According to the company, Freni has withdrawn because of scheduling difficulties exacerbated when WNO added a sixth performance of the event, which runs from September 24 to October 9. Sylvie Valayre, a French soprano who has sung Salome and Tosca in Washington, will replace her.

The program also includes Act IV of Verdi's Otello, with Barbara Frittoli as Desdemona, Domingo as Otello, and John Marcus Bindel as Iago, and Act III of Lehšr's The Merry Widow, with Broadway star Christiane Noll as Valencienne, Domingo as Danilo, and Leslie Mutchler as Hannah.