Michael Fabiano, a rising star in world opera, had almost made it.
The performance of Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor at New York's Metropolitan Opera House had been struck by illness and the 30-year-old had boldly accepted a challenge to prepare in just seven hours for the lead role of Edgardo- and travel there from Philadelphia.
With only the finale to go before a certain standing ovation, disaster struck as he exited the unfamiliar stage. "I ran offstage and ran into a dark area and hit my head into a light, and really hit the deck," he told the Daily Telegraph.
Blood poured from a gash as medical staff did their best to patch him up in the 10 minutes before the final, climactic scene. Fabiano shooed them away.
"I had to think about the last scene, which again I hadn't done for a year and a half," he said. "I needed to take two minutes to think about it."
Yet he managed it, winning enthusiastic reviews from critics who could barely believe the circumstances behind his performance.
The reviews cemented his reputation as one of the coming names in opera - as well as the tenor for a crisis.
He was due to arrive in Britain yesterday to begin rehearsing for Glyndebourne where he will open the festival next month in the title role of another Donizetti opera, Poliuto.
Fabiano, from New Jersey, described yesterday how he had been photocopying documents when his manager called last Thursday to see if he would stand in at the Met, one of opera's greatest venues.
"I asked when. And he said now, today," said Fabiano. "I said, 'Okay, I need a few minutes.'"
He ran back to his house to check he could remember the score. Part of the job was done. With Poliuto already in his head for Glyndebourne, Fabiano said he was already in "Donizetti land", giving him the right voice for the part.
