NEW YORK — Conductor Valery Gergiev (Vah-LER-e GER-gee-ev) is giving up some frequent flier miles and taking a few days off.
He canceled his performance of "Boris Godunov" at the Metropolitan Opera on Wednesday night and was replaced by Pavel Smelkov. The Met said in a statement that Gergiev was "suffering from exhaustion and resting in St. Petersburg."
Gergiev conducted "Ariadne auf Naxos" on Tuesday night at the Mariinsky Theater in Russia, where he is artistic and general director.
He had planned to travel to New York on Wednesday morning, conduct "Boris," return to St. Petersburg and conduct "Ariadne" on Thursday night, then conduct "Boris" at the Met on Saturday afternoon.