Met’s “Guillaume Tell” called on account of powder
The Metropolitan Opera cut short Saturday’s matinee performance of Rossini’s Guillaume Tell due to a bizarre incident that presented a public safety issue for the musicians and audience.
Patrons filing back into the hall after the second intermission noticed that the orchestra pit was empty. The Met house manager made an announcement assuring the audience that the cast and orchestra members were fine but that due to “a technical issue” they were stopping the performance.
Later the company released a statement that an audience member had sprinkled an unidentified white powder into the pit, on top of the timpani and the conductor’s podium. Due to safety concerns about the substance, Met officials canceled the rest of the performance as well as Saturday evening’s scheduled performance of L’Italiana in Algeri while the New York Police Department investigated the incident.
Audience members arriving for Saturday evening’s performance said that there was a heavy police presence outside the Met and all around the Lincoln Center plaza.
Ticketholders can contact the Met’s Customer Care department for information on exchanging their tickets for different performances at 212- 362-6000.
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