Martina Arroyo’s payment standoff at the opera in Rome | Letter
When a payment was missed, the soprano abandoned the stage, writes David LaneMartina Arroyo (Obituary, 25 October) was an instigator of an interesting evening at Rome’s opera house in June...
By Guardian Staff · The Guardian Opinion
When a payment was missed, the soprano abandoned the stage, writes David Lane Martina Arroyo ( Obituary, 25 October ) was an instigator of an interesting evening at Rome’s opera house in June 1974. She was singing Elisabetta in a revival of Luchino Visconti’s well regarded 1965 production of Verdi’s Don Carlo and, together with Grace Bumbry, who sang Eboli, led a standoff with the theatre’s management over payment. A usual practice in those years was for payment to be made during an interval, but this had been missed in the first interval and was not forthcoming in the second. As a 25-minute interval extended well past the half-hour, the audience’s impatience gave rise to shouts of “ Buffoni! ”, “ Buffoni! ”. Continue reading...