In 2000 Seattle Opera presented Lakmé. Vinson Cole was sang the lead tenor role of Gerald in the first cast; William Burden made his local debut in the role in the second cast. Because of a family emergency and because he had no other performances, Burden had gone home after his final performance, which was a week before Vinson's final performance. Two days before the last performance Vinson told me that he was not feeling well. On Saturday morning he told me he couldn’t sing. I called Bill Burden at his home in Connecticut at 10 Eastern Time. A plane that would get here in time for the performance had already left; there was one more that would arrive in early evening; it was scheduled to leave JFK just before noon. Burden started from home in a limousine, telling the driver to get there as quickly as possible. All went smoothly until they were blocked on the bridge from Connecticut to Long Island. I stayed on his cell phone as he approached Kennedy. He arrived ten minutes prior to the plane’s leaving and ran at full speed to the gate (this was obviously before 9/11) but found the gate closed. He banged on it saying that 3,000 people were expecting him that night in Seattle. They opened it; he arrived on time. Vinson managed to sing the first act, and when the second act opened Bill Burden was there in his red coat. All turned out well.

--Speight Jenkins