Jay Hunter Morris stepping into 'Flying Dutchman' at L.A. Opera

Jay Hunter Morris stepping into ‘Flying Dutchman’ at L.A. Opera

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Tómas Tómasson as the Dutchman in L.A. Opera’s production of “The Flying Dutchman” at Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles. (Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)

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Tómas Tómasson as the Dutchman and Elisabete Matos as Senta in a dress rehearsal of “The Flying Dutchman.” Matos was ill on opening night and had to pull out but is scheduled to return for future performances. (Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)

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Elisabete Matos as Senta and the chorus in a dress rehearsal of “The Flying Dutchman.” (Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)

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Elisabete Matos as Senta (center) and the chorus in a dress rehearsal of “The Flying Dutchman.” (Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)

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Ronnita Nicole Miller as Mary (left) and Elisabete Matos as Senta in a dress rehearsal of “The Flying Dutchman.” (Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)

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The chorus in “The Flying Dutchman.” (Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)

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The chorus in “The Flying Dutchman.” (Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)

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The chorus in “The Flying Dutchman.” (Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)

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James Creswell as Daland in “The Flying Dutchman.” (Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)

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James Creswell as Daland in “The Flying Dutchman.” (Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)

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James Creswell, left, as Daland and Elisabete Matos as Senta and Tómas Tómasson as the Dutchman in a dress rehearsal of “The Flying Dutchman.” (Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)

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The chorus in “The Flying Dutchman.” (Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)

By David Ng

March 26, 2013 2:48 PM PT

This post has been corrected. See below for details.

The title sea vessel in Los Angeles Opera’s production of “The Flying Dutchman” by Richard Wagner is starting to resemble a beleaguered Carnival Cruise ship thanks to a series of unfortunate passenger illnesses.

Tenor Jay Hunter Morris is stepping into the role of Erik for the final two performances on Wednesday and Saturday at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion. He is replacing Corey Bix, who has withdrawn due to illness. The company said Bix had to miss performances on March 21 and 24, during which the role was played by tenor John Pickle.

In fact, Morris originally was cast in the role of Erik but left the production before opening night due to “a severe case of gastroenteritis,” according to the singer’s agent. Bix was Morris’ replacement.

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On the opening night of “Dutchman,” soprano Elisabete Matos felt unwell and was replaced by Julie Makerov in the role of Senta. Matos has since returned to the production.

L.A. Opera is offering steeply discounted tickets to the remaining two performances of “Dutchman.” The company is promoting a 50% discount on seats to select individuals on its mailing list, with a minimum purchase of two tickets. The discount applies to the orchestra, founder’s circle and loge sections.

Steeply discounted seats are often a sign of weak ticket sales. A spokesman for L.A. Opera said, “We’re building new audiences. When we have the ticket inventory the Company employs different sales strategies to entice newer audiences.”

[For the record: An earlier version of this story did not say that the discounted tickets are being offered to select indviduals on the L.A. Opera mailing list.]

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