Even though the singers chosen for the leading roles were the best of the day, everything went wrong. The tenor had a cold and sang in a hoarse, almost inaudible voice. The soprano who played the part of the delicate, sickly heroine was one of the stoutest ladies on or off stage, and very healthy and loud. Charles Swindoll, Living Above the Level of Mediocrity , p.182. They are sent to teach us wisdom and prudence, to call forth greater energies, and to prevent our falling into greater disasters.
Failure is an event, never a person.
Will Rogers' stage specialty used to be rope tricks. One day, on stage, in the middle of his act, he got tangled in is lariat. The audience roared. Encouraged by the warm reception, Rogers began adding humorous comments to all his performances. It was the comments, not the rope tricks, that eventually made him famous.