Dawn Upshaw cancels SPCO concerts due to allergies

Dawn Upshaw

Call it the cursed concert weekend at the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra.

When it was announced from the stage of the Ordway Center on Thursday night that soprano Dawn Upshaw would not perform, it was the third cancellation by a guest in the past few weeks.

Cuest conductor Dennis Russell Davies earlier had been replaced by Alexander Mickelthwaite when Davies (along with guest pianist Maki Namekawa) was stranded in Europe due to volcanic ash. Upshaw's cancellation came with no prior notice, however.

The SPCO said on Friday that it got word from Upshaw's management company that Upshaw "has been coping with seasonal allergies that have waxed and waned this month, forcing a late cancellation of concerts on Thursday and Friday with the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra. She hopes very much to resume her performance schedule with Saturday's concert."

Jessica Etten of the SPCO said Upshaw was in St. Paul and had rehearsed with the chamber orchestra earlier this week.

The Thursday night concert was played, but two pieces being sung by Upshaw had to be scratched, and a Brahms quartet played by members of the SPCO was added to the program. Larry Fuchsberg review of the concert is here.