It has been the season of cancellations at the Metropolitan Opera. First, Placido Domingo canceled his appearance in a work dredged up from the depths especially for him, Franco Alfano’s “Cyrano de Bergerac.” Then Angela Gheorghiu opted out of some performances of “La Traviata” (and should have canceled the night that I attended). The big blow, of course, was the grounding for the remainder of the season of music director James Levine, still the heart and soul of the house.

The wave of cancellations continued for Verdi’s “Luisa Miller,” which made its season premiere Monday night: Soprano Barbara Frittoli pulled out before rehearsals even began. But the Met responded with what seemed a good bit of replacement casting, landing Veronica Villarroel for most of the run.

I am a fan of Neil Shicoff, who was scheduled to sing the part of Rodolfo, and I was looking forward to his performance with great anticipation. But my blood ran cold when I noticed that little slip of hastily printed paper in my program: Mr. Shicoff had also canceled. Crestfallen, I settled in for a night of disappointments.

It was not to be, though. This performance was actually quite good, with the notable exception of Ms.Villarroel.

“Luisa Miller” has never been a big hit with the public, although it is hard to understand why.The third of four operas based on Schiller (the others being “Giovanna D’Arco,” “I Masnadieri,” and “Don Carlos”), it is also the first piece in Verdi’s oeuvre to concern itself exclusively with the interpersonal as opposed to the historic and political. Though imbued with infectious Risorgimento spirit, it also contains vestiges of Rossini that virtually disappear in Verdi’s work immediately thereafter.

Conducted on Monday by Maurizio Benini, who has just been tapped to substitute for Maestro Levine in the upcoming “Don Pasquale,” the overture was emotionally thrilling and technically spectacular. Such clear articulation at so rapid a tempo demonstrated, once again, the superiority of the Met orchestra, at least in matters of the pit.

The Met veteran Eduardo Villa, who was already slated to sing Rodolfo in future performances, covered for Mr. Shicoff. Mr.Villa is hardly Luciano Pavarotti in his prime, but he owns a very strong and throaty chest voice and has no trouble being heard in this cavernous house. Steady in pitch control, he can sound somewhat gravelly in spots, strained in others, but overall he acquitted himself far beyond what we can legitimately expect from a substitute. His big number, “Quando le sere al placido,” was powerful and polished. Furthermore, Mr. Villa’s credentials as an exponent of what Toscanini called the “is it raining?” school of acting (standing facing the audience with arms outstretched, palm up) made him a good fit for this stodgy production.

Ms. Villarroel, on the other hand, started out well enough but soon degenerated into a consistent flatness that made me grab the arms of my chair by the third act. Every high note was painful. Let’s hope it was just a really bad night.

The rest of the cast performed wonderfully. Like “Don Carlos,” “Luisa Miller” includes three powerful parts for lower male voices, and this night boasted a trio of experts. Carlos Alvarez was excellent as Miller, combining a rich baritone with a smooth legato line. Phillip Ens as the villain Wurm was suitably oily and confidently assured in the nether regions of the bass line. (On a side note, Wurm ranks second only to Jezibaba from Dvorak’s “Rusalka” among my favorite opera character names.)

There was one more flaw in this production: The role of Walter went to James Morris. As soon as this consummate artist opened his mouth, the rest of the cast seemed pallid by comparison. Nothing short of fabulous, he smoothed over some otherwise rough patches and left me, at least, with an ultimately pleasant memory of the evening. With supporting players like this, who needs stars in the lead roles?

“Luisa Miller” will be performed again on March 17, 21, 25 & 29, and April 1 (Lincoln Center, 212-362-6000).