It's always the singers. In any given symphony orchestra season, the voices, especially the star ones, are what you wait for. And with sopranos, there's the appeal of a wardrobe that can have the outsize grandeur of a 1958 DeSoto. Sadly, tragically, catastrophically, tonsillitis forced her cancellation Monday. Luckily, Pamela Coburn, a fixture in major European opera houses over the last 15 years, was discovered vacationing in Florida and pressed into service.
Singers cancel more often than other musicians.
Although violinist Aaron Rosand once recorded the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto with a fever of 102, and Riccardo Muti conducted the Philadelphia Orchestra with his temperature one degree higher, you can't expect that of singers. Rosand was sick, but his violin wasn't. Nor was Muti's orchestra. When a singer is sick, both player and instrument are ailing. Don't be mad at her.