Bandleader John Eliot Gardiner accused of slapping a singer after a concert

2023-08-24 14:53:47

Renowned British conductor Sir John Eliot Gardiner, who performed at the coronation of England’s King Charles III, has been accused of assaulting a singer during an opera at the Berlioz Festival in France on Tuesday night after that the performer, 29, allegedly went up the stage from the wrong side. In addition to slap and beat bass William Thomas, the 80-year-old director called him, among other things, “dozy bastard”, which could be translated as “sleepy bastard” and “silly”. Although Gardiner’s irritable character is well known in the sector, the musician has crossed a red line that has even caused, according to The Telegraph, that he himself renounced participating in the BBC Promsthe largest classical music festival in the world, which the British chain organizes with daily concerts between July and September of each year.

According to The Times newspaper, the director committed the assault after the performance, when he entered where the cast was celebrating backstage and, with a glass of beer in his hand, yelled at them that he wanted to throw it over their heads. It was then that the singer told him not to do it, causing Gardiner’s Fury, that he slapped him, punched him in the mouth and yelled several expletives at him, while claiming that he had entered the stage in the wrong way.

“We can confirm that an incident occurred after Tuesday’s performance of ‘The Trojans’, by Berliozwith the Orchester Révolutionnaire et Romantique and the Monteverdi Choir in La Côte-Saint-André,” the singer’s agent said in a statement sent to the classical music site. Slipped Disc, in which he added that “bass William Thomas hopes to continue the tour with performances in Salzburg, Versailles, Berlin and at the BBC Proms, and will not make any statement at this time.” The text concludes by saying that “all musicians have the right to practice their art in an environment free from abuse or physical harm.” A graduate of London’s Guildhall School of Music and Drama, Thomas is considered one of Britain’s most promising opera singers.

A representative for Gardiner also spoke to the site, explaining that the director was suffering in the heat, and that “recent adjustments” in your medication “could have provoked behavior that he now regrets.” France, like other parts of Europe, is experiencing a heat wave and the temperature during the concert was almost 40 degrees, which, according to the representative, could have affected the conductor’s mood. Another source quoted by The Times assures that he was also upset because the performance did not go as he expected.

The director left France and returned to London to receive medical attention after the incident, but in the coming days he has performances scheduled in Salzburg, Versailles and Berlin.

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