Zajick Pulls Out of ‘Dolores Claiborne’

Dolora Zajick will not be Dolores Claiborne after all.

With less than a month before the San Francisco Opera is to present the world premiere of “Dolores Claiborne,” a new Tobias Picker opera based on the Stephen King novel of the same name, the company announced Monday that Ms. Zajick, the acclaimed mezzo-soprano who had been set to sing the title role, had withdrawn from the production.

Ms. Zajick said in a statement that she was “devastated” to be unable to continue, explaining that “the opera proved to be more challenging physically and vocally than I had anticipated.”

The company announced that the role will be sung instead at the Sept. 18 premiere by Patricia Racette, a soprano who was already in San Francisco preparing for a production of Arrigo Boito’s “Mefistofele.” David Gockley, the San Francisco Opera’s general director, noted in the statement that Ms. Racette is familiar with Mr. Picker’s works, noting that she has appeared in both “Emmeline” and “An American Tragedy.”

“I look forward to welcoming Dolora back to the War Memorial Opera House stage in future seasons and wish her a full recovery,” he said in the statement.