“I Will Always Love You” – a much-trolled classic since Whitney Houston’s version in the film “Bodyguard”. So many emotions in one song. But also so many ways to screw it up. That’s why untrained voices usually leave it to the professionals and give their certainly fervent but often unsuccessful performances in their own four walls, in the shower or in the car. A woman in Manchester handled things differently. The visitor to the musical “Bodyguard” publicly sang crookedly and so loudly with “I Will Always Love You” that she drowned out the leading actress Melody Thornton.
The vocal performance, which was captured on video, is not without consequences. The performance is aborted, the light goes on, security personnel lead the woman and another out. The police were waiting for them outside, British media reports. As the “Guardian” writes, the musical was briefly interrupted during the first act because a handful of people didn’t want to stop singing. Ten minutes before the show’s finale, “mini riots” reportedly broke out among several people.
The police confirmed to the “Guardian” that they had been called to the “Palace Theatre”. Two people who were removed by security personnel were approached by the police. After completing a review, a decision will be made on further action.
The newspaper also quotes from a statement by the theater: “We are disappointed that the last ten minutes of the performance had to be cut short because disruptive customers refused to remain seated and disrupted the performance for others.”
And what does the singer who was sung over say? The “Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung” quotes from an Instagram story by leading actress Melody Thornton. The former Pussycat Dolls member apologized to fellow theater guests after the performance: “I’m so sorry I couldn’t finish the show. I gave it my all. It feels awful and I hope that we’ll see each other again soon.”
Lead actor Ayden Callaghan, who plays the role of the eponymous bodyguard in the musical, was also not amused. He found clear words on Twitter: “This is not karaoke”. He draws the comparison to sport: You don’t expect to see a rally at Wimbledon. His appeal: “Respect the artists and the other viewers.”
Callaghan shared an excerpt from the British television show “This Morning”, which takes up the case and points out how seriously the musical stars take singing along, or rather the desire that viewers don’t sing along. It sounds as if the problem isn’t new: the performers would walk through the rows with signs before the start of the show and also during the breaks with signs saying “no singing”.
Quellen:Guardian, FAZ, Twitter
