Irony.  Theatres are incredibly good at this.  Tonight, as I remarked to a member of the theatre administration before the rehearsal, the poor director had already got as far as the first orchestra/stage rehearsal, and this was the first time he'd actually had all the soloists together on the stage at one time.  Ahhhh yes, she said, seems he's stuck at the airport elsewhere and won't be there...

But my goodness I am not looking forward to my dose of the cold, flu, virus or whatever it is that's making the rounds.  Singers tend to spend this time of the year compulsively washing their hands, then thinking about it in terms of smooth skin and slapping on hand cream.  It's pretty inevitable, though, and the usual pattern is for the illness to sabotage whatever you're actually looking forward to, so I am hoping against hope that this doesn't ruin my next premiere!