 November 9, 2022 #RoyalOperaHouse This is Malakai M Bayoh, and this is the applause he received after his stunning performance; made all the more incredible because he's 12yrs old and had to perform whilst abuse was shouted at him. Absolute hero. pic.twitter.com/WJKQe4hFd9— Cromwell (@Cromwell606) November 9, 2022 The Royal Opera House (ROH) said it was 'appalled' at the outburst, and that the disruptive onlooker had been banned for life. Financial Times associate arts editor Josh Spero tweeted saying the 'nastiest thing happened' at the production. 'A 12-year-old boy was sweetly singing his lines when a man in the audience yelled, 'Rubbish!' and booed him,' he wrote. 'Who would do that to a child? 'Once the boy was done, the audience responded with wild applause and cheering.' Rebecca Franks, of the Times, reported 'vile behaviour from one audience member at Alcina at the Royal Opera House'. 'He booed and heckled the young boy singing (in a lovely way) Oberto,' she posted. 'Thankfully, the rest of the audience drowned the heckler out with extra-loud, heartfelt applause. But, seriously, who boos a child?' Others soon shared this disdain online, with one tweeting: 'Paying for a ticket doesn't give people the right to act however they want.' In a statement a spokesman from the ROH said: 'Malakai is astonishingly talented, bringing great acting and beautiful singing to the role – a huge accomplishme){kind=link}
NEWS… BUT NOT AS YOU KNOW IT
The Royal Opera House has banned a theatre-goer who heckled a 12-year-old actor and called them ‘rubbish’.
Malakai M Bayoh was met with boos and heckling as he sung his lines on the opening night of Handel’s opera Alcina on Tuesday.
One member of the crowd shouted ‘Rubbish!’ before he was shushed by other people in the audience.
The heckler then left the show, it was reported.