It appears the 'circulatory problems' which first derailed Rene Pape's Berlin Faust last month, then caused him to cancel his Parsifal in Berlin and London, have mutated into 'a very bad cold'.
So bad in fact that it's expected to last for at least the next two weeks. As Per Erik at Wagner Opera reports in more detail, he's now cancelled April's eagerly-anticipated new Lohengrin in Berlin.
His replacement is Kwangchul Youn - capable, experienced, respected - but would he do a gig in a gay disco? Or own up to smoking like a chimney? With Pape, it's not just about the voice, glorious though it is, it's the edge that his life brings to his art.
Whatever the truth behind the tangle of stories, we can only hope he'll be back on stage as soon as his health allows.
