Just in: Met cancels tonight’s performance
mainFollowing the cutting short of William Tell due to a security alert, tonight’s performance has also been called off.
Here’s the official statement:
Today’s performance of Guillaume Tell was cancelled during the second intermission because of a disturbance by an audience member, who sprinkled an unidentified powdered substance into the orchestra pit.
UPDATED: The company has also canceled this evening’s performance of L’Italiana in Algeri while the authorities investigate the incident.
Never a dull moment at the Met (well, maybe not never ;-)). Our instruments are still in the pit and we have no access to them. Anyway, one of our horn players, who was practicing in the pit during the last intermission, saw a very strange-looking person taking white powder from a plastic baggie with his fingers and sprinkling it on the timpani, the podium and other front parts of the pit. I would imagine it may not have been a dangerous substance, as he was handling it with his bare hands, but it’s always best to be on the safe side. They’re testing the powder now.
Human ashes, according to current reports.
Yes, that is what BBC World Service put out last night, and also BBC Radio 4 then this morning on the news. Mercifully no one sprinkled any ashes at the superb Billy Budd done last night by Opera North with Roderick Williams as Budd and Alan Oke as Vere – and on the fraction of the cost of the Met – or has the Met ever done Budd?
Yes: the Met performed Billy Budd about five years ago in a production starring Nathan Gunn, conducted by (I think) David Robertson. “And it was good”. It was not the first time the Met had produced this opera.
Earth to earth, dust to dust, ashes to the orchestra pit. It is just the latest wheeze by the Met to improve its audience figures. After all, a lot of the audience, especially in the lower part of the house, are already half dead so this is only taking it one stage further.
Hilarious…. also if not appropriate.
Stick it in your… I was there and I am far from dead and none of those around me were either. Big shot with a big mouth and you don’t know what you are talking about. Flew from Hawaii for 50 hours in New Your City to see three operas. Got robbed by some inconsiderate, albeit I shall assume grieving person, who cared nothing for the impact of his thoughtless behavior. After losing out on the beautiful third act of William Tell and instead of presenting James Levine with an exquisite orchid lei I had brought from Hawaii after the evening performance, I ended up hauling it back home and will use it to commemorate my Mother’s 20th anniversary of passing over to the Better World.
That made me laugh
It was jejune, at best.