Beginning next week, lyric soprano Ruth Ann Swenson will begin treatment for breast cancer. In a release issued today, Swenson stated, "While my prognosis is excellent, I know that this will be a difficult time, so I welcome the support of family, friends, colleagues and fans, and I look forward to returning to the Met in the spring."
Swenson will return as Marguerite in the Metropolitan Opera's production of Faust. In April she will sing Cleopatra in the Met's Giulio Cesare.
In 1983, Swenson made her professional debut in San Francisco. Since then, she has performed in national and international opera houses including the Metropolitan Opera, San Francisco Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, L'Opéra National de Paris, Royal Opera, Deutsche Oper Berlin, the Hamburg State Opera and the Bavarian State Opera.
She is a graduate of the Academy of Vocal Arts in Philadelphia. In 1993, she given the Richard Tucker Award by the Richard Tucker Music Foundation. We wish her a speedy recovery.
