A persistent throat infection has resulted in Maltese tenor Joseph Calleja withdrawing from the annual Richard Wagner Festival in Bayreuth, Germany.

He was to have sung the title role in “Parsifal” which opens the festival July 25th.

He’s being replaced by Austrian tenor Andreas Schagery.

This year, “Parsifal” is a production by Massachusetts Institute of Technology Professor Jay Schieb in which a portion of the audience will wear augmented reality glasses.

The festival runs through August 28th