Stop right there.

Whatever I might have said can bloody well wait. Go right now to Daniel J. Wakin's article in today's New York Times, in which he -- or, to be accurate, conductor Craig Smith -- finally uncorks the trepidation we're all feeling with regard to Lorraine Hunt Lieberson's constant cancellations this year.

Comments

[Maury D'Annato]

Glad you pointed this out--it's been on my mind too.
Oh and thanks for the link, which favor I have returned!

[Alex Ross]

But Steve, does this article really tell us anything? It quotes a bunch of her friends worrying. Everyone's been worrying. But nothing from her or from anyone with any medical expertise.

[Steve Smith]

Alex, you're absolutely right -- and not surprisingly, you reached that point before I did. In the follow-up I just posted a few minutes ago, I'd like to think that sobriety outweighed sentiment, for the most part. (I admit, however, that it's possible my counterpoint is even more hysterical than the original post.)