Gheorghiu stands her ground over 'Tosca’ tantrums

The ongoing controversy between renowned soprano Angela Gheorghiu and the organizers of Puccini's opera Tosca intensified this week after the soprano's management issued a statement claiming that an agreement had been made for no encores, a claim later denied by the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts.

On Wednesday, Gheorghiu’s management, Intermusica, released a statement saying, “Ms. Gheorghiu deeply regrets the circumstances that led to the incident at the Sejong Arts Center on Sunday. It was agreed and confirmed in advance with the conductor and the production team of Tosca that no encores would be performed by any of the cast.”

“Ms. Gheorghiu believes firmly that encores outside of a concert-performance setting disrupt the narrative flow of opera,” the statement read.

Responding to the statement, an official at the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts told The Korea Herald on Thursday that the soprano’s request is not binding and the central issue is that the soprano had no right to disturb the show.

“It is true that the soprano, through her personal manager, sent a text message to the interpreter expressing her wish for there to be no encores, including for herself and all the other performers. However, this cannot be claimed as an agreement. The soprano does not have the authority to decide whether other singers besides herself should perform an encore,” the official said.

“If the soprano felt it was necessary to protest that her philosophy and opinion on encores were not respected, there were many other ways to do so without disrupting the performance,” the official noted.

On Sept. 8, the 59-year-old soprano faced a backlash after she interrupted her co-star Alfred Kim’s encore of “E lucevan le stelle” in the third act.

According to the management’s statement, “Gheorghiu perceived (it) as a personal affront, given her strong convictions on this matter.”

The soprano walked onstage to stop conductor Jee Joong-bae before eventually stating out loud, ‘Excuse me. It’s a performance. It’s not a recital. Respect me.’”

The immediate backlash came during the curtain call. Gheorghiu, who was supposed to be the last performer to take the stage and receive the spotlight during the curtain call, did not appear immediately. When she finally did come on stage, a few boos erupted from the audience, prompting her to angrily turn around and storm off the stage.

After the performance, the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts demanded an apology from Gheorghiu.