Slap for singers: star conductor Sir John Eliot Gardiner apologizes

The British star conductor Sir John Eliot Gardiner (80) has publicly apologized after a violent incident and canceled his upcoming tour appearances. He deeply regrets having “lost his nerve” on Tuesday after a concert performance of Berlioz’s opera Les Troyens at La Côte-Saint-André in France, he said. Gardiner confirmed media reports that singer William Thomas (29) was the target of his outbreak. “I know that physical violence is never acceptable and that musicians should always feel safe,” Gardiner said. The Salzburg Festival and the Musikfest Berlin have now found a replacement for the planned performances of “Les Troyens”: Instead of Gardiner, his assistant Dinis Sousa is now conducting the Monteverdi Choir and the Orchester Révolutionnaire et Romantique. This also applies to the tour stations in Versailles and at the BBC Proms in London.

Classical music website Slipped Disc and The New York Times reported that Gardiner slapped Thomas backstage after he walked off the podium on the wrong side. Gardiner is considered a pioneer of historical performance practice. In May he conducted the coronation of Charles III. in London.