by Paul J. Pelkonen
Better days: Robert Alagna (l.) and Angela Gheorghiu as Ruggero
and Magda in Puccini's La Rondine.
Image © 2009 The Metropolitan Opera.
The report comes from an interview the soprano gave with the news agency Mediafax.
"We have decided to divorce by mutual agreement and in perfect friendship," Ms. Gheorghiu said. (Her remarks are translated here from the French.)
The Alagna-Gheorghiu story begins at Covent Garden, when the singers met in a performance of Puccini's La bohème. They played Rodolfo and Mìmi. She was a divorcée and he was a widower with one daughter.
In April of 1996, they were performing the same roles at the Metropolitan Opera, marking Mr. Alagna's house debut. Ms. Gheorghiu had bowed in La bohème in 1993.
On April 27th, the singers arrived at a gala concert celebrating James Levine's 25 years at the Metropolitan Opera. They had been married that day. They celebrated by singing "Suzel, buon di" by Pietro Mascagni, (also known as the "Cherry Duet" from L'Amico Fritz) and brought down the house.
The newlyweds enjoyed a quick rise to fame, appearing together on international stages and recording a number of operas, including La Bohème, L'Elisir d'Amore and Gounod's Romeo et Juliette. With Mr. Alagna on EMI and Ms. Gheorghiu on Decca, their partnership rode the wave of the boom years in the classical music industry.
Their last recording together was Mascagni's L'Amico Fritz, which contains the aforementioned "Cherry Duet." Their final Met appearances together were as Ruggero and Magda in a new production of Puccini's La Rondine that premiered on New Year's Eve, 2008. It marked the return of Puccini's late opera to the Met stage after a 72-year absence. The production is scheduled for a revival on Jan. 11 of this month.
In 2009, the singers announced that they had separated. A divorce was planned but called off in December of that year. Nevertheless, Ms. Gheorghiu cancelled a planned appearance opposite Mr. Alagna in the Met's new production of Carmen, premiering on New Year's Eve, 2009. She was replaced by Elina Garança. Her last appearance at the Met was in La Traviata on April 21, 2010.
Despite their troubles, the couple appeared to have buried the hatchet in 2011, announcing a reconciliation. In an interview at the time with the Daily Express, Ms. Gheorghiu stated that the singers were back together, and it was "stupid" for them to be apart.
With this latest news, it seems that the "love couple" is indeed a thing of opera's past. However, Mr. Alagna continues to appear at the Met, and he will sing the title role in Andrea Chenier with the Opera Orchestra of New York on January 6.
