 2023.
Korean tenor SeokJong Baek was a last-minute replacement for the role of RadamΓ¨s in the Metropolitan Operaβs new staging of Verdiβs βAidaβ in early January. Soprano Angel Blue sang the titular role.
Despite his insecurities, βI took the risk,β he said. Baek got on a plane that night and headed to New York City. But on opening night on New Yearβs Eve, the tenor Piotr Beczala decided to go on.
βPeter told me he was sorry,β Baek recalled during a phone call from a rehearsal break in Phoenix last Friday.
Instead of the Met, Baek returned to Plan A, his role debut as Roldolfo in Arizona Operaβs βLa BohΓ©me.β
βI came back to Arizona and started to have my first rehearsals in Arizona,β said Baek, one of five Tucson Desert Song Festival artists in the production. βAnd after two days, I got another call from Peter.β
Beczala coughed his way through opening night and the Met needed a replacement for the next two performances to give the Polish tenor time to recuperate.
Tenor SeokJong Baek, who makes his βLa BohΓ©meβ role debut as Rodolfo with Arizona Opera, was a last-minute fill-in for an ailing tenor in Metropolitan Operaβs performance of βAidaβ in early January.
Arizona Opera Executive Director Joseph Specter happily agreed to release Baek from those early January rehearsals; βLa BohΓ©me,β part of the 2025 song festival, wasnβt set to open for weeks in Phoenix before coming to Tucson on Saturday, Feb. 1.
βAnd then I flew to New York again, and I arrived at 2 a.m. in the morning,β he said, adding that he grabbed a few hours of sleep before going to the theater for a run-through rehearsal.
He sang on the Met stage that night, Jan. 4, opposite Desert Song Festival alum soprano Angel Blue. Baek also performed the role on Jan. 7.
βIt was like one of the (biggest) challenges of my career, but Iβm so glad that I made it,β he said. βAnd then the audience went wild. They did. They loved it so much.β
Baek returns to the role of RadamΓ©s in May with Deutsche Oper Berlin.
Arizona Opera is eliminating its Friday and Sunday performances in Tucson next season, offering a single performance on Saturday afternoons. Video by Cathy Burch / Arizona Daily Star
