With today's news that Marina Poplavskaya has pulled out of Robert le Diable, the new Royal Opera House production loses its last star worthy of the title.
Juan Diego Flórez jumped ship very early on, before the production was even officially announced; Diana Damrau handed in her notice a few months ago when she found out she was pregnant.
Of course a rarely-performed opera is worth a visit whoever's singing, but those three could be said to justify the ticket price of up to £175. Whether the unremarkable trio of Bryan Hymel, Jennifer Rowley and TBA should be equally valued is open to question.
