Boos after Nessun Dorma cut from Royal Opera House Turandot

Roberto Alagna fell ill after the second act of Puccini’s Turandot at the Royal Opera House on Tuesday night and withdrew. The company’s head of music, Richard Hetherington, sang from the wings while Tatiana Novaes Coelho performed Calàf on stage, but the third act resumed without the aria Nessun Dorma and some audience members booed.

The crowd’s displeasure did not appear to be aimed at the stand-in personally, the report says. An X user criticised the ROH for not having a replacement performer to "deliver the version of Nessun Dorma they’ve been singing in the shower since puberty", and the RBO has said Calàf is not the type of role for which a cover typically stands by during every performance.

Opera historian Flora Willson said booing has a long history and that British audiences are generally much more restrained than in Italy. She compared audience reactions to football and noted that booing can disrupt an unamplified musical performance. Willson also recalled riots at Covent Garden in 1809 over a ticket-price rise and protests in 1840 when the star baritone Antonio Tamburini had not been hired.

John Berry, former artistic director of English National Opera, said booing is a tradition in some European theatres but uncommon in the UK and described booing singers as "distasteful", adding that social media has given audiences more ways to vent.

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