The Met hired her for Donna Elvira but withdrew the offer and gave it to Gheorghiu, who cancelled. They never hired Antonacci again.

I saw Antonacci in what I believe was her US opera debut (La gazza ladra, Philadelphia, 1990), as well as in Ermione in Glyndebourne in 1996, and then never again in opera, although I treasured the many wonderful recitals she gave later in her career in New York. She was to have sung Britten’s Gloriana in Boston and New York, but that was sadly a casualty of the pandemic.

TildyDiva agrees:

Although there are so many great artists who never sang at the Met, when I first saw this theme, I immediately thought about Anna Caterina Antonacci.

My late mother and I first experienced this fascinating and unique artist in San Francisco in 1992 when she starred with Kathleen Kulhmann, and Jeffrey Wells in Rossini’s Ermione. It was so long ago that I don’t remember it in great detail, but I do recall being captivated by her burnished tone and elegant phrasing.
Equally important, there was an almost visceral intensity to her on stage presence. A gifted and compelling actress, she brought stature and grandeur to the night.

Six years later, we saw Antonacci again in San Francisco in 1998 as Adalgisa in Norma, opposite Carol Vaness. Michael Sylvester was Pollione.
While I am a big fan of Vaness, she was perhaps having an off night, and faced numerous vocal challenges. Antonacci brought Adalgisa to life as a strong and deeply conflicted woman, displaying a warm and even tone, with the notable exception of the upper reaches of the part, which sounded at times labored and effortful. Once again, her stage presence was riveting. Much to the Norma’s chagrin, one simply could not take their eyes off the Adalgisa, she was so intriguing.

I regret that I did not get to see Antonacci’s subsequent San Francisco performances in Les Troyens, Two Women, and La Voix Humaine, the latter at the San Francisco Opera Lab.

Others may know the entire behind-the-scenes true story as to why Antonacci never performed at the Met. My understanding is that she was contracted for Donna Elvira in “Don Giovanni” in 2006, but the Met bought out her contract in favor of Angela Gheorghiu, who then dropped out of the performances. She was replaced by Susan Graham.

According to The New York Times, the Met subsequently offered Antonacci the role of Vitellia in La clemenza di Tito, which did not come to fruition. “She is the kind of singer that, when she walks onstage you realize there is an important presence,” Riccardo Muti told Zachary Woolfe in “The New York Times” in 2012.

Her repertoire spanned such diverse roles as Carmen, Cassandre in Les Troyens, Medea, Poppea, Semiramide, Fiordiligi, Dorabella, Armide, Elisabetta in Maria Stuarda, Agrippina, Charlotte, and Alice Ford.

There is, however, a particular performance that moves me greatly, and it is my pleasure to share with you all, her performance in the title role of Rodelinda, at Glyndebourne:

Brava La Antonacci!