BBC Proms suffers first dropout in untroubled summer Orchestrasnorman lebrecht August 07, 2026Tenor René Barbera has quit tonight’s Rossini’s Stabat Mater. ‘Unfortunately, I won’t be making my BBC Proms debut this Friday as planned. I’ve been dealing with a stubborn cough over the past several days, and despite treatment it’s taking a little longer than expected to clear up. After speaking with the team, we’ve agreed that the best decision is for me to withdraw from this performance and give myself the time to fully recover. ‘ His replacement is the young Rossini specialist Dave Monaco (pic).