Brenda Rae Steps In as Aspasia for Opera Philadelphia's 'Mitridate'

Brenda Rae was on the road from her Minneapolis home to Appleton, Wisconsin, travelling with her husband and children to see her father, when her phone rang last Thursday night. The call carried an unusual request: could she get to Philadelphia as soon as possible and sing the lead soprano role in Mozart's "Mitridate" on opening night?

Rae agreed, taking over from Lauren Snouffer. She appeared on Wednesday night at the Academy of Music alongside tenor Lawrence Brownlee and countertenor Anthony Roth Costanzo, and smiled as the audience applauded during curtain calls.

"It's kind of a funny feeling," Rae said. "It's almost like: What just happened? Or did we really do it?"

Mozart composed the opera in 1770, at the age of 14, giving it the full title "Mitridate, re di Ponto (king of Pontus)." Brownlee sang the title role, a despotic ruler who circulates word of his own death to learn whether his sons are in love with his betrothed, Aspasia. He attempts to kill them and ultimately takes his own life.

The engagement landed in what had been a scheduled pause for Rae, between the July 18 world premiere of Jake Heggie's "The Judgment of Paris" at Festival Napa Valley and the Sept. 21 start of rehearsals for her role debut in Richard Strauss' "Salome" at Seattle Opera next month. The 44-year-old had sung Aspasia only once before, in two performances with Brownlee at Boston Lyric Opera in September 2024.

Rehearsals for "Mitridate" began Aug. 13, and the decision about Snouffer's departure was made last Thursday. Costanzo, in his third season as the company's general director, described the process as collaborative.

"Everything was a very collaborative decision-making process," he said. "I don't believe in being autonomous in those things unless it's absolutely necessary and I think we just wanted to make sure that everyone was doing what was best for them."

Bill Palant, Snouffer's representative at Étude Arts, declined to comment.

Michael Eberhard, Opera Philadelphia's director of casting and artistic administration, first called Rae on Thursday morning to ask whether she might be free for the run, which comprises three performances through Sept. 13.

"I kind of had the impression that they wouldn't need me," Rae said.

She packed her score for the trip to Wisconsin just in case. When Eberhard called again that night to ask for a commitment, Rae said she needed Friday with her father, her first visit home since her mother died last spring.

The company had no cover singers and did not believe there was time to secure a U.S. visa for a soprano flying in from Europe. Had Rae declined, Costanzo said, Opera Philadelphia might have turned to a young singer or, as a last resort, cut Aspasia's four arias and one duet, leaving only her recitative.

"It was a scary situation," Costanzo said.

Rae booked flights on Saturday with a connection in Detroit, but a cancellation forced her to change planes in Minneapolis. She reached the Academy of Music just in time for Saturday night's orchestra dress rehearsal, fitting in costume and wig appointments during breaks. Aspasia wore an off-white Oscar de la Renta pantsuit that set and costume designer Kaye Voyce purchased on the online resale site The RealReal.

"Anything you need, I'm here for you," Brownlee recalled telling her. "Thank you for saving the show."

Sunday brought a two-hour musical rehearsal with conductor Corrado Rovaris, followed by four hours with director Emma Griffin and assistant Colter Schoenfish. The final dress rehearsal was Monday night, and on Tuesday she worked with Grant Loehnig, the company's head of music staff, on recitative that differed from the version she had performed in Boston.

Rae said the experience differed from 2012, when she sang the title role in Donizetti's "Lucia di Lammermoor" at the Vienna State Opera after Diana Damru and initial replacement Hibla Gerzmava both fell ill.

"I've done jump-ins in the past, but they've always been for roles that I've done fairly often or at least did a big run of them where I felt like they were more were part of my standard repertoire," she said. "This one has been especially stressful just because it's a Mozart opera, so there are lots of recitative and just all those words."

Her hours before opening night were far from glamorous. Eberhard arranged accommodation at the ROOST Midtown hotel near the Academy of Music and had tofu delivered to her on Saturday night. By Wednesday, Rae had a familiar concern.

"I don't have all my normal singing things," she said. "I just had a little suitcase packed with three changes of clothing, and so I'm doing laundry right now in my apartment because I've literally run out of everything."