Two star singers have backed out of the Metropolitan Opera’s tour to Japan. The news is sure to stir dissatisfaction among some members of the company who have expressed worry over safety risks following the nuclear emergency in Japan caused by the March earthquake and resulting tsunami.

The Met said that Jonas Kaufmann withdrew from the title role of “Don Carlo” for “personal reasons” and that Olga Borodina would not sing the role of Eboli because doctors had told her to rest her voice for two months.