“This is a performance, not a recital.”
On the 8th, at the performance of Puccini’s opera ‘Tosca’ held at the Grand Theater of Sejong Center for the Performing Arts in Seoul, an incident occurred where soprano Angela Gheorghiu (59), who played the lead role of Tosca, came out on stage to protest while her counterpart, tenor Kim Jae-hyung, played Cavaradossi, was singing. After the performance, complaints about “ruining the experience” poured in on social media, and some audience members reportedly demanded refunds.
The incident occurred when Kim Jae-hyung sang the aria “Stars Shine” in Act 3, and as the applause continued, he sang the same song again. Gheorghiu, who was supposed to appear after this aria, suddenly came on stage, waved his hand, pointed at his watch, and expressed his dissatisfaction. When Kim Jae-hyung finished singing, Gheorghiu protested to conductor Ji Jung-bae in a voice that could be heard clearly in the audience, “Please respect me.”
The problem continued with the curtain call after the opera closed. When it was his turn to appear, Gheorghiu did not show up, but appeared briefly at the edge of the stage, waved his hand, and then left.
It is rare, but not uncommon, for an opera performance to be asked to repeat an aria in an encore. In a 2010 performance of Tosca at the Teatro Carlo Felice in Genoa, Daniela Dessi as Tosca was asked to repeat the same song twice in Act 2, “Live in Song and Live in Love,” and tenor Fabio Armiliato as Cavaradossi was asked to repeat the same song twice in Act 3, “Even Stars Shine.”
Gheorghiu caused a similar controversy in 2016. During a performance of Tosca at the Vienna State Opera, when the tenor Jonas Kaufmann, playing Cavaradossi, was asked for an encore and sang “Stars une sang,” Gheorghiu went back to his dressing room instead of coming on stage.
Sejong Center for the Performing Arts announced in an apology on the 9th, “We plan to request an apology to the Korean audience along with a protest from Gheorghiu’s side.” As of the afternoon of the 9th, Gheorghiu’s position has not been relayed.
Reporter Sa Ji-won [email protected]
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2024-09-09 18:23:29