But

Please help me see why 'but' is used at the start of the third paragraph. I don't think the third paragraph contradicts or contrasts with the second in any way, or does it?

Two years ago, soprano Barbara Bonney was scheduled to make her San Diego recital debut at downtown's Civic Theatre, sponsored by the La Jolla Chamber Music Society. But illness forced her to cancel the engagement and she was replaced by her ex-husband, Swedish baritone Hakan Hagegard.

On Wednesday, Bonney finally sang her first local recital. And the program, presented under the Chamber Music Society's auspices, was most definitely worth the wait.

But her singing was consistently appealing -- agile, accurate and wonderfully responsive to music composed by Grieg, Copland and Richard Strauss. Nothing fazed her. Not demanding high notes or tricky chromaticism. Not scampering passages or ever-so-long phrases, which barely afforded her the chance to breathe.