Fistfight mars Boston Pops' opening night

Reuters ^ | May 10, 2007

[ConservativeStatement]

BOSTON (Reuters) - A fistfight in the balcony stopped the music on opening night at the Boston Pops, drawing gasps from hundreds of well-heeled guests at one of the country's oldest and best-known city orchestras.

Famous for light classical music and family pop tunes from decades past, the orchestra briefly halted its performance on Wednesday evening as two men wrestled in the side balcony of the 107-year-old Symphony Hall.

Concert-goers looked up after a woman's scream interrupted a rendition of the Hollywood musical "Gigi" about 20 minutes into the performance.

Shortly afterward, conductor Keith Lockhart stopped the orchestra with a motion of his hand as the murmuring crowd turned to watch the scuffle, apparently caused after one man told another guest to be quiet.

[ConservativeStatement]

Pop goes the weasels.

[stephenjohnbanker]

Boston Pops= bore.

The fight might have been worth the admission : )

[Jeff Chandler]

This is no surprise. Boston Pops fans are a bunch of gangsta thugs.

[doodad]

Full story does not tell much more. No charges filed. My bet is the guy was on a cell. I swear there are no manners anymore.

[Maceman]

The Impressionists and the Atonalists are at it again.

[andy58-in-nh]

"I'm telling you for the last time, the oboes are supposed to come in on the downbeat, you bastard!!!" (OOOOF!)

[AxelPaulsenJr]

Oh my, what is Orchestra music coming to?

[seekthetruth]

I do wonder why charges were not pressed. Certainly there were enough people who saw what actually happened.

[HerrBlucher]

“This is no surprise. Boston Pops fans are a bunch of gangsta thugs.”
________________________________

Hollywood musicals such as “gigi” tend to attract a very tough crowd....:)

[GadareneDemoniac]

Bump to the classical music pinglist for a story about non-classical classical music.

By the way, in college I saw a performance by Arthur Fiedler and the Pops and it was great!!!

[Dumpster Baby]

Heh heh, you guys are good.

[Jeff Chandler]

Hollywood musicals such as “gigi” tend to attract a very tough crowd....:)

It's a good thing it wasn't West Side Story. They'd have to call out the National Guard. At least the two guardsmen not deployed in Iraq.

[Cuttnhorse]

LOL!!

Somehow I knew my fellow FReepers would have a good time with this one.

[Maceman]

"I'm telling you for the last time, the oboes are supposed to come in on the downbeat, you bastard!!!"

Actually, there is virtually never more than one oboe in an orchestra.

[andy58-in-nh]

Ah yes, I remember well the fistfights that once broke out during the Beach scene in the Broadway production of La Cage Aux Folles. There were white lace gloves and feather boas flying everywhere - and the women were almost as bad.

[andy58-in-nh]

Actually, there is virtually never more than one oboe in an orchestra.

You trying to start something, bub? :-)

[ClearCase_guy]

Actually, there is virtually never more than one oboe in an orchestra.

What the &*%$ do you know about it?? You wanna take this outside?

[ConservativeStatement]

IIRC, David Lee Roth performed the 4th of July concert with them. :-)

[Maceman]

This is the same kind of thing that happened on May 29, 1913 at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées in Paris, in response to the premiere performance of Stravinsky's Sacre Du Printemps:

"The complex music and violent dance steps depicting fertility rites first drew catcalls and whistles from the crowd, and there were loud arguments in the audience between supporters and opponents of the work. These were soon followed by shouts and fistfights in the aisles. The unrest in the audience eventually degenerated into a riot. The Paris police arrived by intermission, but they restored only limited order. Chaos reigned for the remainder of the performance, and Stravinsky himself was so upset on account of its reception that he fled the theater in mid-scene, reportedly crying.[2]. Fellow composer Camille Saint-Saëns famously stormed out of the première, allegedly infuriated over the misuse of the bassoon in the ballet's opening bars."

[rod1]

Boston has gotten to be a pretty rough town between the fights at the symphony and the teenagers preyed upon at the annual sanctioned GLB-ball (see another posted topic).